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Monday, March 31, 2014

Virtuix Omni Virtual Reality Interview: Must have been a messy divorce after the Oculus-Virtuix "Shark Tank" debacle


Virtuix CEO demos treadmill sans Oculus and only mentions Sony as VR provider. Actually it looks like more fun than when the user has the Oculus crankcase glued to their noggin.

Tech firms are betting big on augmented and virtual reality

http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/hfMuhRRLb8H32RjtTvxMmK/Tech-firms-are-betting-big-on-augmented-and-virtual-reality.html

If you spent 60 Euro on a Dive Mask HMD I think you overpayed:Facebook, you fools! Forget Oculus, you could have bought TRON-type headsets

Durovis Dive gives you the same experience for €60 ($82.49)

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/03/31/review_durovis_dive_htc_oculus_facebook/

 

Did Carmack's tech talk convince Zuckerberg to seal the deal with Oculus?

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/oculus-cto-john-carmack-wasn-t-expecting-facebook-says-it-gets-big-picture--1238293

Microsoft's augmented reality glasses look a good fit for Xbox One

http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/microsoft-s-augmented-reality-glasses-look-a-good-fit-for-xbox-one-1238370?src=rss&attr=all

Sunday, March 30, 2014

Why Apple Hasn’t Missed The Boat On Virtual-Reality

http://www.cultofmac.com/271869/apple-hasnt-missed-boat-virtual-reality/

Oops, another day another dive mask HMD,worth at least $1.5 Billion and just think they built it last night in Canada of all places, Yuval hurry up with those Floral Prints

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/true-player-gear-reveals-alternative-to-oculus-rift/1100-6418642/

EG5 Ralph Osterhout


A good time to revisit Ralph and his thoughts on Augmented Reality Glasses in light of Microsoft's purchase of his IP related for same. Around 4 minute mark hear him in two sentences destroy Oculus and Facebooks VR ambitions. They can hire Carmack, Abrash, Blezinski, any other big brain they can find and never get past that reality.
He describes an RGB configuration for his glasses, we can take a second and think of a direct patterned display much brighter, smaller form factor and much more efficient and imagine what he might say today.

Yelpulus Rift: If this is "Funny or Die" I think "Die" but at least they died trying

OLED Microdisplay > LCOS Microdisplay: Thanks Lurker from OLED-Info

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~mobile/publications/likamwa2014glass.pdf

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Facebook’s acquisition spree: A high-valuation deal trend in tech

To survive in the rapidly changing technology sector, companies need to innovate continuously. Companies look to acquire other companies and buy others’ innovations since innovating itself comes at a high cost and requires lot of time. Time comes at a premium in the tech sector, where technology obsolescence is very common.

http://marketrealist.com/2014/03/facebooks-acquisition-spree-high-valuation-deal-trend-tech/

Facebook for Oculus Rift: Vomit Detected

First thing Monday morning Sensics CEO Yuval Boger will announce they are now accepting Bitcoin or returnable bottles and cans: As of today, this man will let you legally buy a gun with bitcoin

http://upstart.bizjournals.com/entrepreneurs/hot-shots/2014/03/27/tracking-point-guns-accept-bitcoin.html?page=all

eMagin to Exhibit at Eurosatory in June: Thanks to Vlad the Invader it should be a high energy confab

http://www.eurosatory.com/home.aspx

Zuckerberg, you putz

"[Oculus] has figured out how to make the optics clear, but they haven't figured out this issue around your eye. I don't know how to solve that and I don't know of anyone else who knows how to solve that," Zachary said.

http://www.cnet.com/news/facebooks-oculus-vision-fact-or-fiction/

And if he waits long enough he'll see the insides of your stomach too: The creator of 'Second Life' wants to look inside your brain with the Oculus Rift

http://www.theverge.com/2014/3/22/5536914/second-life-creator-wants-to-look-inside-your-brain-with-oculus-rift

It has to happen eventually

Friday, March 28, 2014

Conceivably this could be a digital display from Kopin subsidiary 4th Dimension

but Kopin, as is their wont,  beats the drum loudly for any contract that might indicate they are still a viable option in the space. So I'll hazard, the "Glass Eyepiece", pretty techie their buddy, will be something from the Display company that maintains they will be THE provider of HMD displays to the USAF and others. That would be eNigma, I mean eMagin.

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/new-helmet-technology-could-be-used-on-most-usaf-aircraft-397541/

And Osterhout on the Facebookulus Deal : Bingo, give Ralph a Cookie

“I was amazed,” he said, elaborating with an explanation that sounded a lot like Zuckerberg’s criticism of Microsoft and Sony. “What surprised me most is the amount of money, given that it’s not a standalone, complete computing solution…it’s part of a solution that is designed to be plugged into something else.”

Thanks Ralph for the Common Sense:Microsoft Paid Up To $150M To Buy Wearable Computing IP From The Osterhout Design Group ODG's IP vs Rift's one filed Patent Zuckerberg talks a big game




“In terms of what we’re doing [at ODG], we don’t make weapons. We make things that can help people do their jobs,” he says. “The real focus are features that are applicable in the consumer space, too.” In other words, ODG may already be talking to other companies for consumer products; or its door is open to that possibility.

http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/27/microsoft-paid-up-to-150m-to-buy-wearable-computing-ip-from-the-osterhout-design-group/

"$2 Billion was a small price to pay for this, wow, so real, I feel like I'm actually IN Facebook"


I wonder if this is what Carollo is working on: 'Live synthetic' Army's next generation of simulation


http://htl.li/uWIkd

Yes, simulator sickness goes deeper than latency and persistance : Oculus's War on Women! Stop the Face Eating Monster!



http://qz.com/192874/is-the-oculus-rift-designed-to-be-sexist/

The Liability Risk Of The Oculus Rift

http://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykosner/2014/03/26/the-liability-risk-of-the-oculus-rift/

William Basford and others are Flummoxed, William Basford and others need to buy a Scorecard

http://scibilitymedia.com/emagin-corporation-nysemkteman-gains-triggers-remain-undiscovered-1846

Then let's hope the company that buys eMagin

is not one that's attached to either of these  Dystopian visions, Minority Report or Snow Crash. Both sound nightmarish. I have my biases, VR is escape and AR is engagement but either can be dehumanizing, I share this view below of Carmack and Luckey's Metaverse. Luckey himself has said he was obsessed in his quest for immersion in Virtual Reality to escape his life circumstance, not healthy.
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3027921/facebook-google-and-sony-are-getting-ready-to-fight-a-cyberpunk-war?partner=rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+fastcodesign%2Ffeed+%28Co.Design%29

Thursday, March 27, 2014

$23.9B in Deals Announced on Last Day of Dimdex : Javelin Missile Content: Nothing to do with India

500 Javelin Missiles which means roughly 50 CLUs (eMagin Inside The Command Launch Unit) to Qatar, hey wait a minute I thought Kopin was King of Qatar. Anyway 50 displays, every little bit helps.

