MicroVision Unveils Second-Generation Laser Pico Projector, SHOWWX+
Mobile Device Users Break Free from the Screen with 50 Percent Brighter Display and Simple Connection to Apple Devices
REDMOND, Wash., Nov 22, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- MicroVision, Inc., the leader in innovative ultra-miniature laser display technology, today unveiled SHOWWX+(R), the second-generation of its award-winning laser pico projector. With a 50 percent brighter display within the same slim size, SHOWWX+ enables mobile device users to break free from the small screen and project large, clear 16:9 widescreen content wherever they are, on any surface.
"We're on a mission to eliminate the squinting and huddling that occurs when mobile device users share content," said Alexander Tokman, president and CEO of MicroVision. "SHOWWX+ is designed to simply and quickly connect to today's hottest new portable devices so users can display and share large vibrant images and video with ease."
Taking the Mobile Experience Beyond the Small Screen
SHOWWX+ is the first laser pico projector to offer a big-screen, movie-length experience that easily slips into a shirt pocket. Boasting two hours of battery life, 15 laser lumens, a contrast ratio up to five times higher than competing products, and the shortest throw ratio of any pico projector on the market, the SHOWWX+ is the perfect accessory for expanding viewing experiences beyond a palm or pad-sized screen. Its category-leading 5,000:1 native contrast ratio ensures the SHOWWX+ produces the deepest blacks and most brilliant whites.
Touting a super short throw ratio, the SHOWWX+ displays large, bright images even in close or cramped environments, such as on the back of an airplane seat, a hallway or even an elevator. The shorter "throw" of SHOWWX+ allows users to project images that are twice as big as images from competing products from the same projection distance.
SHOWWX+ is a "Made for iPod, iPhone, and iPad" product that easily connects using the included high-quality video component cable. Users simply play media from their own device and it instantly projects. Combine an iPhone with an application such as Netflix and SHOWWX+ to get a big-screen movie experience virtually anywhere. SHOWWX+ works with many other devices as well, including mobile phones, notebooks, cameras and camcorders--anything with Video-Out or VGA functionality--casting a 12-inch to 100-inch diagonal image depending on lighting conditions, at resolutions up to WVGA (848 X 480).
Laser Displays Enable New Experiences
The SHOWWX+ is powered by MicroVision's PicoP(R) display engine, which uses patented laser-scanning technology to create large, vivid, uniform images that are always in focus, in the highest contrast, within the widest field of view. Unlike other pico projectors, SHOWWX+ does not require complex lenses, color wheels, lamps or LEDs. The architecture of the PicoP display engine not only contributes to the slim size of MicroVision's SHOWWX+--about the same size as an iPhone--it also allows for efficient power consumption enabling a longer battery life. The SHOWWX+ laser images are always in focus, regardless of variations in projection distance or display surface--a critical requirement for emerging ultra-mobile applications like iPhone games that use accelerometers and gyroscopes or augmented reality.
With MicroVision's laser-scanning technology, every pixel is the same intensity, creating vivid, saturated colors and brightness that are uniform from the center of the display to the edges. Lasers also produce all colors simultaneously, in a hundred-millionth of a second, avoiding color break-up or rainbow artifacts that are commonly experienced with other technologies in fast-moving video scenes, or when the projector or the viewer's head moves.
For a video overview of SHOWWX+, please visit the MicroVision SHOWWX+ micro-site.
Availability
SHOWWX+ is available now at an MSRP of $449. A full suite of optional accessories, including tripods, spare batteries, VGA connectors, car chargers and carrying cases are available on the MicroVision online store.
About MicroVision
MicroVision provides the PicoP(R) display technology platform designed to enable next-generation display and imaging products for pico projectors, vehicle displays and wearable displays that interface with mobile devices. The company's projection display engine uses highly efficient laser light sources which can create vivid images with high contrast and brightness. For more information, visit the company's website (www.microvision.com) and corporate blog (www.microvision.com/displayground).
MicroVision, SHOWWX, SHOWWX+ and PicoP are registered trademarks of MicroVision Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this release, including those using words such as "plans", are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the company's forward-looking statements include the following: our ability to raise additional capital when needed; our customers failure to perform under open purchase orders; our financial and technical resources relative to those of our competitors; our ability to keep up with rapid technological change; government regulation of our technologies; our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights and protect our proprietary technologies; the ability to obtain additional contract awards; the timing of commercial product launches and delays in product development; the ability to achieve key technical milestones in key products; dependence on third parties to develop, manufacture, sell and market our products; potential product liability claims; and other risk factors identified from time to time in the company's SEC reports, including the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. Except as expressly required by federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in circumstances or any other reason.
SOURCE: MicroVision, Inc.