Motomods vs. Project ARA -- Developer kits

Some insight about Motorola's MotoMods. Some good stuff about developer kits and encouraging small developers to get involved.

gadgets.ndtv.com

McDonnell is quite dismissive about Ara. "They didn’t really think about the consumer at all," says McDonnell. "Their whole idea was based around technology, what can you do, but not what the customer wants."

"They wanted to do things like change the specs but that doesn’t really change the consumer experience," he adds. "It was exciting for developers, but they got the priority wrong. I think with LG and Friends - they wanted you to switch off your phone to change parts, and it was a whole process, who is going to do that?"

****

The way to create and sell a module is straightforward - buy an MDK from Motorola, prototype your idea, and follow the self-certification procedures. Once that's done, Motorola will verify your plans, and then it sells you a license as an official Mod. Motorola can also help developers find partners for manufacturing and distribution of the Mods, and would help with marketing too, McDonnell adds.

But would small developers in India want to commit precious funds to buy an MDK to start with? "As of now we're distributing the MDK to people who register with us," says Sharma. "We will need a project outline to determine how feasible your idea is, and if it looks like it can be done, then we'll give you an MDK." And in a few months, Motorola also plans to launch a Mod Store, to help highlight all these new products - a bit like Apple showcases MFi products.

Microvision Slideshow from CES

From Microvision's DisplayGround Blog

MicroVision Scanning Engines Overview | January 2017 from MicroVision

What is a Short Squeeze?

A short squeeze happens when too many people are forced to buy back stock -- and the supply is very limited. Microvision is a naturally supply limited stock (not a very large float) and further limited because there are a lot of people (like myself) who are holding a good number of shares and who will not sell.. (until a giant spike.)

When we get good news (which we KNOW is coming) -- the supply of shares for sale will decline to none, and the demand for shares to purchase will increase dramatically. Everyone wants a big screen for their smart phone, and for self-driving cars to have accurate LiDAR -- and augmented reality.

A caution about short squeezes is that they always over shoot, but in the case of Microvision with rising and vastly improving fortunes, I do not see it going back down as far. I won't even hazard a guess on how high things could go -- but as you see from the charts, things can get really out of hand.

Here are a couple of short squeeze charts for you to enjoy. (note the price scale on both charts.)

Wikipedia - Short Squeeze

A short squeeze is a rapid increase in the price of a stock that occurs when there is a lack of supply and an excess of demand for the stock. Short squeezes result when short sellers cover their positions on a stock, resulting in buying volume that drives the stock price up.


The Street

But Cramer said for those with inside knowledge of how the markets really work, these moves make perfect sense. In the case of Whirlpool, he said, the company has only 76 million shares of stock available. While that may seem like a lot, Cramer put the number into perspective by comparing it to the 4.6 billion shares that Exxon-Mobil ( XOM) has.

Cramer explained that when a company like Whirlpool continues to disappoint investors quarter after quarter, it builds up a sizable number of short sellers. In the case of Whirlpool, almost 10% of the company's available shares were sold short ahead of its most recent release. So when Whirlpool not only surprised Wall Street with great earnings but also raised guidance, it caught all of those short sellers completely off guard an d on the wrong side of the trade.

What ensues is a classic short squeeze, explained Cramer, where hundreds of short sellers all look to cover their positions at the same time, only to find there are no shares available at the current price. So the price rises. As the situation becomes more and more desperate, the share price will continue to rise, sometimes day after day, until all of the short positions have been covered. Cramer said the situation is often made worse by retail investors, who are also looking to buy shares since the company now seems to be on the right track again.

Cramer said the same pattern can be seen with Netflix and Green Mountain. There is no news propelling these stocks, he said, it's merely short sellers looking to buy huge quantities of stock, only to find no takers. They'll continue to bid up the price, dollar by dollar, tick by tick, until they can cover their mistakes.

Learn music theory - Hololens

Many ways to use this tool to learn and increase human productivity and creativity. It will be a winner.