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20140327/DEFREG04/303270033/-23-9B-Deals-Announced-Last-Day-Dimdex

Man, these folks are bitter and who can blame them, the idiot-savant took them for a ride: from Oculus Discussion Forum on Reddit


"You're a piece of shit, Palmer.
Nobody wants to hear your fucking excuses, it's all spelled out plain as day to us.
Nothing else matters but this statement, the focus of everybody's rage:
You took crowdsourced money and flipped it for profit.
I don't want to hear about what you're doing with the money, I don't want to hear about the future of your company or your concept and I especially don't want to hear any fucking excuses for your behavior.
You are a deceitful, immoral opportunist and I won't stop attempting to discredit you so long as you have an iota of relevance.
You've crushed the dreams of tens of thousands of people with a single stroke. You elevated us to points we'd never thought we'd see. And then you cruelly slashed the supports on our bridge to the future and cackled as you held our possessions and turned away.
This... whatever the fuck this post is supposed to be is the biggest fucking slap in the face of all. How long have you been cobbling together this pile of bullshit doubletalk? Weeks? Months?
You address absolutely fucking nothing important in this statement and only serve to press us on further in our tearing down of your image.
If there's any way to reverse this deal, do it.
Do it now.
Before history remembers you as the man who chose money over people."

Hey, I got an idea, let's make the patient sicker! Brilliant!

Zuckerberg is a frigging nutjob: Real Scientists, serious people not the overcaffeinated hypergeeks at OR are already doing this i.e. TATRC Tele-medicine

this guy badly needed a tutorial or consult before this acquisition

http://mobihealthnews.com/31449/facebook-ceo-sees-telemedicine-opportunity-with-2b-oculus-acquisition/

RIP Oculus 2012-2014

Big boost for the Virtuix: LOL! :"Oculus Boosts Funding Appeal of Virtual-Reality Startups": Tech : Google it if interested, Bloomberg = Commie Bastards



“There are not that many companies” in the virtual-reality space, Entner said. “Right now, there’s more money chasing good opportunities since the last time we had a bubble.”

Well, then they did buy the wrong company, cell phone display are only large format, the ignorance on this subject is staggering LOL X 2B

"Just how that might work not only remains to be seen, but also is subject to Oculus Rift goggles becoming less bulky and more sophisticated."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/03/26/oculus-facebook-vs-google/6915611/

Fundings & Exits Nest Google Facebook oculus vr Facebook’s Oculus Buy Signals A Hardware Land Grab, And Company Fit Isn’t A Concern

http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/25/facebooks-oculus-buy-signals-a-hardware-landgrab-and-company-fit-isnt-a-concern/

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Himax's Share Price Ride: Is BofA Merrill Lynch To Blame? Seeking Alpha dances rather clumsily around the issues and throws in some Oculus stuff for some reason

This is interesting Mr. Shaughnessy asks "Why the Downgrade?" and then neglects to answer the question. Because, he says:

"The report quoted weaker projected LCoS and margin projections while raising 2015's estimated sales growth from 30% to 32.5%."

But why weaker LCOS demand?

Because the BOA note cited short battery life and poor performance in bright light situations. (see story below)

http://seekingalpha.com/article/2111433-himaxs-share-price-ride-is-bofa-merrill-lynch-to-blame

Facebook and Google in Tech Cold War : And after FBs OR acquisition anything could happen

If Oculus is supposed to be return-fire to Google Glass then Google has easily won the first engagement. Augmented Reality is the future, virtual reality will be the past- time of people with too much time on their hands. The Beta testing of GG has been a muted success. It's penetrating markets where it is a real tool i.e. medicine, airlines, translation, travel guide, hundreds of Apps.
Oculus on the other hand, what?, roller coasters, gender swap, Jerry Seinfeld's apartment, it's a joke, add to that no consumer version as yet, self confessed big engineering challenges which I maintain are not fixable due to the HMD's total isolation of the brain and the inevitability of simulator sickness to one degree or the other. The ergonomics, it looks like a cracker box tethered to your head, lack of awareness of one's surroundings, the lack of Patent protection, not being submitted for Medical or Legal Review as of yet. Are you kidding me, 2 Billion Dollars?
Google will overcome the recognized  deficiencies in Glass, brightness and power consumption when they swap out the LCOS display for eMagin's AMOLED High Brightness, High Performance displays. Sculley mentioned "Google Glass" numerous times at eMagin's Needham Presentation. It's inevitable.

http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/26/technology/innovation/facebook-google/

Yeah buddy, you caught the Golden Ring, you win a Kewpie, you found the needle in the haystack, pot o' gold, end of rainbow etc

That Italian Future Soldier News really perked things up I must say


Thank You Vlad: Selex ES signs new contracts for Italian Army's ''Soldato Futuro'' programme

eMagin inside the TM-NVG (Tactical Mobility Night Vision Goggles).

http://www.asdnews.com/news-54184/Selex_ES_signs_new_contracts_for_Italian_Army_s___Soldato_Futuro___programme.htm?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Defence,+defcon,+defence+technology,+combat+sim,+wargames

A little knowledge is dangerous: Microsoft Should Have Acquired Oculus Rift, Not Facebook

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2014/03/25/microsoft-should-have-acquired-oculus-rift-not-facebook/

"Great, now you tell us", it's not exposure to near eye displays but Total Immersion that's the problem

and now that the Kickstarter Oculus Mob feels betrayed the world is going to hear about every incident of simulator sickness out there. They covered them up when they had a vested interest, no reason to now.

