On the eve of InfoComm, Pacific Media Associates (PMA) finds WW shipments of projectors somehow equipped for interactivity will grow from about 1.1 million in 2010 to about 2.9 million in 2015.
PMA expects the Mainstream projector range (500 to 4999 lumens) to grow from about 7 million units in 2010 to about 11.9 million units in 2015, a CAGR of 11%. The fastest growing vertical market for Mainstream models is education (which has seen rapid growth of interactive whiteboards and short-throw models, and has propelled the growth for Promethean and SMART Technologies.)
“But new technology is emerging that offers a broader range of less-expensive alternatives that we expect will enlarge the overall market for interactivity,” says Dr. William Coggshall, PMA’s president. “Promethean and SMART have increasingly saturated the markets in developed countries and wealthier school districts. While these market leaders add entry-level products for education, and look to expand their presence in other vertical markets, a host of new alternatives have emerged that seek to offer similar functionality at lower prices, and we believe they will succeed in considerably expanding the total market.”
PMA has identified two fast-growing groups of products that offer interactivity. The first, Interactive Projectors/Add-Ons, comprises projectors with built-in interactivityfrom a range of manufacturers using both 3LCD and DLP technologiesand projector add-ons such as 3M Simply Interactive, Luidia eBeam Edge IWB, and the new Chief/Luidia interactive mounts. This group will grow from 160,000 units in 2010 to 720,000 units in 2015, a compound annual growth rate of 35%.
The second group, Interactive Devices, comprises interactive tablets (such as the iPad-based Doceri from SP Controls) that control the classroom PC and replace the interactive whiteboard, and interactive tablet PCs (such as the Windows-based RM Slate or W7Pad) that actually replaces both the classroom PC and the interactive whiteboard. This group will grow from about 60,000 units in 2010 to slightly over 1 million units in 2015, a CAGR of 75%.
Some of these new alternatives can use normal-throw projectors, that are much cheaper--and less profitable for makers than short-throw models.
Will teachers and trainers be comfortable with moving away from the projected image at the front of the room? How vulnerable are these alternative systems to losing or breaking vital pieces, and other issues?
Questions remain, but the lower prices make these new alternatives attractive to cash-strapped school districts and developing countries-- and that could dramatically boost total projector volume.
