Menlo Park, California, USA – February 16, 2011. According to Pacific Media Associates (PMA), the worldwide market information experts on front projectors, the worldwide demand for pico projectors grew from 134,000 units in Q4 of 2009 to over 268,000 units in Q4 of 2010. Pico projectors are the tiny, battery-powered models that comprise the hottest segments of the emerging New Era (sub-500 lumen) category. They include both the standalone “companion” models and the optical modules embedded in mobile or fixed hosts.

“Pico companion products dominated annual shipments in 2009 and 2010,” said Dr. William Coggshall, President of Pacific Media Associates. “And by any measure, these products took quantum leaps in performance and features between Q4 of 2009 and Q4 of 2010. The portion of VGA or higher resolution models went from 52% to 84%. The portion of 25 lumen or higher models went from 4% to over 48%. And most models now offer a selection of ports that enable a broad range of content-containing devices to connect to them.”

In the market for pico projector modules embedded in mobile gadgets, last year was the first full year of shipments for cell phones and still cameras with built-in projectors. “While there were noteworthy innovators such as Nikon, the embedded market was also characterized by low-resolution “copy phones” that were eventually clamped down by Chinese authorities,” said Coggshall. “The second half of 2010 marked a turning point in the development of the embedded market. During that time and through this year’s CES, there was a dizzying array of new product announcements from imager and engine makers, ODMs, and household name brands that is forecast to propel sales in the embedded market.”
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
William Coggshall, +1 650-561-9020, coggshall@pacificmediaassociates.com

About Pacific Media Associates

Pacific Media specializes in worldwide front projector market information, including New Era (sub-500 lumens), Mainstream (500-4999 lumens), and High-End (5000+ lumens) categories. Their Industry Service family of publications provides detailed worldwide quarterly updates (sell-in data and forecasts) on front projector markets, newsletters on new products and other key industry developments, and biennial Web surveys of North American dealers and end users (including organizations and individual consumers). Their Tracking Service family of monthly reports offers timely sell-through data and analysis on unit sales, true volume-weighted street prices, and inventories of front projectors sold by leading North American retailers, resellers, and distributors. Pacific Media Associates was established- by Dr. William Coggshall, who was a co-founder of Dataquest and helped start the syndicated high-tech market information business.

Pacific Media Associates is headquartered at:

1060 Siskiyou Drive, Menlo Park, CA 94025
Tel. 650-561-9020. Fax 650-561-9019.
www.pacificmediaassociates.com