Showing posts with label #smartphones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #smartphones. Show all posts

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Keystone of the Quadfecta

There are four particularly noteworthy tech arrivals of the last few years that are gaining ground fast, and are expected to experience extremely rapid growth in the next few years.

I believe Microvision is a key-stone technology for all of them. Large (but tiny) Displays and 3D scanning.

  • Smart Phones
  • Augmented Reality
  • Internet of things
  • 3D Scanning (3D Printing, Self Driving cars, Interface with AR, etc... )

Smartphones: 1.4 Billion were sold during the 2014 calendar year. The companies that make them are desperate for innovation. Microvision's tech can put a six foot screen in a cell phone. 

Augmented Reality: Really got a boost in public knowledge from Pokemon Go, but many companies have been working hard on this for a long time. Some companies are putting the developer edition of the Hololens to work already, this field should get faster growth than most expect. Microvision has the best (as of 2015 CES) near eye display of all. (Field of view far better than anything else I could find there.) Heads up displays? A kind of augmented reality, and Microvision is there.

Internet of things: Yes, your refrigerator, and all kinds of other things around you will have chips that check data, things you wear, things you use, things you don't even think about. To interact with these things.... displays are needed... what's easier than a tiny device that creates a relatively large display with touch-interactivity?

3D Scanning: 3D Printing has lost some of its buzz, but it's still being used a great deal. It's speeding up manufacturing and testing. It's used for art and prototyping. Being able to 3D scan things for 3D printing is essential. Compact laser scanning, Highly accurate, and relatively low cost. Driverless cars? They will be a huge growth area, and Microvision is there.

This company doesn't need to dominate all of these markets to make its stockholders rich. 

In my humble opinion, serving 10% of smartphones will make crazy wealth for the stockholders. The rest.... just adding to it.

Do your own thinking


Smartphone Innovation Hits a Wall
Augmented Reality Market
Internet of things bigger than anyone Realizes
Self Driving Car Growth: Business Insider
Audacity - Self Driving Car Nano Degree



Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Sharp's after Foxconn acquisition -- smartphones

The news here is in the headline. 

WHY would Foxconn take what is now an ailing division of their company (Sharp) and focus it on something that has been declining in their market place and been a relatively dog-eat-dog market, where profit margins continue to become thinner? This doesn't seem like a smart move. They didn't acquire this company to lose money on it --- maybe Sharp has some kind of something new they can incorporate in their smart phones...

Sharp's Post-Foxconn Acquisition Plan Is To Dive Into Smartphones

ChinaTechNews

Even though rivals Coolpad and Xiaomi are showing declining smartphone numbers, Sharp has deviced to jump into the mobile phone market.
A few months after being acquired by Taiwan-based Foxconn, Japan's Sharp has launched two new phone products Sharp C1 and Sharp A1 in Beijing.
Now that it's in the Foxconn and Hon Hai family, Sharp is targeting young consumers born after 1990 and both of the two smartphones will be sold at CNY1,499.
Sharp C1 features a 13-million-pixel camera and rear camera with autofocus function. It has 64GB storage, 3D curved glass back shell, and 5.5-inch screen. Meanwhile, Sharp C1 has ideep cooperation with Chinese online video website Iqiyi and Sharp users can gain a six-month Iqiyi VIP membership.
Sharp A1 features Helio X20 flagship 10-core processor with strong performance and high speed. This product has a curved metal design, 16-million-pixel rear camera and eight-million-pixel front camera. It also carries LeEco's EUI system and supports all mobile networks. In addition, users will gain a six-month LeEco membership.
Both Sharp C1 and A1 will be sold at CNY1,499. E-commerce website JD.com already opened a booking channel for the two products, which will officially open for sale on September 7, 2016.
As Sharp wades in the swamp of smartphone businesses in China, others are not faring so well. Chinese smartphone maker Coolpad recently published its semi-annual performance for the first half of 2016, stating that the company's operating revenue was HKD5.277 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 39.9% from HKD8.783 billion, and it reported net losses of HKD2.053 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 173%.
During the first quarter of 2016, China's smartphone shipment reached about 104.9 million units, representing a decrease of 5% compared with the 109.8 million units in the same period of last year. During the first quarter of 2016, OPPO exceeded Xiaomi to become the second largest smartphone maker in China, behind Huawei.