Interview with Jon Grodem, Optoma’s director of product and marketing

Jon Grodem, Optoma’s director of product and marketing was kind enough to answer a few questions we had about pico projectors. Optoma makes projectors (both pico and larger ones), all based on TI's DLP technology.

Q: Jon, thanks for agreeing to do this interview. Optoma currently makes DLP pico projectors. Will you stick with DLP? Are you considering using different technologies, too?

A:I think it’s safe to say that all companies make themselves aware of all new technologies. But Optoma sees DLP as providing the best technology and value available, and will continue to focus our efforts on DLP.

Q: Can you tell me which is the target audience for the pico-projectors? who is buying these gadgets, and what are they using them for?

A: Wow…fun question to answer. We still are in the early adopter phases for Pico. eTailers are the dominant channel of distribution as you would expect from the early adopter set. As such, this is a harder group to gauge usage patterns due to the anonymity of this group. But…in a macro sense, from reviews, users sites, and emails & phone calls we receive, there are 2 emerging usage patterns:

• Business users attempting to use the Pico as a replacement for the traditional projector or as an extension of the work-place. Business communication as JPEGs, video etc.
• Consumer users utilizing the project anywhere/anytime/anything model. Sharing of personal media (video, movie etc) off iPod/iPhone. Personal gaming in a larger space (i.e. with PSP). Personal slide shows to the friends/family. Yes this sounds cliché and typical of what you would expect, but this is what we see and hear/read.

Q: Are you seeing good demand for the pico projectors? According to Amazon.com, the PK-101 is the best selling pico-projector.

A: We are very pleased with our sales levels for the Pico. Sales have exceeded our expectations, and with the recent introduction of the PK102 and PK100 we expect our position as the segment leader to continue to grow.  As I said earlier, we are still in the early adopter stage of this product category But each product introduction and price move has lead to more sales and greater exposure and adoption. And as more brick & mortar retailers adopt and promote this new category, we expect growth to accelerate. And it is our goal to remain the #1 brand in this category.

Q: What are your thought on the pico-projector market? Where do you see this market in 3-5 years?

A: In 3 to 5 years, we see this category being up between 25% and 50% of all projectors sold. We do not think this will come at the expense of other projectors; we view the Pico category as a market expander, bringing in new users who finding new applications and benefits.

Thanks again, Jon. Good luck to both Optoma and you!

PS - Jon was also kind enough to let us know that the PK-100 is now available, for 197$.