Hololens Reality News

• Improvisation: Understanding music theory to the degree that a player can improvise a melody that fits in a certain key is a tough skill to master. It is also a skill that is generally not part of normal music curriculum, but is needed when playing with others.
• Virtual Hand: Many people on this planet are visual learners, even for things like music. Being able to watch someone or, in this case, a hologram, play or chord or a phrase before trying yourself can be a great boon.
• Virtual Band: As mentioned above, having a virtual band to practice your improvisational skills give the user an open environment to learn and hone their skills—without the need to pay a group of people to help.

Augmented Reality -- The Dream is Real - Sonic

Add another gaming company that is involved with Hololens. Then they allowed the release of the video.

There will be tethered displays produced by other companies. It's looking like there will be a decent amount of content.

VRFocus

Sonic Twitter

Micromax's Phones will cause disruption

Over the summer, we were told during the conference call that we would get a regional player releasing a product in the fall. That was delayed.

Diwali is the Indian gift-giving season, happens in the fall.

They did some tweaking of the currency in India in the fall (Demonetization). 

Now they're going to be disrupting at the high end and the low end. 


EconomicTimes.indiaTimes  -- more at the source.

Q) But with Chinese brands putting in top dollars and you holding back, you are losing market share which will be difficult to regain later? 

It is not about losing ground. It is all about what at what time. If we start doing the same thing, we start burning the same amount of money. We wanted to do it (launches) right after Diwali. But post Diwali, demonetization happened. Now we will be coming up with products that are high end and also products which are in the lower end segment. We will cause disruption at both spots. 

Interesting stuff from NVIDIA

At one point, you just wonder if the guy slipped just a bit.

To go straight to what we think is the good stuff, start at 34:00....

Thanks Joe!


At Source

The Future with Hololens

Thanks Mike.

Haven't had a focused look at this yet, but Mike sends good stuff.

When you invest in something, think "how is this going to make people's lives better?" Then, be a part of that.

"When I finally get to the point of building it, I build it once."


Joe Sent me a link to the Hololens Commercial Suite site that had these videos.

Apple iPhone 8 Rumor Compilation

My hunch is that the thing everyone seems so sure about is false. (Wireless charging.) I don't think people want to be around devices that beam that much energy around. People are afraid of the energy that leaks out of a microwave oven by accident. The amount that would have to beam around the room to charge your phone is considerably more. Induction charger -- that could happen.

The most interesting thing to me is the smart connectors. You could put a damn fine projector on the outside of the phone with a setup like that...  Based on the leak cycle of last summer and fall, I think the smart connecters were real.

I also think that Apple is transitioning from trying to keep everything secret, to trying to distract. (I summarized that thinking here.... Stealth vs Chaff)

Augmented reality from Apple? If they do I think it will be a separate device. 

Apple AR/VR product due out in 2017 according to Sony Exec

MacWorld

Could the iPhone 8 get a smart connector, like those used on the 9.7in and 12.9in iPad Pro collection? Of course, as with any rumour/leak it's best to take it with a pinch of salt but according to a report from Mac Otakara, a forthcoming iPhone will feature a smart connector.

More recently, Logitech (or Logi?) has launched the Logi Base, the first accessory to utilise the iPad Pro smart connector for charging capabilities. As first reported by AppleInsider, the Base uses magnets to easily line up the iPad Pro with the charger, providing users with something close to wireless charging. It also means that you can pick up the iPad and walk away without needing to unplug it. While it's specific to the iPad Pro, it gives you an idea about what a smart connector on an iPhone could be used for.

This picture has been around for a while, but it's noteworthy in that SoftBank needs to be watched closely. Check out their holdings here. (which includes Sprint.) and a lot of telecoms and online gaming.  This is interesting, I don't know what will come of it yet.

One analyst, Andrew Uerkwitz, has predicted that the 2017 iPhone refresh will be the company's "last growth hurrah", before spiralling into a "decade-long malaise" as the market turns increasingly to lower-cost and second-hand phones. "The risks to the company have never been greater," Uerkwitz said to MarketWatch.

Monness Crespi Hardt analyst James Cakmak echoed Uerkwitz's sentiments. "Apple won't have it easy again for a while, if ever," he said.

iPhone 8 new features: Augmented reality and VR

In the Facebook post by Robert Scoble we mentioned earlier, one of the more surprising and detailed predictions concerns augmented reality and VR. "Really amazing VR/AR/mixed reality is coming to a phone, and coming by the end of 2017," Scoble writes. "Apple's entrance into this new world is like when IBM came into the personal computing world. It is that important."

