McLaughlin Consulting Group Announces Anywhere Anytime Video to Drive Personal Viewer Sales to $1B.

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- The Anywhere Anytime Video revolution could cause consumer Personal Viewer sales to explode rise to $1B in 2010, according to a study just released by the McLaughlin Consulting Group (Menlo Park, CA).

Consumers are rapidly embracing the Anywhere Anytime Video revolution. Using video "pocket platforms" like cell phones, iPods, and portable video players, consumers are accessing video both via download/playback and streaming modes. A key problem for these video pocket platforms is the small screen size. The solution - a Personal Viewer (head-mounted display).

Personal viewers are now reaching price points acceptable to mass consumers for peripheral devices - $199. And Personal Viewers can deliver a screen size 10 times larger than the one on a pocket platform - and the consumer doesn't need to hold the display, resulting in "hands-free" operation. The result - unsurpassed comfort in viewing video on pocket platforms.

To realize the $1B potential for consumer Personal Viewers, Personal Viewer companies will need to implement effective consumer marketing and promotion plans. Without effective marketing, the consumer market for Personal Viewers will grow to only $150M in 2010. MCG's report includes recommendations for cost-effective consumer marketing and promotion plans, as well as a consumer use model for Personal Viewers.

One major company that is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the emerging Personal Viewer market opportunity is Apple. With their leading iPod pocket platform, an internet video retailing capability through iTunes, and brick-and-mortar Apple stores offering product seminars, Apple could jump-start Personal Viewer sales at any time.

Personal viewers are now reaching price points acceptable to mass consumers for a peripheral devices - the Cyberman GVD310A sells for just $199. Personal displays have also shed the geeky look of the past and now provide a much sleeker and more attractive appearance. The MicroOptical myvu[TM] is one of a new breed of personal displays that are winning kudos for styling and attractiveness. The myvu[TM] is now selling for $299 and is a certified Apple iPod accessory.

"Consumers are embracing Anywhere Anytime Video with Internet video-sharing, taking videos by cell phone, watching TV on their PCs and downloading video to iPods. Content availability for pocket platforms is improving rapidly," explained Steve Marsland, Senior Partner at MCG and Personal Viewer report author. "Personal Viewers solve a key problem for consumers with pocket platforms - viewing in comfort."

Personal displays have resolved comfort issues that were a consideration in the past. Today's Personal Viewers offer a viewing experience superior to that of embedded displays in pocket platforms, thanks to capabilities only personal displays offer - privacy, blocking out a distracting environment, the feeling of immersion in the content, reasonable size screen TV image and audio directly to the ear.

For more information on the Personal Viewers: Poised for Rapid Growth - Key Success Factors for Consumer Adoption from MCG, visit www.mcgweb.com. Also, contact Bruce Kuhlmann at MCG by telephone or email: 707 292-3693 [e-mail]. Order report information http://www.mcgweb.com/reports/pv06.htm.

McLaughlin Consulting Group (MCG), (www.mcgweb.com) a team of experienced professionals, provides a range of consulting services relating to electronic displays, advanced electro-optical technologies, materials science and nanotechnology. MCG offers market and product studies in select markets, assists start-ups in writing business plans and raising funds, conducts technology searches and business assessments for investors, and undertakes a wide range of support for deal-making and technology licensing.