A company called Microvision specializes in the development of new generation display and imaging products for mobile applications.

Our products address the unmet need facing growing mobility markets. Namely, consumers want a far better viewing experience than they currently get from traditional small displays on their mobile devices. Microvision offers OEMs in the telecommunications, consumer electronics, automotive, and avionics markets customized design and development of our proprietary display engine, called PicoP™. PicoP enables an ultra-miniature video projector capable of producing color rich, high resolution, large images, but small and low-power enough to be embedded directly into mobile devices, such as cell phones.

Other potential display applications based on the PicoP are numerous and include tiny projectors embedded into or used as accessory displays for mobile devices such as personal media players, gaming devices, laptops, and DVD players.

We are also working to leverage the PicoP into vehicle displays, including automotive and aerospace head-up displays, as well as wearable full-color displays designed as fashionable eyewear. [Microvision]

PicoP is capable of producing full color, high-resolution images (848 by 480 pixels) for up to 2.5 hours. Mobile devices such as cell phones, digital cameras, portable media players or laptops can be enabled with pico projection capabilities turning photos, videos, and other content into big viewing experiences that can be shared with others.

PortoMedia, a startup based in Ireland, aspires to revolutionize the movie rental market. The company plans to set up kiosks that will allow consumers to download movies to a memory or portable hard drive.

PortoMedia has developed a high speed flash memory card (Movie Key) that enables a fully secure DVD quality movie to be downloaded from retail Movie Point in less than 15 seconds. Each Movie Point is loaded with between 500 and 5,000 titles and is refreshed regularly via satellite/DSL with the latest movie and TV content.

The consumer has the option to rent or purchase content. The content is protected by Windows DRM, guaranteeing both security and compatibility with a wide range of playback devices. We will offer a low cost reader/ set top box that attaches to a TV allowing the consumer to simply plug in the key and press play to view the movie on the big screen TV. [PortoMedia]

Users will plug in a USB memory device from PortoMedia, enter a PIN code, and download a movie. At home, customers simply slide the memory device into a dock connected to a PC or TV.

The key to the service is the proprietary USB interface that transfers data at a faster rate than standard USB devices. Movies can be loaded into a memory device in less than a minute, depending on the length, definition and chip speed.

The hardware will be sold in package with movies. The starting hardware set will be sold for around $60, and comes with a flash key, a dock, and six movies. A higher end pack will provide a handheld with a 1.8 inch hybrid hard drive with 240 GB of storage and 12 movies.

A day after Toshiba announced it made the decision to stop manufacturing HD DVDs, all six major Hollywood studios are now supporting Blu-ray as the next-generation High Definition technology standard.

Sony’s Blu-ray is currently supported by Paramount, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Studios, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Warner Home Video, Panasonic, Dell and Philips. Toshiba’s HD DVD is still backed by Sanyo, NEC and Microsoft.

Both Blu-ray and HD are high-definition DVDs, the successor to the regular standard definition DVD. But Blu-ray and HD involve different hardware and are not compatible with each other, reason why consumers had to decide which system to choose.

Moving to a single high-definition format will allow studios to focus on generating awareness among consumers of the many benefits of high-definition media.

The 2008 Entrepreneurship Week will be taking place from February 22^nd to February 29^th at Stanford University, CA (USA). Events will be open to all students, alumni, members of the greater Stanford community, and the general public. All events will be free (with the exception of the Entrepreneurship Conference at the Graduate School of Business on February 27) and seating will be on a first come first served basis.

In 2007, the Stanford Entrepreneurship Network (SEN), a federation of organizations across campus, held its first Entrepreneurship Week at Stanford celebration. It was an enormous success, with standing room only at every event. Stanford University was also the site of the national launch of EntrepreneurshipWeek USA. Click here to see what happened last year.

Entrepreneurship is of enormous interest on campus, because the Stanford community recognizes that the 21st Century will belong to innovators who can turn ideas into action. This applies more than ever to today’s students, who need to be self-starters and possess an entrepreneurial mindset, regardless of what they go on to do in life.

For Entrepreneurship Week 2008, SEN has again planned a series of exciting events to engage students in various dimensions of entrepreneurship. Events include presentations by prestigious speakers; roundtable discussions; mixers; VC/student “speed dating” allowing students to pitch their ideas; and a start-up job fair. Stanford will also host the Innovation Tournament, an “Apprentice-style” competition that will be open to student teams around the world. The acclaimed documentary film, Imagine It!, will also be making its world premiere (view the trailer); it captures the dreams and excitement of last year’s Innovation Tournament and features numerous Stanford students. [eWeek]

British designer Mark Sanders has unveiled a new foldable bicycle called Strida 5.0. Previous versions of Strida collapsible bikes have been rolling in Europe for over 16 years but, for the first time, Strida 5.0 is now available in the U.S.

Strida was designed primarily for those commuters whose storage space might be limited. When folded, Strida can be easily moved on and off buses and trains since it incorporates parallel wheels which allow users to push it effortlessly.

Strida: The first completely new bicycle geometry in 95 years. Inside a triangular frame of lightweight aluminum, power is transferred to the rear wheels via a silent clean Kevlar belt. Handlebars are mounted horizontally, so the rider can sit comfortably upright with an excellent view of the road. The genius of the triangular frame is that it can fold. In six seconds, you have a light, compact form that you can easily wheel before you, stow in a closet, load in your car or take on the train. With no external grease or oil to soil your clothes, Strida makes daily commuting fun and practical. Now, instead of being snarled up in traffic, you can ride wherever you want, then fold up your transport and take it with you. [Strida]

Moreover, with only 19.4 lbs (9 kg) the light bike produces a stable and smooth ride as well. Strida can be bought in the US through Areaware for $799.