"Other analysts note the technical challenges facing virtual reality. Many users of Oculus’s prototype experience feelings of nausea and questions are already being raised about the longer-term health effects of prolonged exposure to screens resting just inches from the eyes."

Yes best uses ARE for Bullshit nonsense

Luckey Palmer mingles with his fans on Reddit



http://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/21cy9n/the_future_of_vr/

Oculus Joins Facebook and peace does not reign in Geekster World. The comments are gold.

Get the last line of the Facebook Post by Oculus. LOL X 2 Billion!
"This partnership is one of the most important moments for virtual reality: it gives us the best shot at truly changing the world. It opens doors to new opportunities and partnerships, reduces risk on the manufacturing and work capital side, allows us to publish more made-for-VR content, and lets us focus on what we do best: solving hard engineering challenges and delivering the future of VR."

 http://www.oculusvr.com/blog/oculus-joins-facebook/

This is too rich, LOL X 2 Billion

http://ampp3d.mirror.co.uk/2014/03/25/facebook-buys-oculus-rift-virtual-reality-company-for-2bn-nerds-revolt/

Worry about Oculus! I'm worried about Facebook.

They spent $2 Billion on a discredited 20 year old design that makes 20% of users SICK and that the two crazy Russians and the two guys from the Gaza Strip and the French guy and the Austrian guy and Yuval and 30 other people threw together in a day. It's like Zuckerberg bought the Mariners for $2 Billion so he could sign Boyhood Hero but broken down Lefty Eric Bedard for $50 Million a year. Don't get me wrong, I love it. It really means this sector is en fuego. It's great but Zuckenberg if NUTS! and these geeks are worried about Oculus. Is it April Fools Day by any chance?

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

The Facebook-Oculus PR said that "Mobile is the future" and the Oculus is the platform of the future




hey Zuckerberg, the Oculus is not mobile and just and I mean just Virtual Reality, Mobile Augmented Reality is the future. If the dive mask is worth 2 billion eMagin is worth 10.

I paid 2 Billunth Dollars for wha? a octopus what? Oh, shit. I'm outta here


I think eMagin CEO Sculley put on a clever disguise to get in on this meeting with Himax to get the word out


"power consumption needs to decline to project better images for 16 hours, resolution (when used in bright sunlight) needs to improve"

Himax has problems with power demands and brightness, who knew? "Green Glows the LCOS"

http://blogs.barrons.com/emergingmarketsdaily/2014/03/25/himax-where-is-google-glass-bank-of-america-downgrades/

What would Voltaire think? with the help of Le Invention Fantastique the French can bloodlessly relive their Jours Du Splendeur without losing their heads, let them eat virtual cake

Google signs up Oakley and Rayban to try and make Glass more fashionable

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2588449/Getting-cyber-sun-Google-signs-Oakley-Rayban-Glass-wearables.html

How Enterprises Can Plan For Wearables

http://www.informationweek.com/mobile/mobile-applications/how-enterprises-can-plan-for-wearables/d/d-id/1127827

Monday, March 24, 2014

SA Photonics Shows See-Through Modules and HMDs at I/ITSEC 2013

Ben Mall to Lead SA Photonics Vision Products Group's Business Development Efforts

hmm... Mr. Mall leaves Sensics Federal Business Development to head SAP Business Development. Greener Pastures I reckon. This might indicate Sensics Federal Market is drying up and may account for YBs surly nature of late. SA Photonics is cutting edge in Augmented Reality for the military and it looks like with Ben's move they are going after the commercial market as well. SA Photonics uses eMagin Displays in their Vision products. Sensics, you might remember debuted an Oculus Rift type HMD last week trying to cash in on Dive Mask HMD Mania.

http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwgeeks/article/Ben-Mall-to-Lead-SA-Photonics-Vision-Products-Groups-Business-Development-Efforts-20140324#.UzBVcV4dOHk


SA Photonics announced today that Ben Mall, former Director of Federal Business Development at Sensics Inc., will join SA Photonics as Business Development Manager, Vision Products, effective immediately. Ben will lead SA Photonics' efforts to transition its innovative vision products, including wide field of view augmented reality displays and the world's highest resolution direct view display, to customers in both military and commercial markets.
Read more at http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwgeeks/article/Ben-Mall-to-Lead-SA-Photonics-Vision-Products-Groups-Business-Development-Efforts-20140324#j7J8F0jD5RTZHgpg.99
SA Photonics announced today that Ben Mall, former Director of Federal Business Development at Sensics Inc., will join SA Photonics as Business Development Manager, Vision Products, effective immediately. Ben will lead SA Photonics' efforts to transition its innovative vision products, including wide field of view augmented reality displays and the world's highest resolution direct view display, to customers in both military and commercial markets.
Read more at http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwgeeks/article/Ben-Mall-to-Lead-SA-Photonics-Vision-Products-Groups-Business-Development-Efforts-20140324#j7J8F0jD5RTZHgpg.99
SA Photonics announced today that Ben Mall, former Director of Federal Business Development at Sensics Inc., will join SA Photonics as Business Development Manager, Vision Products, effective immediately. Ben will lead SA Photonics' efforts to transition its innovative vision products, including wide field of view augmented reality displays and the world's highest resolution direct view display, to customers in both military and commercial markets.
Read more at http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwgeeks/article/Ben-Mall-to-Lead-SA-Photonics-Vision-Products-Groups-Business-Development-Efforts-20140324#j7J8F0jD5RTZHgpg.99

No shit, Sherlock: "The Rift is basically a TV screen that sits in front of your eyes while you’re wearing a set of blacked-out ski goggles."

