Eventually, portable computers got smaller, but giving presentations on them lost its flair, and the poor schmoes were forced to start dragging LCD projectors with them. But hurrah, there's hope. Two familiar trends are affecting the projector market, according to Bill Coggshall, president of Pacific Media Associates, a market research company covering the professional large-screen display industry. First, prices of older, heavier projectors have come down about 25 to 30 percent. Second, new projectors started shipping in the second and third quarters of 1999 that drop the typical weight of projectors from 10 pounds to 5 pounds.
Fewer chips means fewer optics, which means less weight.
Coggshall estimates worldwide projector sales will grow from 1 million units this year to 1.5 million in 2003. If the manufacturers cut prices further, they could get a swelling of demand that would more than exceed the price drop.