Back to Basics

Sure, we're all wondering what the future is going to bring with this little company. We're getting swept up in a whole lot of market turmoil. Aggressive (and ill-advised) shorting of the stock hasn't helped either.

For those of us who were at the ASM in 2013 and saw the PicoP equipped Samsung phone and the PicoP equipped Kindle Fire tablet -- that was absolutely awesome. I wasn't the only person there wondering out loud where and when I could get one of those devices.

Just in case you're curious, here's what it looked like (the PicoP projected image is on the ceiling -- a powerful plug-in model is projecting on the wall.)



This capability is due to be available world-wide in the coming month. It's not a fantasy. 

It took longer than we expected - but that's common when dealing with completely new technologies. When we first see it, we hope that it will be available immediately, or "next year" -- but prototyping is a different animal than mass production. Creating mass production for a new item is as laden with peril as getting the first prototype from the concept. I think that the MicroVision / Sony team has done an incredible job making that happen.

In a couple of weeks the MP-CL1 will be available in the US.

I'm pretty sure that we'll benefit as well from the massive investments made in mobile streaming video -- which is arriving in the same time-frame with an 80 million dollar promotional budget from Verizon.

Are we nervous? Sure, we're a small company being jostled around by a volatile market.

Am I confident? Yes. Everyone who I've showed this technology to has been wowed by it.... millions of potential investors, all looking for the next big thing -- will start seeing this in action from a big company in the next couple of weeks.

Everyone wants a bigger screen on their cellphone. This is a six foot screen you can put in your pocket.

Remember Fire TV?

The headline reads:

Now, if you've been onboard and following MicroVision for a while, you'll remember something key. If you're relatively new to following MicroVision, this will be new. Watch this video. (Odds are you haven't seen it, because -- look at the view count.)

The video below is projecting on the ceiling with a Kindle Fire tablet with an embedded PicoP projector. From the 2013 Annual Stockholder's Meeting. 




That will give some interesting context to the following snippets from an April 2, 2015 MotleyFool article: From Motley Fool


The headline reads: 

Amazon Fire TV Just took a huge shot at AppleTV and Chromecast.

Road warriors rejoiceFirst, Amazon added public Wi-Fi compatibility to both Fire TV and Fire TV Stick. Translation? Fire TV will now work on those pesky hotel Wi-Fi connections that require a Web browser to sign in.

This might sound like a minor improvement, but it addresses a major complaint among a large group of media streaming connoisseurs who have so far been disappointed by the lack of options to seamlessly complete this task. For example, neither Google Chromecast nor Apple TV currently support public Wi-Fi by default. As a result, users of these devices have had to resort to cumbersome workarounds such as spoofing their MAC address or using a separate travel router to essentially trick such Wi-Fi connections into allowing their devices to connect.

Amazon Fire TV now supports external USB storage, Credit: Amazon.

External storageNext, Amazon Fire TV now supports the use of USB flash drives (up to 128GB) for additional storage of games and apps. This update doesn't extend to the smaller Fire TV Stick -- which is roughly the same size as a USB flash drive in the first place -- but it's still great for Fire TV users given the thousands of games and apps the platform has supported since its launch. Apple TV, for its part, has a USB port for service and support, while Chromecast has a size/hardware dilemma in this case that is similar to Fire TV Stick's.

From Motley Fool

Now, configure one of those for external storage, and public WiFi then throw in PicoP and you have a HUGE winner.

Thoughts on Apple TV

The following is entirely my opinion.

I've read a lot of other opinions about Apple, rumors about Apple & I've paid close attention to what Microvision is doing for some time. This is a summary of thoughts, with some more current links and rumors.

What would I really like to see coming from Apple & Microvision?

Combine the devices below.

Current Apple TV + PicoP + iPod Classic

What would it include?

"A bigscreen TV and DVR that fits in your pocket."

• A television tuner and access to streaming video feeds 
• Has its own "screen" (infinitely size adjustable to fit the surroundings and lighting conditions.)
• Storage of video for viewing on the go. (160 GB of storage in iPod classic would be more than 20 hours of high-definition video for playback) (your DVR too.)

The best reasons I think this is possible?