He discusses the impact that a mixed-reality iPhone could have on the market, and predicts: "You'll look through the glass in mixed reality modes (think of a new kind of Pokemon game) either in the headset, or in your hand. Apple's purchase of Metaio is going to prove very key. I won't be shocked to learn that Peter Meier, CTO there, is in charge of the next iPhone strategy and has been for years."

Scoble isn't the only pundit predicting that Apple - and the iPhone in particular - are about to plunge into the world of augmented reality. Business Insider claims that the company is already working on ways to integrate AR elements into the iPhone's Camera app.

"By adding AR technology into the iPhone's camera software, Apple wants consumers to be able to point the phone at a real-world object and have it be recognised, according to Kris Kolo, director of the VR/AR Association and a board member of Flyby Media, an AR startup that was acquired by Apple earlier this year," writes the site.

Business Insider further predicts that the iPhone's camera app will be able to recognise "and manipulate" faces in augmented reality.

ZenPhone AR - Project Tango

This shows a little of what it's up to and how it does it. 

It will be a lot better when there's LiDar and a wearable AR screen

The museum tour was one of the early use cases cited for AR and PicoP.

AsiaTnews

C|Net Virtual Reality Disappoints at CES

What was everyone paying attention to?

This writer seems to have his AR and his VR tangled up a bit. 

Virtual reality is something that is going to isolate people from each other. Augmented Reality should do some bringing together -- or at least not further isolate.

It's a long process though.

There's a slide show, be sure to stop at #23 and #43 -- places where PicoP and Microvision's tech can shine. Although the Panasonic Projector in an egg is a better idea. 

C|Net -- This article featured on Drudge Report -- which is mainstream media

Most VR companies at CES 2017 are talking about things few consumers will think about, like new sensor technology and software development tools. (Scott Stein, who reviews virtual reality tech for CNET, says "most of the major players in VR took CES off, and the biggest advancements needed to take VR forward -- better displays, wireless, and less bulky designs -- still haven't gotten here yet.")


From Slide #23

Endless Mission Mini and Mission One cheap and tiny PCs
Endless gets its cool cred in part from its intentions. The Endless computers are small, cheap and optimized for areas where internet access is unpredictable. This year's models have a more sophisticated design than its plastic ball. Though they don't run a standard operation system, they come piled with applications. Plus, the systems will also work with its Endless Code initiative, a preinstalled package of tutorials and tools for teenage-level prospective coders.

Slide #43

Hello Egg: Bizarre but useful kitchen helper

Essentially a weird-looking, kitchen-centric with a projector (it's a Magic 8-Ball for the 21st century), the Egg not only looks up recipes you ask for, but projects step-by-step videos to help you make them. There's a similar concept assistant from , but it's not nearly as goofy looking, which is part of Hello Egg's charm. If it rolls its eye at my cooking skills, though, it's gonna end up scrambled.

In preorder now. Entering Indigogo crowdfunding campaign in Mary 2017.

Fox Business on AR Glasses

More mainstream attention, this is good.

Microvision is certainly connected to one of these companies (Vuzix) and suspected to be connected to Lenovo. 

Vuzix claimed they 'depend' on displays from Microvision and Kopin, but do not claim the display for the M3000.


Fox Business -- more at the source.

CES is mostly about companies showing off all manner of new consumer phones, TVs, cars, laptops, and smart devices. But there are always some business innovations to be found among all of the consumer gadgets and gizmos. This year, the enterprise side of CES is all about augmented realityOpens a New Window.  (AR).

Lenovo, at Mobilenapps

Panasonic -Projector in an egg

So, got a heads up this evening about this one. A lot to see at CES!

Have no idea if MVIS is in this, I haven't spotted the telltale scan lines, but those can be avoided by the right camera work.

Ultimately, the more little projectors are used -- the better for Microvision.

Thanks Dr Bravo!








Engadget

Specs from Panasonic

Panasonic has submitted patent or design registration applications in the U.S. and other parts of the world.