I am curious as to how eMagin will compete with these large screen displays as the plaintive cry from the "serious gamers" is immersion, immersion, immersion. Sculley mentioned integrating the new smaller SXGA into products "to be announced" and I assume one of those products is a replacement for the Z800.  Sculley said the prototype is "immersive", that's the top metric for these basement dwelling "serious gamers". At least he's zeroed in on the right buzz words.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/24/arts/video-games/oculus-rift-and-morpheus-take-games-to-a-new-dimension.html?_r=0

The Oculus Bereft, no screen doors on a submarine

7 Upcoming Augmentd Smart Reality Glasses

http://www.techgyd.com/7-upcoming-augmentd-smart-reality-glasses/9824/

Friday, March 21, 2014

You know what sucks?



Read these back to back and not one story anywhere about this breakthrough, Feintuch, MBS, Display Central, Photonics Online, Optics.org, Oled-Info, not one story.

From eMagin August 2012:

"The Company is moving forward with work on direct patterning for color displays. No other company to management’s knowledge is capable of patterning the OLED emission layer at the small pixel size of eMagin’s displays. OLED microdisplay companies use color filters to get full color displays. Direct patterning will improve the display efficiency or brightness by a factor of 4 to 5."

From eMagin March, 2014:

"Recently, we successfully tested our direct patterning technique and are on track to demonstrate a functional, direct patterned, ultra-high brightness VGA resolution display as well as even higher resolution functional, direct patterned, ultra-high brightness displays by the end of the second quarter. There is a large and growing market for high-brightness, high- performance microdisplays that can address even the most demanding near-to-eye applications."

If they don't get on the wrong plane, mix up the dates, forget to pay the Exhibitor fee or have an emergency meeting with a customer they SHOULD be occupying booth #1721 at Display Week this June in San Diego

http://www.pcm411.com/sid14/ec/forms/attendee/indexTab.aspx

US Army tries the TrackingPoint Scope on the XM2010

Great Minds think alike:

"What I do see is scopes such as these being used in more of a Designated Marksman role at the platoon level."

https://www.tactical-officer.com/articles/us-army-tries-the-tracking-point-scope-on-the-xm2010/#.Uywq4F4dOHk

USAF seeks new helmet-mounted display for unnamed aircraft : "Hello Air Force please call 425.284.5206 and ask for Mr. Sculley, Thanks"

http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/usaf-seeks-new-helmet-mounted-display-for-unnamed-aircraft-397267/

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Oh, is that all

http://vrfocus.com/archives/1436/vr-needs-sell-million-units-aaa-support-ubisoft/

Concise Analysis of the US Augmented Reality – Virtual Reality Market – Forecast to 2018

http://www.realareal.com/concise-analysis-us-augmented-reality-virtual-reality-market-forecast-2018

Augmented Reality May Be Coming To A Car Windshield Near You


Sculley first said the EVF Market is "tough" subsequently he said the Car HUD Market is "tough" so holding our breath we are not.

http://readwrite.com/2014/03/19/car-windshields-augmented-reality#awesm=~oz2YXO1AaLnqch


The Great VR War is apparently starting in the Middle Ages


Augmented Reality Interview with “Yashwanth Maheshwaram” , Vice President at Rev Media

"So far, the hardware packaging was only done in the form of mobile phones.. Now, it’s time for packaging them differently for wearable visual devices and wearable accessories. Broadly, tech wise, I expect no big advancements than wearable computing devices like Glass except for hardware upgrades and performance enhancements. The current day possibilities with AR are quite good."

http://www.realareal.com/augmented-reality-interview-yashwanth-maheshwaram-vice-president-rev-media

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

World War VR! and a German starts it! Oh, the Irony!

It's like, if the Hipsters went to war with the LGBTs or Starbucks Baristas went to war with 7-11 Clerks

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2014/03/19/project-morpheus-vs-oculus-rift-the-coming-vr-war-will-be-great-for-the-industry/?utm_campaign=techtwittersf&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

Seebright Reveals Industry's First Smartphone Integrated AR/VR Head-Mounted Display Platform With Wireless Controller


http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/prnewswire/press_releases/California/2014/03/19/SF86222


Rifle vs Drone Nat Geo: Trackingpoint vs Octocopter April 18, 9:00 PM

Showdown of the Unbeatables: Rifle vs. Drone Premieres Friday, April 18, 2014, 9:00 PM ET/PT The TrackingPoint Rifle, one of the most accurate firearms on the market, shoots a laser beam to track its target - there is virtually no way this gun will miss. But when pitted against the ATI drone - an agile eight-rotor, unmanned flying octo-copter - the winner of this showdown is anything but certain. Next, the ultimate weather shield battles the mother of all wind turbines when the Blunt Umbrella, which can withstand massive hailstones and gale-force winds, tries to resist the Buffalo Turbine Mega Blower, which produces wind force equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane. Finally, EverSTIK reusable adhesive pads use micro-suction cups to form incredibly strong bonds to any smooth flat surface, but their sticking power is rattled by the Coe M7 Monoboom - one of the most powerful tree shakers in the world, used for harvesting commercial nut crops like almonds, pecans and walnuts.

Read more at http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Nat-Geo-to-Premiere-New-Series-SHOWDOWN-OF-THE-UNBEATABLES-44-20140318#4LIctGwx1o95l1p1.99
Showdown of the Unbeatables: Rifle vs. Drone Premieres Friday, April 18, 2014, 9:00 PM ET/PT The TrackingPoint Rifle, one of the most accurate firearms on the market, shoots a laser beam to track its target - there is virtually no way this gun will miss. But when pitted against the ATI drone - an agile eight-rotor, unmanned flying octo-copter - the winner of this showdown is anything but certain. Next, the ultimate weather shield battles the mother of all wind turbines when the Blunt Umbrella, which can withstand massive hailstones and gale-force winds, tries to resist the Buffalo Turbine Mega Blower, which produces wind force equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane. Finally, EverSTIK reusable adhesive pads use micro-suction cups to form incredibly strong bonds to any smooth flat surface, but their sticking power is rattled by the Coe M7 Monoboom - one of the most powerful tree shakers in the world, used for harvesting commercial nut crops like almonds, pecans and walnuts.

