Pico projector sales triple in first half

Sales growing fast from low starting point

Worldwide sales of pico projectors have been tipped to triple for the first half of 2011 compared with the first half of 2010, to about 830,000.

The figure comes from US-based projectors analyst Pacific Media Associates (PMA), which defines pico projectors as all battery-powered or battery-powerable models of projector, whether standalone or optical-engine projectors embedded in other devices.

Bill Coggshall, president of PMA, said last year's survey provided a unique set of statistics about the emerging pico category of projectors.

"In 2010 the survey respondents expected a dramatic improvement in average brightness of companion pico projectors, to nearly 35 lumens by 2012 and more than 47 lumens by 2014," he said. "They also expected considerable improvements in resolution, with 80 per cent of companion pico projectors having WVGA or better by 2014, including 32 per cent offering 720p or 1080p."

Coggshall maintained that manufacturers of pico projectors have increasingly realised that organisations are willing to pay relatively high prices for professional-grade models.

However, in the 2010 survey those manufacturers still forecast that 58 per cent of units sold in 2012 and 71 per cent of units sold in 2014 will be to individual consumers, according to Coggshall.