iPhone video - I am a convert!

[Fairweather Pure]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgW7or1TuFk

Holy shit. That's pretty fucking awesome, and I hate Mac.

[Aslanna]

It's nice. But for me not $500 nice. Although I like the touchscreen I think I'd use a stylus or something. Seeing something covered in fingerprints just bugs me.

[Winnow]

germs!

The software looks nice. I can't stand even the smallest smudges on my LCD screens so I'm not sure how I'd handle touching the screen all the time.

I'll consider it if they make a 16-32GB Flash Video iPod with that screen that's not a phone. Maybe next year.

I'm kind of used to the smallness of the Nano now. Microvision will have their mini projector in a phone by next year which is what I'm looking forward to and investing in.



They've already got the mini projector the size of a mint and projecting in a 16:9 aspect at better than DVD quality which will eventually improve to HD over a generation or two. It's interactive so you'd be able to use something like the old thinkpad eraserhead mouse devices to surf your projected image.

Their mini laser projector is energy efficient so you'd have the capability of projecting up to a 40" HD screen for several hours using batteries that would fit into a cell phone.

The image is created by lasers which means it has the most vibrant colors of all projector technologies and also, think of a laser pointer...the brightness (lumens) is also going to be good although won't be immune to washout of course. What's also cool about their technology is that it has infinite focus meaning at whatever distance you project, it remains always in focus, even on curved surfaces so you can do things like this:










If you needed to, you could project it on your hand for a quick screen to pick your next song, etc:





Keep in mind, there is nothing expensive about this technology that Microvision has so you'd be looking at less than 100.00 and more like 20-30.00 added to the cost of a device to have it.

This is the same company that developed the virtual retinal displays that projects an image directly onto the back of your retina so you don't even need a screen. Basically you would project a beam of light and you can project a full size high resolution screen in your field of vision that remains stationary even if your eyes move around. The opacity is fully adjustable so you could have a full sized HUD (heads up display) see-through screen beamed into your field of view from the edge of a pair of sunglasses for example.

Awesome stuff. Consumers are in for some amazing visual treats in the next year or so.

Since that's not available until next year, the iPod touchscreen looks good for now!

Here's an example of hooking up a a mini projector to a Wii but imagine the next generation of portable gaming devices using either a retinal scan display or having a built in Picop projector in them. You'll have full HD gaming on the next gen portable DS/PSP type platforms.



OK, I'm done. Back to the iPhone!

[Winnow]

Just an update on Microvision:

How's this chart looking?

http://clearstation.etrade.com/cgi-bin/ ... k&period=d

woo hoo! $$$

bought as many shares as I could over the first ~three months of this year when it was in the $3.xx range after management got their act together and they took care of some bad lender deals. (couldn't be sure of that when it was in the 1's and 2's! My plan was to buy buy buy as much as I could until it broke $4 (which also happened to be the handle of a huge cup and handle chart formation)

I love this company. I've been a huge fan since 1998 but they've finally got their shit together. This company will be huge soon. Finally going to start getting some cell phone contracts and PicoP projector deals.

I'm not recommending this stock (huge risk. please don't buy it) and this could fall flat on it's face (it has in the past when the tech wasn't ready) but I love the technology. Their product is something I'd really like to own. It will have its ups and downs but my VVs are invested heavily at this point and a year or two is all it will take for Microvision to be a household name IMO.

The recent development that pushed it up:

Press Release Source: Microvision, Inc.

Microvision Showcases New Pico Projector Display Engines for Mobile Devices at Society of Information Display Annual Conference
Tuesday May 22, 9:05 am ET

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Microvision, Inc. (NASDAQ:MVIS - News), a global leader in innovative ultra-miniature projection display and image capture products for mobility applications, announced today that it plans to unveil new advancements in its proprietary ultra-miniature display system, called PicoP, at the Society of Information Display (SID) annual conference in Long Beach, California, May 22 - 25, 2007. Microvision expects to showcase multiple projector model prototypes representing the recent PicoP advancements it has made in collaboration with several of the Company's high volume manufacturing and key component supply chain partners.

For the first time Microvision plans to demonstrate a PicoP projection system based on its newly developed wide-angle MEMS scanner. The wide-angle MEMS based PicoP projector has nearly twice the projection angle compared to earlier versions, creating a full-color image with a viewable area that is approximately four times as large and that diagonally is almost twice as long as images created by its predecessors, while still maintaining its small and sleek form factor. The new PicoP prototype delivers WVGA resolution (854 x 480 pixels) in a 16:9 aspect ratio, thereby providing a DVD-quality viewing experience from a package that is expected to be only 7 mm thick.

"We learned a great deal about the potential usage models for PicoP based projectors after polling our customers through direct user focused studies," stated Alexander Tokman, President and CEO of Microvision. "This customer feedback led us to the development of the new device that is expected to provide an enhanced user experience without compromising the original tiny form factor and low power requirements."