Read more at http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Nat-Geo-to-Premiere-New-Series-SHOWDOWN-OF-THE-UNBEATABLES-44-20140318#4LIctGwx1o95l1p1.99
Showdown of the Unbeatables: Rifle vs. Drone Premieres Friday, April 18, 2014, 9:00 PM ET/PT The TrackingPoint Rifle, one of the most accurate firearms on the market, shoots a laser beam to track its target - there is virtually no way this gun will miss. But when pitted against the ATI drone - an agile eight-rotor, unmanned flying octo-copter - the winner of this showdown is anything but certain.
Read more at http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/Nat-Geo-to-Premiere-New-Series-SHOWDOWN-OF-THE-UNBEATABLES-44-20140318#4LIctGwx1o95l1p1.99

That's a kneeslapper John, everybody and their uncle have invented an Oculus _____ whatever, who needs Mr. Palmer?


and Mr. Andreessen chimes in to defend the Honor of his Chosen

I was perplexed by Sculley's statement on the Conference Call that the wire bond issue affected three companies with distinct uses


I assumed they were all going to Weapons Sights that would share a unity of design and in this case a design flaw. Downside, three programs were halted, upside, they are in 3 programs. I believe after all the back filling and Quality Assurance eMagin is undertaking on the end user's behalf they (the US Gov) would wait a reasonable time to assure themselves the issue is behind them and then let eMagin issue a PR announcing their participation in the programs.

And yet more Fortaleza:Report: Microsoft working on augmented reality headset for Xbox: "If you kids are going to play outside with those stupid glasses you're going to need high brightness displays arencha?" "Yes Mother"

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/03/report-microsoft-working-on-augmented-reality-headset-for-xbox/

Luckey Palmer with Marc Andreessen on Haunting Celestial Synthesizer asked to comment on Sony's Morpheus Rift

Birds of a feather: the Oculus Thrift (wait, I trademarked that name) and Kopin's Geekster Glasses at the same Rummage Sale in London



http://www.stuff.tv/clever-clothes-next-gen-glass-and-60-oculus-rift-best-wearable-technology-show/feature

Sony announces PS4 virtual reality initiative Project Morpheus: Sony silently slips dagger into the belly of Oculus, good thing Team OR has Ironclad Patent Protection


from the stock photo it looks like large screens not microdisplays.

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/sony-announces-ps4-virtual-reality-initiative-project-morpheus/1100-6418391/

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

The 3 Laws of Augmented Reality Design - Ori Inbar talks at ISTAS 2013

Google wearables: The face vs. the wrist

http://www.techrepublic.com/article/google-wearables-the-face-vs-the-wrist/

Put those petty concerns aside Marv, they designed Google Glass that way on purpose to fight the NSA and the Orwellian Surveillance Society of today

"So far, my biggest issue with Glass is the battery life, which has always been an issue of mobile technology. I expect this to become an issue that users will have to be wary of, but hopefully one that Google can allay before the retail launch of the device."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marvin-blugh/five-weeks-on-glasserhm-g_b_4938480.html

Nokia eyes wearables after patenting gaze and hand tracking glasses


http://www.winbeta.org/news/nokia-eyes-wearables-after-patenting-gaze-and-hand-tracking-glasses

Forktrucks too!: Noser Engineering AG Showcase How Augmented Reality and Smart Wearable Devices will Shape the Future of B2B, Work and Productivity at X-Days

Wearable computing devices in the form of glasses can bring savings, especially in smaller and medium-sized companies. Noser Engineering will demonstrate how in a warehouse environment enriched with information, which is projected directly in front of the eye, the exact storage location as well as the individual packages are indicated by the smart glasses. The barcode can be scanned with the glasses and the goods will be shown as picked in the system. And for example, if a lift or piece of equipment at the warehouse is defective, support can be requested directly. A support team that sits anywhere in the world, can be contacted immediately and with instructions given visually and accoustically through the glasses, simple repairs can be made. The glasses can also contribute to workplace safety as safety instructions of all kinds can be stored and visually or acoustically communicated to warehouse staff. At the end of the day, smart glasses could generate automatic reports within minutes.

http://www.mygtn.tv/story/25001523/noser-engineering-ag-showcase-how-augmented-reality-and-smart-wearable-devices-will-shape-the-future-of-b2b-work-and-productivity-at-x-days

Time to recycle Project Fortaleza rumors again: Another report says Xbox also getting virtual reality/augmented reality device

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/another-report-says-xbox-also-getting-virtual-reality-augmented-reality-device/1100-6418363/

Saturday, March 15, 2014

This

“While we have been intensely focused on improving our manufacturing processes and will continue to focus there, we have not neglected technology advancement, including ultra-high brightness microdisplays and direct patterning. Recently, we successfully tested our direct patterning technique and are on track to demonstrate a functional, direct patterned, ultra-high brightness VGA resolution display as well as even higher resolution functional, direct patterned, ultra-high brightness displays by the end of the second quarter. There is a large and growing market for high-brightness, high- performance microdisplays that can address even the most demanding near-to-eye applications

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2014/03/12/5764109/emagin-reports-fourth-quarter.html#storylink=cpy

AMEX-Top-100-BUY-Rating-Stocks _ Updated March 14 2014 16:36:33. #2

http://www.nna100.com/stock_ranking.php?p=AMEX-Top-100-BUY-Rating-Stocks&d=2014-03-15

Friday, March 14, 2014

Heads-Up Display & Head Mounted Display Market Forecasts

I'm reposting this because I and others thought this an odd lot of companies, particularly with microdisplay manufacturers in the mix i.e. eMagin. So I was wondering about CEO Sculley seeming obsession with "Forktrucks", known to ordinary people as Forklifts. Now it's possible that eventually microdisplays by the mentioned companies, Syndiant, Microoled and eMagin will provide HUDs for the Automobile Companies mentioned but I would note that the company whose products conflate most closely with Sculley's obsession is Toyota, the world's largest manufacturer of Forklifts, Forktrucks whatever you want to call them.

