In the world of gadgets, there have been two major developments this week. Facebook spent $2 billion buying the virtual headset maker Oculus, claiming that virtual reality will be the next big thing after mobile. Google also announced a partnership with Luxottica of Italy to make the Google Glass more fashionable.
Glass has received a lot of attention as a futuristic wearable device but has not caught on with the masses. Luxottica has done a remarkable job in turning eye glasses from a utility to a fashion accessory. In the process, Luxottica has become the largest eyewear company in the world. Consumers may be familiar with Luxottica brands such as Ray-Ban, Sunglass Hut, LensCrafters, and Oakley.
Himax (HIMX), a Taiwan based company, provides LCD timing controller for Oculus headsets. Himax also provides liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) for Google Glass. With the move towards wearables and virtual reality, it will not be a surprise to see Himax supply other companies like Microsoft, Sony and Apple.
In the short-term, the sentiment on Himax stock should benefit from new developments. Today the stock has moved up after taking a drubbing yesterday due to a downgrade by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch analyst.
Himax was an early mover in LCoS, a technology for displays. It was initially developed for projection television. In some ways, this technology is similar to once popular DLP technology used in TVs….Read more at Forbes