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Dunstable, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom, 08/10/2009 – Global sales of projectors witnessed a quiet first half this year, with budget restrictions in the corporate market continuing to restrict market demand. Global Q2 volumes reached nearly 1.3 million units, representing a 16% year-on-year drop from Q2 2008. With many corporates continuing to hold back on spending, preferring to adopt a ‘wait and see’ attitude, the corporate sector is expected to remain relatively quiet for the rest of the year. However, the education market continues to offer strong growth opportunities, with budget levels remaining relatively unaffected. To underline this point, Q2 sales of interactive whiteboards have grown by 35% year-on-year, reaching 180,000 units globally. The second half of 2009 is expected to witness numerous large tenders, with many emerging countries seeking to invest in IT for their education infrastructures.
Whilst overall market volumes have been weak, some bright spots include the continued emergence of the short throw and Wide XGA categories. With many whiteboard vendors now offering all-in-one board and projector combinations, the short throw solution is proving popular with end users and now represents 10% of the market. The W-XGA category also continues to gain traction as corporates increasingly seek to pair the resolution of notebooks and projectors. W-XGA reached 6% of the market in Q2, representing nearly 130% year-on-year growth.
With a stronger sales performance expected in the second half of the year, 2009 is also expected to be a key year in the development of innovative new product categories that will shape the projector market for many years to come. High brightness LED based projectors targeting the business to business market are widely expected to have a significant market impact due to the long lifetime and low cost of ownership, perfect for applications such as education, where maintenance costs can be significant.
One of the hot topics in the electronics industry at present is 3D. With 3D movie production intensifying and 3D titles having an encouraging effect on box office revenues the entertainment and consumer electronics industry are keen to drive 3D into the home. Projectors are in a strong position to take advantage of this roll out of 3D in the home as the consumer experience of 3D viewing is likely to only be enhanced the larger the picture displayed. It is not only in the home cinema market that the use of 3D projection is likely to develop. Many specialist markets such as automotive design are already using advanced 3D projection systems in order to speed up manufacturing processes and ensure R&D efficiencies. It is the education market however, that is likely to offer the most significant market opportunity for 3D projection usage. Classes that explain heart dissections, geographic landscapes and analysis of the human anatomy in 3D are more likely to captivate students and hence ensure retention levels.
One of the other hot products in the projectors market is the new category of Pico Projectors - tiny battery-powered projection devices. With the extremely portable form factor, low price points and a high flexibility of usage, these products are perfect companion devices for a wide variety of mobile products such as high-end PMPs (or potentially embedded within such devices). With end user consumption of mobile content on the rise (and on a wide variety of different platforms) it is logical that end users may wish to view and share this content on larger screens than allowed by mobile devices such as PMPs. The uptake and potential market opportunity for pico projectors is likely to be heavily dependent upon the ability for content producers to effectively ‘monetize’ content delivery to mobile devices.
Whilst the general business environment in 2009 remains challenging and the projector industry remains as competitive as ever, the economic conditions are forcing many within the industry to re-evaluate their market approach. For many, this is resulting in a move away from the entry level segments of the market and towards a renewed focus on channel relationships and distribution strategies. These structural changes, combined with many of the new technological developments that are expected to provide market impetus, should ensure the projector industry is in a strong position to achieve renewed growth once economic conditions allow.
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The Future of Projector Technologies
Join Futuresource on Wednesday 26 August for a free Market Focus webinar, "The Future of Projector Technologies", presented by Mike Fisher, Convergence & New Technologies Consultant. This 45-minute webinar will outline recent advances in projection technologies and explore the future opportunities, ensuring you gain valuable insights into this changing marketplace. Two live broadcasts will take place, 9am and 5pm (both UK time).
Futuresource Consulting (futuresource-consulting.com) is a specialist research and knowledge-based consulting company providing its clients with expertise in consumer electronics, digital imaging, entertainment media, broadcast, optical manufacturing, storage media and IT.
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