Mark Harward, the President & CEO of Syndiant, Inc., explains the future of ultra-portable projectors.
CEDN: What business is Syndiant in?
MH: Syndiant produces light modulating panels for ultra-portable projectors small enough to embed in a handheld device. We enable our customers to design the world’s smallest projectors which can be small enough to fit on a dime.
CEDN: What is a light modulator?
MH: Texas Instrument’s Digital Light Processing™ [DLP™] technology is a very common example of a light modulator with which many people are familiar from the rear projection TV space. Syndiant’s light modulating panel uses Liquid Crystal On Silicon to provide a very high resolution display with our first product providing SVGA and WVGA resolution [854x600 pixels].
CEDN: What are ultra-portable projectors?
MH: They are small enough to be embedded in a handheld device. The first products will be accessory projectors that are tethered to a media source with a cable, for example mini-USB or wirelessly such UWB. They are very small, fit in your shirt pocket and run off battery power. Our customers are also designing embedded projectors that will be integrated into various handheld devices such as cell phones and notebook PCs.
CEDN: Why does the market need ultra-portable projectors?
MH: There is an explosion of streaming video sources and social networks that cross every boundary of age and geography. The handset now hosts more Internet traffic than the PC. The problem is that people cannot share the information or entertainment experience because they are constrained to a two to three-inch display. The ultra-portable projectors our customers are developing enable a shared viewing experience anywhere, anytime.
CEDN: What does the market opportunity look like?
MH: The target market for accessory and embedded projectors includes cell phones, notebook PCs, digital cameras/camcorders and media players. Insight Media [www.insightmedia.info] forecasts the potential for this market to grow from 900,000 units in 2008 to 32 million units in 2011. As we’ve watched new forecasts the past few months, each has increased the predicted volume.
CEDN: In what applications do you first expect to see them?
MH: Accessory projectors will be the first products. They will initially be paired with notebook computers and cell phones. These are also the most likely candidates for the first embedded projectors.
CEDN: Are there special requirements for the light modulating panels used for ultra-portable projectors?
MH: Yes, it is critical to meet the cost, form-factor, power and resolution requirements. We know of no other light modulators that meet all these needs.
CEDN: What is special about Syndiant’s technology?
MH: Syndiant’s all-digital smart panel performs on-chip processing so we have the unique ability to make our pixel small enough to provide a high resolution image in a small, low-cost solution.
CEDN: When are Syndiant’s products going to be available?
MH: Volume production will commence in 2H2008.
For more information, call Syndiant at 469-916-0580, email info@syndiant.com or visit www.syndiant.com.
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