"Other vendors mentioned in the report are Audi AG, Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) AG, Daimler AG, eMagin Corp., Garmin International Inc., General Motors Co., Jabil Circuit Inc., Microoled, Syndiant Inc., Toyota Motor Corp., Visteon Corp., Vuzix Corp., and WiseChip Semiconductor Inc."

http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/sbwire-223412.htm

eMagin !0-K

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1046995/000101376214000233/form10k.htm

Google Glass being tested in dermatology consultations

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/google-glass-tested-dermatology-consultations-article-1.1720256

Glass Augmented Reality project by Stanford & Droiders

Google Looks Like It's Getting Serious About A Game Console

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidthier/2014/03/13/google-looks-like-its-getting-serious-about-a-games-console/?utm_campaign=techtwittersf&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

The Global Military Electro Optical Infrared (EO/IR) Market 2014-2024

Recent years have witnessed a surge in the use of EO-IR Systems for ground soldiers and this trend is expected to further strengthen over the forecast period. Some of the new devices including EO/IR Wideband radios, thermal imagers, EO sensors, EO and IR high definition, and long range cameras incorporate an array of innovations, providing dismounted soldiers with improved capability in terms of protection, observation, lethality, survivability and C4I (command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence).

http://www.asdnews.com/news-53982/Military_EO/IR_market_to_reach_US$10bn_by_2024.htm?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Defence,+defcon,+defence+technology,+combat+sim,+wargames

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Augmented reality interfaces are giving physicians new ways to access and interact with the information they need most.

http://www.psfk.com/2014/03/augmented-or-future-of-health.html#!zAEK3

Wearables Outlook: The Eyes Have It 2014 TMT Predictions

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Wearable Technology - Vuzix Smart Glasses and Eyewear

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Head mounted display using a fused fiber bundle US 8666212 B1

Editorial Comment : Most definitely a case of not being able to see the forest with all those trees in the way

All this Strum and Drang is a pain in the ass but at some point some large entity will buy them just to get the High Brightness Augmented Reality Display.

Part of the problem MBS and Others, the problems partly educative if you catch my drift, there is some sizzle if you knew how to disseminate it: Example: No mention of eMagin in this Report

This presentation talks about various opportunities existing in transparent displays market. It also discusses as how high interest towards smart glass and augmented reality applications for mobile phones is driving demand for transparent displays. Other than existing retail and advertising segment, emerging smart glasses, like Google glass will open an entirely new market for transparent displays. This presentation is being taken from NanoMarkets report- "Markets and Opportunities for Transparent Displays: 2014 to 2021"

http://www.slideshare.net/NanoMarkets/transparent-displays-32259955

Real World Example Versus Virtual Nonsense: Oculus Rift Cell Phone Screen Versus Parasim (eMagin Enabled) LALO or HALO Training for Special Forces

                            VS
http://www.pcgamer.com/2014/03/12/the-future-of-pc-gaming-virtual-reality/

It was suprising to hear Sculley particularly reference "Training and Simulation" as Jerry Carollo's latest project

I was under the impression he might have been working on Situational Awareness for Helicopter Pilots and Crews but in a sense if he's working on system like this one then  he's doing just that. This is not avatar training or Squad movement and tactics training as we are used to seeing but a HMD that matches the capabilities of State of the Art Systems like these from NDI. You know, part of the frustration of being an eMagin shareholder is the seriousness with which they want to apply their technology to solve real world problems, if they just wanted to make an Oculus Rift time waster I imagine they could, Dr. Wittels is always flogging this idea, dammit, The long development times don't accommodate themselves to flashy PRs and sizzle but there it is, we continue to subsidize their high aspirations. Hopefully at some point what goes around...

http://www.ndigital.com/msci/divisions/simulation/

http://www.ndigital.com/msci/applications/military-flight-and-gunnery-simulation-systems/

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

The Army's SBIR from 2007 kicking off the development of Direct Patterning for Microdisplays.

Sculley seemed a wee bit tired today but he sprang to life when referring to Direct Patterning when he said" It worked, we can do it." That for me was today's highlight. That's the Grail.

"The advantages of indirect view vision systems are becoming apparent in the modern battlefield. The transition from current direct view (photon coupled) night vision goggle systems to indirect view (electronically coupled) systems is dependent upon the ability to achieve comparable resolution and power consumption to currently fielded systems. The micro display is a key component in the indirect view system and as such must address the resolution and power consumption issue head on. Near term planned head mounted display (HMD) research approaches are addressing these issues through chip level electronic integration and parallel processing to reduce data handling requirements. Novel materials and processes are sought to develop a high resolution micro-display with both improved electro-optical performance and greater power efficiency. Currently developing micro-displays for military applications use broadband emitters that are subsequently filtered to provide the sub-pixel red, green, and blue (RGB) colors. The color filtering exacerbates the already difficult problem of providing sufficient brightness in a small pixel (~15 um) micro-display architecture. Since each sub-pixel must discard approximately 2/3 of the broadband emissions, the resultant color filtered display luminance is reduced to one third of the original emitter/modulator luminance. Direct patterning emissive sub-pixels will provide a 3X increase in micro-display brightness that translates directly into reduced power and increased micro-display component operational life. The elimination of the color filters will also provide increased color fidelity in the display. Three separate, narrow band emitters will provide a color gamut that meets or exceeds current NTSC display standards thereby providing improved distinction and recognition of color coded data, such as maps, IFF, and chroma-keyed image fusion algorithms. Due to the high bandwidth of 2K x 2K, full color video information, high density micro-display approaches are anticipated to require 3D silicon architectures. These micro-displays must exhibit the fundamental parameters of resolution, luminance contrast, chromatic fidelity yet may not sacrifice power efficiency, thermal management, and operational lifetime to achieve electro-optical performance goals. These factors shall be achieved for display luminance levels > 50 fL operation. This topic is considered to be an enabling technology for solid state night vision system-on-chip concepts. "


 


Business Wire



eMagin Reports Fourth Quarter and 2013 Financial Results

Revenue Growth Expected in 2014 as Production Moves to the New SNU OLED Deposition Tool

