Microdisplay products finally reach store shelves.

• Author: CALEY, NORA
• Position: Brief Article

THE MICRODISPLAY INDUSTRY HAS FINALLY MOVED FROM THE SCIENCE FICTION realm to the consumer products realm. After years of talking up nifty, tiny screens that we'll use someday, two Colorado companies have begun producing microdisplays for items that are available in stores.

Microdisplays are the tiny computer screens used in digital-camera and camcorder viewfinders, wearable computers, and other Dick Tracy-esque gadgets.

Last fall, Longmont-based Displaytech Inc. began production of its patented Ferro-electric Liquid Crystal (FLC) at a Miyota factory in Nagano, Japan.

Although Displaytech makes some products in Longmont, the company needed a high-volume manufacturing facility near camera manufacturers to accomplish its goal. Miyota ships 500,000 microdisplays a month, and Displaytech hopes to boost capacity to 1 million a month by the end of 2001.

The first consumer products with Displaytech microdisplays will be the JVC mini DV camcorder and the Concord EyeQ 3X digital camera. Both are considered entry-level cameras, and both hit store shelves this spring. The JVC retails for $699, the Concord for $199.

In addition to the near-eye viewfinders, Displaytech also makes projection microdisplays. The first product in this category for Displaytech will be in the Samsung Tantus FLCD TV, available soon.

Colorado MicroDisplay Inc., based in Boulder, received its fourth round of funding in November. The company specializes in near-eye applications. The Olympus Eye-Trek, a binocular viewer that looks like a pair of sunglasses, contains a CMD microdisplay. The Eye-Trek connects to a VCR so you can watch movies. The experience is...