Image projectors have been miniaturized over the past decade. Manufacturers are now actively embedding these pico projectors into a wide range of consumer electronics (CE) products, from cellphones to mobile TVs, according to the latest market study by In-Stat.
Forecast shipment growth of devices with embedded pico projector modules will grow to over 20 million devices by 2014, with mobile handsets share of that market moving from its current level of 15 percent to over 90 percent by 2014.
"Although the integration of pico projectors will occur across the entire CE device spectrum, the biggest push will come from the mobile handset segment," says Frank Dickson, VP Mobile Internet Research.
The mobile handset market is measured in billions, creating massive opportunities for component manufactures. For pico projectors, what makes it even more attractive is that the market is hyper-competitive, with manufacturers always aggressively looking to add new features to create differentiation.
While stand-alone or accessory pico projectors dominate the market, there is clear movement from plug-in to embedded. Moreover, the technology integration applications are rapidly evolving.
In-Stat's market study found the following:
- Standalone or accessory projectors market share will decline from roughly 37 percent in 2010 to less than 4 percent over the five year forecast period.
- While the number of personal consumer electronics leveraging pico projection will most certainly increase over the next five years, its overall share will reduce due to the size of the mobile handset market.
- The number of companies developing pico projectors for integration and/or as standalone products continues to expand, with 18 vendors now claiming to have the best technological solution.