BELLEVUE, Wash.--()--eMagin Corporation (NYSE MKT: EMAN), the leader in the development, design and manufacture of Active Matrix OLED microdisplays for high resolution imaging products, today announced fourth quarter and full year 2013 financial results and Company highlights.
“We continue to see strong and growing demand in our key market segments and the outlook for OLED microdisplays over the next several years remains positive”
“Recent improvements to our manufacturing processes have resulted in greater up time on the new SNU OLED deposition tool and improving yield,” stated Andrew Sculley, President and CEO. “As our manufacturing processes continue to improve during 2014, we expect to move essentially all of our commercial production to the SNU. This will allow us to increase our utilization of the Satella machine for its intended research purposes while better meeting our customers’ needs.”
Mr. Sculley continued, “We are optimistic that we will see a return to revenue growth this year as a result of the improvement in our operations. However, first quarter revenue will be similar to our fourth quarter 2013 revenue as we have temporarily stopped shipment of certain displays to three customers to address a possible bonding problem in a microdisplay that was brought to our attention. We are actively addressing this and hope to resolve the situation quickly.
“While we have been intensely focused on improving our manufacturing processes and will continue to focus there, we have not neglected technology advancement, including ultra-high brightness microdisplays and direct patterning. Recently, we successfully tested our direct patterning technique and are on track to demonstrate a functional, direct patterned, ultra-high brightness VGA resolution display as well as even higher resolution functional, direct patterned, ultra-high brightness displays by the end of the second quarter. There is a large and growing market for high-brightness, high- performance microdisplays that can address even the most demanding near-to-eye applications. By continuing to invest in high performance, ultra-high brightness microdisplays and direct patterning, we intend to remain at the forefront of AMOLED microdisplay technologies.”
Full Year Results
For the year ended December 31, 2013, total revenues were $28.0 million versus $30.6 million for 2012. Product sales for 2013 increased $203,000, to $26.3 million, offset by a 62% decrease in contract revenue due to general reductions in funding for research and development projects including those for the U.S. Government. Gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2013, totaled $8.4 million versus $14.9 million for 2012. Gross margin for 2013 was 30% versus 49% for 2012 due to higher production, labor and material costs.
For 2013, research and development expenses were $5.0 million or 18% of revenue, up from $4.7 million or 16% of revenue in 2012, mainly related to increases in personnel costs and related expenses to support research and development activities and fewer funded R&D contracts.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for 2013 were $8.6 million, about the same as 2012. Non-cash compensation and professional fees decreased and personnel costs increased. In addition, the Company accrued $0.5 million for litigation expenses.
The operating loss for 2013 was $5.2 million versus operating income of $1.6 million for 2012. The Company booked non-cash charges to the Provision for Income Tax of $8.9 million to establish a full valuation allowance for its deferred tax asset. This increased net loss (after tax) for 2013 to $14.1 million, or ($0.60) per diluted share, versus net income of $2.3 million or $0.06 per diluted share, for 2012. Adjusted EBITDA for 2013 was a loss of $1.7 million compared to earnings of $4.5 million in 2012.
During 2013, eMagin continued to fund its activities and the expansion of its business in military, industrial and consumer markets exclusively through cash generated from operations. At December 31, 2013, the Company had approximately $11.0 million of cash, cash equivalents and investments in certificates of deposit and corporate bonds, compared to $13.4 million at December 31, 2012.
Quarterly Results
Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2013 were $6.1 million versus $8.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2012.
Pre-tax net loss for the fourth quarter of 2013 was $3.3 million. The Company booked a non-cash charge to Provision for Income Tax of $5.4 million to establish a full valuation allowance of its deferred tax asset. This increased net loss (after tax) to $8.7 million, or ($0.37) per diluted share, compared to net income of $1.8 million or $0.04 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2012. Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of $2.1 million compared to earnings of $1.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Recent Corporate Highlights
  • The DSVGA, eMagin’s new digital SVGA display, is continuing to undergo qualification testing and is expected to be released for production by the end of the year. This product will provide the Company’s customers with all of the advantages of its latest technology in a digital display. eMagin has numerous customers interested in this new display and the Company is planning to integrate it into new products to be announced. The DSVGA silicon has been qualified and is nearing production release.
  • The SXGA096, our new, smaller pixel size SXGA display, is being redesigned to a new form factor. Wafers have been received and scheduled for their first run. eMagin’s objective is to ship working displays in the very near term. The SXG096 will provide eMagin’s customers with the high resolution of an SXGA display but with a smaller form factor and lower cost of production than larger pixel SXGA displays.
  • Work continues on a new display under contract with a customer. The custom development work was completed on schedule, delivery of prototypes occurred in December 2013. Additional contract work is being negotiated for conducting formal qualification.
  • Work continues on a color, high brightness, high-resolution avionics display with funding from the US Navy. The Company has already demonstrated the direct patterning technique and is on track to demonstrate a functional direct patterned ultra-high brightness VGA resolution display in the near term. eMagin also expects to demonstrate higher resolution functional direct patterned ultra-high brightness displays by the end of the second quarter. Customer evaluations will begin following these demonstrations.
  • eMagin's Color OLED-XLSTM technology provides the highest OLED microdisplay luminance on the market, providing up to 1,000 nits in full color and is capable of a contrast ratio of 100,000:1 a at room temperature. This level of performance allows our customers to use our displays in "see-through" augmented reality applications, work effectively with wide field of view optics for entertainment and training and simulation and multispectral fused systems for the military. The Color OLED-XLSTM is fully compatible with eMagin's entire VGA, SVGA, XGA, SXGA and WUXGA product lines, which are available for shipment as engineering samples. The full qualification of these displays as a product is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2014.
  • eMagin continues to ship displays for the FELIN Soldier Modernization Program in France, to BAE/Oasys, to FLIR in Sweden for three industrial thermal camera EVFs, and to BCF Technology in Scotland for the BUG Binocular Ultrasound Goggles among others.
  • In January, management presented the Company’s story to institutional investors at the Sidoti Semi-Annual Microcap Conference and the Needham Growth Stock Conference.
“We continue to see strong and growing demand in our key market segments and the outlook for OLED microdisplays over the next several years remains positive,” added Mr. Sculley. “We look forward to a stronger year in 2014 with continued improvements in yield.”
Outlook
eMagin is postponing 2014 revenue guidance due to uncertain timing around the resumption of shipments of certain displays to three customers as noted above.
Full Year & Quarterly Report and Conference Call
Full results will be published in the Company's 10-K report for the full year and fourth quarter ending December 31, 2013, scheduled to be filed with the SEC by March 14, 2014. Final results will also be available via the Company’s website, www.emagin.com. A conference call and live webcast will begin at 4:45 p.m. ET today. An archive of the webcast will be available one hour after the live call through April 12, 2014. To access the live Webcast or archive, please visit the Company's website at ir.emagin.com or www.earnings.com.





