Projector-phones due by Christmas?

Pico projecters were all the rage last month at Taiwan's giant Computex show, with Life Technologies showing its DigiLife DDV-JF1 pico-projector-equipped digicam and other pico projectors on the way from Aiptek, Optoma, and others.

Microvision of Redmond, Washington has been demoing its laser-based ShowWX pico projector for quite some time, with a release both as a Microvision-branded product and as a OEM subsystem planned for later this year - a deadline aided by Corning's recent announcement that it can now provide Microvision with green lasers in mass-manufacturing quantities.

Microvision's ShowWX has the distinct advantage over other pico-projector designs of not needing a focusing lens, as do competing technologies such as Texas Instruments' DLP, 3M's LCOS (liquid crystal on silicon), and Displaytech's FLCOS (ferroelectric LCOS).

Via The Register

Century Tech PCLit Picoprojector uses Displaytech FLCOS Microdisplay

Displaytech, the supplier of Ferroelectric Liquid Crystal on Silicon (FLCOS) microdisplays, announced today that Century Tech (HK) Limited, a leader in professional display industry, launched the PCLit pico projector a new member of the PicoLit projector series. The optical engines used in the PCLit were designed by iView Limited and both the VGA projector (IPL631G) and SVGA (IPL831G) use Displaytech’s FLCOS microdisplays. These PCLit pico projectors were announced at the Hong Kong Electronics Fair 2009 - spring section.

“We are very proud of the commercialization of PicoLit series of products and in particular PCLit luxury. It is a perfect example of a very practical application of pico projectors. We have a strong belief that these new pico projector products will ignite the market.” said Terry Kwok, Century Tech CEO.

The PCLit luxury version is best suited as companion projector for notebook and desktop computers as it uses a single USB cable for both power and video signal. It supports mirror and extended modes. The computer screen can be used for work and at the same time project worksheets, videos, and games. PCLit is a perfect device for both business and personal uses.

“We are extremely excited with the PCLit product. We believe that our FLCOS micorodisplay’s superior image quality and low power consumption coupled with iView’s optical design create the opportunity for products like the PCLit pico projectors which are battery powered and small.” said Richard Barton, CEO of Displaytech.

Displaytech’s FLCOS microdisplays are available in VGA, WVGA, and SVGA resolutions. These microdisplays are the perfect match for battery powered projectors because the display and integrated controller/driver dissipates less than 100 mW. The FLCOS microdisplays are field proven in mobile consumer electronic devices with the shipment of over 20 million FLCOS microdisplays used in digital still cameras and video camcorders.

Via Displaytech

Micron acquires DisplayTech, moves into Micro-Projector Business

Memory chip maker Micron Technology has acquired DisplayTech, a manufacturer of small display screens for camera viewfinders and display chips for Pico-style projectors, for an undisclosed amount, and is using some of its new assets to introduce today a new microdisplay panel small enough for placement in handheld devices like iPods or BlackBerrys.

The new panel was said to be a wide-screen quarter VGA (WQVGA) microdisplay solution designed to enable portable video and image projection for applications including head-mounted display products and embedded cellphone projectors.

It is based on ferroelectric liquid crystal on silicon (FLCOS) technology, which Micron said produces superior image quality and color fidelity to other competitive micro-projector display solutions.

The device is offered as a single chip and is said to require “minimal power” to operate.

“The FLCOS microdisplay technology that Micron has acquired from DisplayTech has demonstrated success in the market, clearly evident by the fact that more than 21 million panels have shipped in portable consumer electronic products,” stated Abid Ahmad, Micron’s silicon and systems group director. “With Micron now delivering this technology, we are well-positioned to provide our customer base with global support and an even stronger R&D platform to further extend FLCOS microdisplay technology.”

The chip consumes only 85 milliwatts, and is said to be suited for applications where portability and battery life is most critical. The product adds to Micron’s DisplayTech FLCOS microdisplay projection panel line, which includes QVGA, VGA, SVGA and WVGA panels.

Micron said the chief attribute of its FLCOS microdisplay approach is fast switching speed, which is said to be up to 100 times faster than traditional LCOS technology. This is important for using field sequential color, which, unlike color filtering, produces full color on each individual pixel, blending color by very rapidly integrating red, green and blue frames in sequence, Micron said.

When compared to Texas Instruments’ micromirror technology, FLCOS allows for “a fully integrated microdisplay solution, combining the display panel, memory, image processing and light driver control into one chip.” This reduces size and power requirements.

DisplayTech, which is based in Longmont, Calif., has shipped 21 million small display devices to such companies as 3M and Kodak.

Via twice.com