"The wide-angle PicoP display reflects a significant advancement since the Consumer Electronics show in January," continued Tokman. "It demonstrates a continuous advancement of the PicoP technology and a design that is flexible enough to incorporate laser light sources from multiple global supply chain partners."

About PicoP:

PicoP is an ultra-miniature projector capable of producing large, high contrast, color rich, high resolution images. It is expected to be small and low-power enough to be embedded directly into mobile devices, such as cell phones. Its "infinite focus" operation naturally lends itself to mobile applications. PicoP is being developed to address a large market opportunity that derives from consumers' desire for a better viewing experience than currently is available from traditional small displays on mobile devices. Other potential display applications include tiny projectors embedded into or used as accessory displays for mobile devices such as personal media players, gaming devices, laptops, DVD players and digital cameras. The company is also seeking to leverage the PicoP into vehicle displays, including automotive and aerospace head-up displays, as well as wearable full-color displays designed as fashionable eyewear.

Time to sit back and enjoy the ride to retirement sooner rather than later (I hope)

VV needs a financial forum!

Have fun! follow along! watch winnow lose his ass (well not really, can only go back to even from here, would sell before it dropped below 4), or see me be able to finally afford a PS3!

[Winnow]

it's days like this that make me very very happy.



course reverse days aren't so hot!

[noel]

You should start a new thread for that vaporware (:P) product since this thread is about a product that's mere weeks away from release.

[Winnow]

You should start a new thread for that vaporware (:P) product since this thread is about a product that's mere weeks away from release.

We shall see!

Apple may end up using Picop in the video iPods down the road but I hope another company beats them to it. Motorola is the rumored first cell phone partner. I would like to see Microsoft, who shares the same home city with Microvision, come out with a PicoP powered Zune!

This technology is two-way so you can have touch screens that you don't actually touch...better than fingerprints I say!

also Apple = 100+ billion cap
mvis = 230 million market cap

more room to grow!

I also have a chunk of LMRA (Lumera) that's sitting with a 100 million cap. You might be interested in the technology:

Lumera's polymer materials are uniquely engineered at the molecular level to enable active components, such as electro-optic modulators used in fiber-optic transmission, that feature a combination of the fastest switching speeds with the lowest drive voltages and optical losses in the industry. The combination of high-bandwidth, low-voltage and integration is a key to enabling the faster data rates, longer transmission distances, large bandwidths and lower costs. Lumera has obtained an exclusive worldwide license from the University of Washington (UW) to key intellectual property based on the highly publicized developments by UW professor Dr. Larry Dalton. Dalton is widely acknowledged as being world leaders in the development of electro-optic materials.

Can't hurt to be invested in a distruptive technology in "the world of the electron and the switch, the beauty of the baud."

[Winnow]

http://www.tradingday.com/tbs.html?http ... &code=BTDY

rawr!

[Trias]

well...my Sony Ericsson K790 just shit the bed last night. It has a WSOD or "White Screen Of Death" which turns out to be a common problem; sucks to be me.

so...i guess i'll buy an iPhone unless I can come up with a better idea before the 29th!

[Winnow]

well...my Sony Ericsson K790 just shit the bed last night. It has a WSOD or "White Screen Of Death" which turns out to be a common problem; sucks to be me.

so...i guess i'll buy an iPhone unless I can come up with a better idea before the 29th!

Think there will be enough of them? I read somewhere that they'd have one million iPhones available with 200 in each store. Those figures sound a little better than the console launches of late so you might be able to pick one up the first day if you get there early.

[Winnow]

The iPhone ads do look pretty nice:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/

I would like to see something like this without the phone/net part. Maybe a 16gb or 32gb Video version with a battery life of 4+hours in video mode, that plays games too. (Xbox mobile games), with wireless xfer of songs and videos.

Maybe Microsoft will come out with something like that. They have their "tabletop" technology now. The first thing that comes to mind if Microsoft uses that tech on a Zune type device is using your thumbprint to lock the device since Microsoft's tech is able to do that sort of thing.

[Boogahz]

The first thing that comes to mind if Microsoft uses that tech on a Zune type device is using your thumbprint to lock the device since Microsoft's tech is able to do that sort of thing.

ever see the episode of Mythbusters where they busted the effectiveness of fingerprint locks?

[Animalor]

I won a Blackberry 8800 last week at one of the side events of my company's Annual Conference (Party was thrown by an independant group attending the Conference). Today I got a 2GB MicroSD chip and I'll be using this thing as an all-in-one device. Looking forward to see how it does on movie playback.

[Winnow]

The first thing that comes to mind if Microsoft uses that tech on a Zune type device is using your thumbprint to lock the device since Microsoft's tech is able to do that sort of thing.

ever see the episode of Mythbusters where they busted the effectiveness of fingerprint locks?

Link it!

This isn't top secret clearance type stuff. It would be just to lock a portable video player. You could still use a typed in password if desired. I know tons of people that would want to type in a complex password each time to access their video player, don't you?