AEE Wearable Camera at the Tracking Point Booth

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Wearable Computers Closer to Combat Use


http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2014/April/Pages/WearableComputersClosertoCombatUse.aspx

Google Glass is Transforming Wearable Technology

"Of course, you can do many of these things with a smart phone currently, but why take the smart phone out when you can just wear a pair of glasses and do it hands-free? The Google Glass makes it much more convenient.
In short, the applications for Google Glass are powerful and almost unlimited. It's one wearable technology that will revolutionize many areas of life."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-burrus/google-glass-is-transform_b_4949991.html

3 wearables marketers must follow: I predict eMagin CEO will join the parade and say "Google Glass" six times in today's Conference Call

http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/36091.asp#multiview

Kopin CC Stuff

Dr. Fan is hitting the road with his "Get Your Asses In Our Big Glasses Tour" around Murica soon, they are looking for Smart Glasses to break out in 2015, that dovetails with Deloitte's projection of late 2014, they say they are in two military programs and being designed into others, currently in M-25, The Punisher and they mentioned a Day Sight for M-24, nothing firm, I think TrackingPoint will be taking that Picatinny Rail eventually via Remington Defense. Lots of NDAs and lots of Wearable Tech talk. One interlocutor on the call.

Greatest Invention in the History of the World leaves users "dazed for hours", Crystal Cove decreases that effect "a bit" No software, hardware remedy for brain isolation, Marc Andreessen hardest hit

  
Sony’s VR tech will be revealed at GDC – and it represents virtual reality gaming’s greatest hope

Longer stretches of play are leaving players dazed for hours afterwards at this point. Indie studio Streum On Studio is developing SpaceHulk: Deathwing for Oculus Rift, and it too says VR must overcome this problem. “Oculus seems to be working hard on that,” says studio associate Longuepee Christophe. “The new HD version seems to have started to decrease this effect a bit.”

http://www.edge-online.com/news/sonys-vr-tech-will-be-revealed-at-gdc-and-it-represents-virtual-reality-gamings-greatest-hope/

VSP sees the future of Google Glass

http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2014/03/11/vsp-google-glass-future-applications.html?page=all

AMEX-Lowest-100-PEG-Ratio-Stocks

http://www.nna100.com/stock_ranking.php?p=AMEX-Lowest-100-PEG-Ratio-Stocks&d=2014-03-12

Unusual Volume At tech sector: MIND (NASDAQ:MNDO), eMagin Corporation (NYSEMKT:EMAN), Glowpoint (NYSEMKT:GLOW), Criteo SA (NASDAQ:CRTO)

http://www.gaininggreen.com/unusual-volume-at-tech-sector-mind-nasdaqmndo-emagin-corporation-nysemkteman-glowpoint-nysemktglow-criteo-sa-nasdaqcrto/1214348/

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

PS4 virtual reality rumours in overdrive as Sony plans 'innovation event' : Ball's in your court Microsoft

http://www.express.co.uk/news/science-technology/464154/Playstation-4-PS4-Virtual-reality-rumours-in-overdrive-as-Sony-plans-innovation-event

Kopin Corporation Provides Business Update and Fourth-Quarter and Fiscal Year 2013 Operating Results


"Man, you look like you just found out you're losing $40 Million this year"

http://www.heraldonline.com/2014/03/11/5760024/kopin-corporation-provides-business.html

Even for me that was a goofy theory


Outside the U.S., Buyers in Hot Pursuit of Night Vision Goggles: April 2014 : iAware (eMagin Inside) wanted by Militaries in Asia : Photonis Competitor! LOL

The interest seems to be in Spiral (eMagin) NVGs. Just a tip Exelis, I would not bother focusing on India, you would sell more stuff in Liechtenstein or Burkina Faso.

"The more advanced fusion goggles that combine traditional night vision with infrared imaging are still restricted from export to most countries, says Morgan, although the market is starting to open up for Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom."

http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2014/April/Pages/OutsidetheUS,BuyersinHotPursuitofNightVisionGoggles.aspx#.Ux3Fz4Nxtig.twitter

A direct augmented-reality challenge to Google Glass

All The GG Geeks at SXSW Agree Battery Life No Good

For the rest of the hour long session, the Explorers exchange more tips on living with Glass – this presumably being the first time some of them have been in the same room for an extended period of time with another Glass wearer. They ask each other if you can go for runs with Glass on (verdict: yes), if Explorers get motion sickness (sometimes, at first), if Glass is tax-deductible (if you're in the tech industry), if the battery life is good (no), and if the feeling of being judged by passersby ever goes away. ("This should be a safe room, but even here, I’m insecure," Mark says.)

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/03/what-happens-at-a-google-glass-gathering.html

A Few Simple Questions for Comrade Sculley Beyond "Why do you hate me?" "Do you guys have any idea what the hell you're doing?" "Are you in business to make money?" You know the obvious ones

1) Can you confirm that Samsung is not a competitor in the manufacturing of OLED microdisplays?

2) When discussing "Google Glass" are you discussing a category of Products or the referenced device in particular?

3) You have repeated on numerous occasions that Sony builds their OLED Displays for their own equipment solely. You also say you consider Sony your only direct competitor. In that case whose displays are in this new wave of Cameras being introduced at present with OLED EVFs in them?


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