Apple has introduced new models of its iPhone and iPod Touch devices with double the memory of previous versions.

The latest iPhone offers 16 GB of memory and costs $499. The previously released 8 GB version will still be available for $399.

The new iPod Touch comes with 32 GB of memory and will sell for $499. Apple will continue to sell the older 16 GB and 8 GB versions at $399 and $299, respectively.

Apple said that all iPhone and iPod Touch models come with updated software which includes a new maps application and the ability to watch movies from the iTunes movie rental service.

Apple, which stated in January that it sold more than 4 million iPhones since it was launched last June, stood for 28% of the U.S. smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2007 according to research firm Canalys. Research In Motion (maker of Black Berry) had the largest market share (41%) and Palm took the third place with 9% of the market.

Worldwide, Nokia is still the clear market leader with a 52.9% of all smart phones during the fourth quarter. Research In Motion was second with an 11.4% and Apple took the third place with a 6.5% of the market.

Virgin Galactic, a company owned and established by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group to undertake the challenge of making private space travel available to everyone and by creating the world’s first commercial spaceline, has recently unveiled the design of its new space shuttle model, the SpaceShipTwo.

The space launch system of the new SpaceShipTwo is based on the technology of preceding model SpaceShipOne, which successfully flew into space for the third time in October 2004. It is comprised of two vehicles: The White Knight Two (WK2) mothership, or carrier aircraft, which will be capable of lifting other payload (such as small satellites and scientific load) and launching it into space. And the 60-feet-long SpaceShipTwo shuttle, with room for six astronaut passengers and two pilots, which will be launched into orbit by the White Knight Two.

Whilst the two vehicles comprising the space launch system are still under construction, Virgin Galactic’s reported that it received over 85,000 registrations of interest to fly.

Virgin Galactic’s spaceport and operational headquarters, Spaceport America, will be built in New Mexico. However, initial flights will be launched from the Mojave Spaceport in the Mojave Desert, California.

Space tickets cost $200,000 and deposits start from $20,000.

Polymer Vision has unveiled the world’s first pocket size mobile phone with a screen that folds up when not in use.

The device, called Readius, combines a large 5-inch rollable display with 3G high speed connectivity to allow its users mobility and instant access to personalized news, blogs and email.

The exclusive Readius exploit the versatility of rollable displays to merge the ‘reading friendly’ strengths of ereaders with the ‘high mobility’ features of mobile phones. With a display larger than the device itself, and designed around ‘ease of use’ and mobility, Readius® is optimised for reading for 30 hours without battery charge.

The 3G HSDPA tri-band phone allows worldwide calls and high speed instant updates from personally selected news sources, special services and email. The Micro SD High Capacity storage ensures easy access to other favorite information and eBooks. Readius® also features phone as well as audio capabilities (such as MP3) for podcasts, audio books and music. [Polymer Vision]

Readius will compete head-to-head with Amazon’s ebook reader Kindle and Apple’s iPhone when it launches in mid-2008.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has introduced the MacBook Air, the world’s thinnest laptop computer, during the Macworld Expo being held in San Francisco, CA.

It measures an unprecedented 0.16 inches at its thinnest point while its maximum height of 0.76 inches is less than the thinnest point on competing notebooks. In addition to a stunning 13.3-inch LED-backlit widescreen display, MacBook Air offers a full-size and backlit keyboard, a built-in iSight video camera for video conferencing, and a spacious trackpad with multi-touch gesture support, letting users pinch, rotate and swipe. The new notebook is powered by a 1.6 GHz or 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 4MB L2 cache, and it includes as standard features 2GB of memory, an 80GB 1.8-inch hard drive, and the latest 802.11n Wi-Fi technology and Bluetooth 2.1. Starting at just $1,799, MacBook Air begins shipping in two weeks. [Apple News]

MacBook Air is designed to take full advantage of the wireless world. In fact, the new notebook does not provide a built-in CD drive. Apple envisions a wireless world in which 802.11n Wi-Fi is so fast and so available, that such drives will become less relevant as more and more services (such as buying and renting movies online, downloading software, and sharing and storing files on the web) can be performed wirelessly or delivered over the internet.

An apparent inconvenience is that the battery cannot be removed, meaning that travellers or business users, will be limited to its 5-hour battery life.

Sony has partnered with Skype to enable users of its latest slim PlayStation Portable (PSP-2000) to make free calls around the world through the Internet.

By introducing Skype on PSP, the following features and services will be made available to PSP users:

• Free voice calls between Skype users
• Skype contact list management (view existing contacts, add new ones)
• Skype presence (see which friends are online and available to talk)
• SkypeOut™ calls to make calls to landlines and mobile phones anywhere in the world (requires the purchase of Skype credit)
• Optional SkypeIn™ number that lets users receive calls on Skype from landlines and mobiles anywhere in the world (requires the purchase of Skype credit)
• View and modify Skype settings and account details (including username creation, SkypeOut settings, voicemail settings and call forwarding) [Sony Pressroom]

PSP users worldwide will be able to start using Skype features and services through a simple system software update scheduled in late January. After updating the PSP system software, a Skype icon will be added to the Network category in the home menu. PSP users who do not yet have a Skype username can register by clicking the icon and following the instructions. PSP users who already have a Skype username can immediately sign in by clicking the Skype icon and entering their username and password.