back to article Microvision protoypes iPhone-sized projector

Microvision, the Redmond-based creator of mobile display systems, chose Macworld Expo to unveil a prototype of its latest - and smallest - laser-based projector. How small is small? In this case, quite small, indeed. This 25 per cent slimmer version of Microvision’s earlier Show prototype, now code named Show WX (for, argh, " …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Brilliant

    Wow, what an article.

    Heres an idea though. When you get to the end, put yourself in your readers shoes and read it again. Anything missing? What else might they like?

    I reckon a picture of it in action would have gone down well.

  2. Neil Stansbury
    Thumb Up

    Exciting

    This is seriously seriously exciting.

    Tthe next stepfor them will be to embed these MEMS chips into glasses - goodbye TVs, monitors & displays and hello 10ft wide stereo viewing glasses. Woo hoo can't wait.

    http://www.cs.nps.navy.mil/people/faculty/capps/4473/projects/fiambolis/vrd/vrd_full.html

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Lasers

    I don't want to be a killjoy, but having laser light flying about in such an uncontrolled way doesn't sound very safe. Ok - it's not going to burn you, but it could certainly knacker up your eyesight; especially as you're likely to be looking at the thing whilst doing a presentation or whatever.

  4. stu
    Thumb Up

    lasers

    nice idea with the lasers, but I can't help thinking that the small LCD based (LED projecting) ones that are already out will kill it dead... they put out 2-3x the lumens, and won't suffer from any strobing effects which this tech will surely lend itself to...

  5. Mister Cheese
    Dead Vulture

    iPhone-sized?

    How big is an iPhone using standard Reg measures?

  6. Mike Weisman

    Pocket Pron

    When this becomes a low common denominator, there will be nuisance incidents regarding pron and other objectionable material. On the ceiling of the bus, the classroom, outside the church, etc.

    You can count on human behavior every time...

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Hey brian

    Have you finished with the code review? Can I move onto the refactor now?

  8. Mad Hacker
    Pirate

    About time

    This tech moves so slowly. Anyway, it'll be cool to share video of my family without needing to find a TV and cables. It could just shoot out the back of the camcorder or my phone. Just seems like we should've had this several years ago. I mean, lasers have been around for a half a century now.

  9. joe K
    Paris Hilton

    Video in action

    @AC 09:06 : Not sure if they put it online but BBC news have been showing a feature from CES all day and it includes a clip of the projector playing a video of an iPod ( or iPhone ). Didn't look too bad, not that much contrast but enough of it to be impressed.

    @AC 10:25 : If you stare directly into one ofcourse it will harm your eyes, but the same thing applies to any bright light source - be it an incandescent light bulb, a standard projector , the sun or a laser pointer.

    @Stu : In general, properly engineered solutions using lasers will always vastly out perform LEDs.

    Tech is more exciting than Paris, isn't it!

  10. Rick Brasche

    so where's my laser TV?

    if they can make a projector, they can make a lightweight HDTV that uses the laser technology in a larger panel. If it costs $400 to make it that small, they should be able to deliver a widescreen LCD or plasma killer for not much more cost.

    I'd heard there were problems getting the blue laser to have longevity. Have they resolved this or is the pocket projector intended for relatively short runtimes and short service life?

    If so, can the laser elements be replaced? And if they don't need replacing, can we see the end of the constant bulb-burnouts and replacement for all the PC projectors Management loves around here?

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