[Clatis]

I'm going to get one the 29th. The only thing I'm worried about is if it will be bug-free or not.

[Boogahz]

The first thing that comes to mind if Microsoft uses that tech on a Zune type device is using your thumbprint to lock the device since Microsoft's tech is able to do that sort of thing.

ever see the episode of Mythbusters where they busted the effectiveness of fingerprint locks?

Link it!

This isn't top secret clearance type stuff. It would be just to lock a portable video player. You could still use a typed in password if desired. I know tons of people that would want to type in a complex password each time to access their video player, don't you?

Couple links to info on the episode, I don't know if either has the full thing or not. There's enough info on what they did on these links though:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/250607/my ... ty_system/

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/22/digi ... ied-print/

[Fash]

lol... so they aren't 100% secure, i just find it hard to believe someones going to go through all that effort to get your fingerprint and make a latex copy.... unless you work for the government or have some desirable confidential information on your device, it's pretty secure.

[Boogahz]

lol... so they aren't 100% secure, i just find it hard to believe someones going to go through all that effort to get your fingerprint and make a latex copy.... unless you work for the government or have some desirable confidential information on your device, it's pretty secure.

Did you watch it? They beat it once with a photocopy! I thought it was a cool episode, because I was thinking they would fail the entire time.

[Trias]

well...my Sony Ericsson K790 just shit the bed last night. It has a WSOD or "White Screen Of Death" which turns out to be a common problem; sucks to be me.

so...i guess i'll buy an iPhone unless I can come up with a better idea before the 29th!

Think there will be enough of them? I read somewhere that they'd have one million iPhones available with 200 in each store. Those figures sound a little better than the console launches of late so you might be able to pick one up the first day if you get there early.

friend of mine works at an Apple Store so i should be ok if they get at least get some in!

[Winnow]

This looks like good news for battery worries:

iPhone battery life longer than expected

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070618/tc_ ... u50CIE1vAI

2 hours, 6 minutes ago

Apple Inc. (Nasdaq:AAPL - news) on Monday said the battery of its widely anticipated music-playing iPhone will last longer than expected, sending its shares higher.

Apple said the iPhone would provide up to eight hours of mobile phone talk time, or six hours of Internet use, compared with its previous expectation for five hours of talk time issued in January.

Apple said the top surface of the touch-screen phone, due to ship on June 29 and priced at about $500 to $600, has also been upgraded to optical-quality glass from plastic, making it more resistant to scratches.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T - news), the biggest U.S. wireless provider, has an exclusive agreement to sell the phone in the United States for at least two years. It has said that more than a million people had sent the company e-mails inquiring about the phone.

Apple shares rose $3.02, or 2.5 percent, to $123.50 on Nasdaq after the news. AT&T shares rose 26 cents to $40.54 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Manufacturers are battling to increase the battery life of cell phones, as constant communication with radio broadcast towers tends to drain power more quickly than unconnected consumer electronics devices.

Smart phones like the iPhone also need lots of power as they aim to handle Web browsing, personal data storage and music and video playback -- as well as talk.

Apple said its battery claims are dependent upon specific configurations and "many other factors." It did not elaborate.

In comparison to Apple's eight hours of talk time, one rival music player phone from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd (005930.KS), the Upstage, has a battery life of up to 6.3 hours, according to Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE:S - news), which sells the phone.

The BlackJack, another Samsung phone has talk time of up to 5 1/2 hours, according to AT&T, which sells the phone.

Apple said its device can support seven hours of video playback or 24 hours of audio playback and more than 10 days of standby time.

While the Curve from Research In Motion (Toronto:RIM.TO - news) has a talk-time of up to four hours, it has standby power of up to 17 days, according to AT&T's Web site.

[Syenye]

i'm so effing sick of hearing about the iPhone battery. if i turned 3G off on my phone, i'd get a shitton of battery life too. but i'd rather have 3G.

[Fash]

It's sad that this device makes me want to spend ooooodles of cash getting out of my verizon contract and into another one with a shittier company (afaic) just to have a newer phone that doesn't really do anything more for me.

I guess I'm lucky I don't have that kind of money to throw around.

[cid]

FTW!!

[Zamtuk]

It's sad that this device makes me want to spend ooooodles of cash getting out of my verizon contract and into another one with a shittier company (afaic) just to have a newer phone that doesn't really do anything more for me.

That is the boat that I'm on. Even though my contract is up this August, so it's not as bad as you, I'm guessing. However, I've heard (pure rumor) that AT&T will buy out your contract if you switch to the iPhone. But, after reading a few third party reviews, nothing like that is brought up.

VV needs a financial forum!

I am actually in complete agreement here. I have long wanted a financial forum here for the few that invest. Since I am about to graduate with a Finance degree, this forum would be a great aid to me, as well as a place to throw ideas and hints out. That and perhaps a forum like that may bring a few more people to the board as well!