Specifications (Based on test model; subject to change)

Product name	Desktop companion robot
Dimensions	Diameter: Up to 290 mm (9.5 inches) Height: Up to 485 mm (1.5 feet)
Weight	3.7 kg (8.1 lbs)
Movement speed	Max. 3.5 km/h (2.1 mph)
Battery	Lithium ion battery Capacity: 11.1 V 6600 mAh Operable hours: Approx. 6 hours
Sensors	8 M pixel CMOS camera × 1, infrared sensors × 5
Motors	Wheels: Pulse width modulation controlled DC motor × 4 Neck: Feedback controlled servo motor × 3
Projector	WVGA+ (854 × 480 dots), 50 lumens
Language	English
Processor & OS	1.2 GHz 64/32-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, UNIX OS
Wireless connectivity	Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4GHz/5GHz) Bluetooth: Version 5

Hololamp

Check out the scan lines in the first ten seconds. Looks like Microvision.

...and it looks REALLY cool.

...and it fits with recent communications from Microvision

...and Microvision has plans to start mass production of interactive projection.


VentureBeat
Source  -- More there

“A headset reduces a user’s field of view and tends to be uncomfortable, whereas HoloLamp enables the user to achieve an immersive experience without having to hold or wear any equipment,” said HoloLamp cofounder Guillaume Chica in a statement provided to VentureBeat. “The hands-free and glasses-free technology allows users to easily engage with their surroundings while using HoloLamp, making it an ideal solution for numerous business and personal environments.”

Objects created by HoloLamp can be manipulated with a PlayStation 4 controller today, but in the future the company wants to make control of objects possible by touching the surface where an image is projected.


Hololamp Website

Mems and Sensors Blog -- Microvision Contribution

In the right place at the right time! 

Mems and Sensors Blog -- More at the source.

Cool consumer products made possible by MEMS/Sensors

Contributed by MicroVision, Inc. (January 3, 2017)

We live in an always-on world, and thanks to the myriad of MEMS and sensors in a myriad of products today, we are granted unrestricted access to the technologies that amplify and simplify our daily lives. MEMS-mirror based Laser Beam Scanning solutions, such as those enabled by MicroVision’s PicoP® scanning technology, can offer projected display and interactivity capabilities that could turn today’s technologies into tomorrow’s innovations.

Take for instance the smart home assistant – a device that is part of a market expected to reach more than $30 billion and a household penetration rate of over 60% by 2021*. In the future, we could see these hubs responding to more than just our voices, but also our hand gestures.

************** 

Here’s a further look into how MEMS-based Laser Beam Scanning solutions can enable some pretty cool products:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7I_q1hCN3c&t=3s

Demand for small and low cost 3D depth sensing solutions is growing rapidly, with the global 3D sensor market estimated to grow to $5.46B in 2022 at a CAGR of 26.5%**. Innovation is always on the horizon and we are excited to see how MEMS and sensors will play a role wowing us.

Forget the glasses

Hustled off to visit a friend this morning before I got done reading my alerts.

This one showed up when I resumed reading this afternoon.

A decent summary of what is going on in augmented reality -- and a nice mention of Microvision.



Spectrum.ieee

Also in the AR-heavy category, and already shipping to developers and some business customers, is Microsoft’s $3,000 HoloLens, an AR headset with all its necessary computing performed on board. The trade-off Microsoft made to make this technology portable is in its field of view: At less than 45 degrees, it’s like looking through a small window. One of Microsoft’s competitors, Meta, is taking preorders from developers for a $950 headset with a 90-degree field of view—but the Meta headset requires tethering to an external computer to operate. Both project images outward, not directly on your retina, as Magic Leap is expected to do. But Magic Leap may not end up being the only AR retina display out there. Kartik Hosanagar, professor of technology and digital business at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, says he believes that MicroVision, a pioneer in retina displays, may move into commercial augmented reality.

Forbes Predictions for Media in 2017

PicoP isn't mentioned, but everything here bodes well for it.

Forbes -- More at the source.

Wireless providers like AT&T can now let their subscribers access their DirecTV live and DVR'ed content for free on their AT&T phones. With Time Warner content in the AT&T family, those subscribers will also be able to watch even more HBO, Turner or Warner Brothers content in the same way. Verizon (VZ) has tried to make its own play for content by snapping up sports rights like the NFL and NBA for their subscribers to stream. They're also building their GO90 video content service to entice subscribers. What will Sprint (S) or T-Mobile (TMUS) do in response? 