1. Most rumors about AppleTV talk about both the need for a screen to be part of the package and the reasons that Apple won't go for a conventional screen.
2. "We've cracked TV" - Steve Jobs
3. iPod Classic is going away. (Do we believe they "can't get parts?" as has been stated by Apple management recently?  "Can't get parts") I do believe that demand for the iPod classic itself is weak, but redirected to video with a larger screen the same storage infrastructure could be used.
4. They could do it. The technology is all in place.
5. They would think about it.
6. It makes sense

Why I think it may happen soon:

1. Access to content was regarded as a major stumbling block. Those blockages are going away at a rapid pace: SA - Apple's new Television Opportunity / Cable Free HBO / 
2. The technology timeline for inclusion of PicoP into other OEM's products is right for something very soon. (as highlighted in this link, manufacturing timelines:  Mfg Timeline Macbook

Why I think it would be a success:

1. It would cost less and offer more functionality than a traditional screen TV
2. iTunes. I was very dubious of the iPod when it appeared. The iPod's success wasn't caused by the brilliance of the device as much as it was because of the content management and delivery system available with iTunes. They can leverage this talent with video as well.
3. People would LOVE this.

Microvision's product
I have seen the most recently demonstrated prototype of the Microvision PicoP in action at the most recent Microvision stockholder meeting. They demonstrated a big screen television that you can slip into your shirt pocket. It is not an exaggeration. It connected easily with a WiFi connection and played content from a cell phone. In a room with medium light it made a bright, clear, excellent picture on the wall that was about 40-50 inch diagonal. "Speckle" was not an issue and wasn't observable unless a deliberate effort was made to find it. The picture is ALWAYS in focus, which is perfect for portable applications. 

Below is the most recent "in the wild" video I know of with PicoP in action. (it's the picture on the ceiling.) The newer version was brighter and better. In person you can't see the scan lines at all.

I suspect Microvision and Apple are working together. For reasons that have been stated here before.  Apple - Sony Timeline 

New Amazon Device

Just to refresh, this was at the ASM last year. It is a Kindle Fire with a Microvision PicoP embedded within. (There was NO change to the form factor of the Kindle Fire)

the embedded picop image is on the ceiling.

Check out the page on the right.

I have seen this EXACT article in several different locations, I have no idea who to give credit to, so I just scraped it.

Gadgets, Home Cinema, Amazon, Amazon Kindle, Kindle

Amazon working on device that will be ‘bigger than Kindle’, Apple TV rival perhaps?

• By Rik Henderson Follow on Twitter

• 15 January 2014

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Amazon is working on a new device that it claims could be "bigger than Kindle". The company hosted a happy hour recruitment tour in Boston at the end of December and in the invitation it revealed that a new product was in the development stage.
What that product will do or what category it will fit into hasn't been revealed, but it will be a device of some kind that will "deliver digital media". Speculation mounts, therefore, that anAmazon rival to Apple TV could be in the offing.
"We are working on a new revolutionary V1 product that will allow us to deliver digital media to our customers in new ways and disrupt the current marketplace," said the invite. "We have teams in various locations partnering on this project. We believe this new product will be even bigger than Kindle!"

There has been plenty of talk about an Amazon rival to Apple TV in the past, with access toAmazon Prime Instant video (Lovefilm?) and other third-party apps.
Some sources even suggested that the company originally wanted it to be ready in time for Christmas 2013. And most recent reports claim that it was delayed and will therefore be launched in 2014 instead.

READ: Amazon set-top-box reportedly delayed until 2014

Could this be the device that Amazon believes will be bigger than Kindle? Or could it be the fabled Amazon smartphone? We favour the former.

Stuff from the Microvision Investors Meeting 

I saw prototypes of embedded or accessory Microvision projectors yesterday.

 In a Kindle Fire® tablet . --- You want one... I mean REALLY you WANT one. This tablet had a picture as good as my TV at home, showing a screen nearly as big as my TV at home in a dimly lit room... (It wasn't a brightly lit room, but it was not dark.

attached comfortably to a Samsung phone --- with as good a picture as the other! 

In each of the tablets they were able to embed the projector without any change to the form factor (they cut a little hole in the side, installed the projector and sealed it up... there's no bump or anything.

Video of Kindle Fire prototype

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO6FI4N7ROE

A summary of the stockholder meeting. (Talked to this guy & gave him a lift home)

http://investorvillage.com/smbd.asp?mb=1549&mn=17092&pt=msg&mid=12853688

Q&A -- from another attendee.
http://investorvillage.com/smbd.asp?mb=1549&mn=17086&pt=msg&mid=12852612

The key players are happier than I've ever seen them... and they acknowledged that they are.

Just before the main presentation, the CEO grabbed my arm (I've met him enough times that he recognizes me) and said something to the effect of "I feel like the anchor lines have been cut and I have my jet pack on."

There was an interesting pop in the stock this morning that I suspect strongly was an bout of insider buying.... (It's only suspicion at this time, but the timing, and the way the trade was conducted looks like an insider buy footprint... I'll watch for an SEC document release.)