**

Expect more mega-media deals along the lines of an AT&T / Time Warner, as well as smaller Comcast-DreamWorks content stockpiling deals this year. If you've built the pipes to get customers, these companies will need to think of interesting stuff to show on those pipes to keep customers.

**

If mobile net neutrality or no data caps on certain content is going to become increasingly important, why wouldn't Comcast want to launch its own wireless service when it already owns the content? Expect more MVNOs (or mobile virtual network operators)

**

As this 8 year stock rally continues in the coming years, it wouldn't at all be unprecedented to see cash become an increasingly bigger component of new deals. Therefore, if the Trump Administration also allows companies to return offshore cash to the US to invest in more jobs and do more deals, this should act as a further stimulant to more deals.

How Amazon Innovates in ways Google and Apple Can't

Focus on the consumer for successful innovation. (what do they want?)

They want larger screens on their portable devices.

In 2013, we saw PicoP embedded in a Kindle Fire Tablet.... 





Vox.com  -- More at the source.

Google’s approach — solve the hard technical problems first, worry about the business model later — is rooted in the engineering background of Google Founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. In contrast, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos spent almost a decade working for several Wall Street firms before starting Amazon — a background that gives him a more pragmatic outlook that’s more focused on developing products customers will actually want to pay for.

Bezos has worked to create a culture at Amazon that’s hospitable to experimentation.

“I know examples where a random Amazon engineer mentions ‘Hey I read about an idea in a blog post, we should do that,’” Eric Ries says. “The next thing he knows, the engineer is being asked to pitch it to the executive committee. Jeff Bezos decides on the spot.”

A key factor in making this work, Ries says, is that experiments start small and grow over time. At a normal company, when the CEO endorses an idea, it becomes a focus for the whole company, which is a recipe for wasting a lot of resources on ideas that don’t pan out. In contrast, Amazon creates a small team to experiment with the idea and find out if it’s viable. Bezos famously instituted the “two-pizza team” rule, which says that teams should be small enough to be fed with two pizzas.

Big things in Phones that didn't live up to the hype.

An interesting article. And some of the things mentioned did seem silly even at the time. Most interesting here is the commentary about the quality of the projector. The projector phones mentioned had things going against them in a big way. Poor resolution and focus wheel requirement. 

The Motorola Instashare seems to be getting some traction, and it still has poor resolution and a very touchy focus wheel.

Smart Cast hasn't been released yet. -- And Microvision has the ability to release a really good projector.

As far as not having any use... well, every phone has a camera -- to capture images. Projectors are for sharing images - and people like that a lot more than capturing them.

TechRadar -- More at the source.

1. Projector phones

Notable examples: Samsung Galaxy Beam and Galaxy Beam 2, Lenovo Smart Cast

This is possibly the best example of something that was made because it could be, not because it should be. How many people really want a sub-par projector bolted on the side of their phone?

OK, Powerpoint Pete would probably be happy not to have to take a laptop to his dull sales presentations, but the rest of us?

Projector phones came about because pico (ie, tiny) projectors were suddenly possible, so of course someone had to put one in a phone, in case that was the magic bullet that killed the iPhone.

Spoiler: it wasn’t.

When the inexplicable sequel to the first Galaxy Beam came out, a pico projector expert told us: “It's a bit of fun - when people first see pico projector phones, they say ‘Wow! That's really cool!’."

But the novelty wears off quickly – in fact, as soon as they see that they're not actually any good".

Nonetheless, they do reappear occasionally, usually in China (they’re making projector smartwatches now too).

The most promising reinvention of this tech was the Lenovo Smart Cast in 2015, which projected a touchscreen - in other words, you could actually interact with the projected image to play a virtual piano and other such gimmicks.

But until the projector quality improves and someone actually thinks of a use for these things, it looks like the writing’s on the wall for the poor old projector phone.

A11 Processor production in April

The timing of this production is something I find interesting.


Fox Business

Analysts with BlueFin Research Partnerssay that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (NYSE: TSM) will begin manufacturing Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) A11 processor in late April(via Barron'sOpens a New Window. ). The A11, BlueFin says, will be manufactured in TSMC's 10-nanometer manufacturing technology.