February 6, 2006 When assessing the size of a potential market, it’s easy to get it all wrong, even with detailed analysis. Take for example, the Xerox photocopier. Invented by Chester Carlson in 1938, the invention was rejected by more than 20 companies before backers could be found. Some quite prestigious consulting firms advised against investment in the project on the basis that the machines were complex and costly and based on analysis of carbon copy paper sales, the market was simply not valuable enough. The rest, they say, is history and Xerox Corporation is today a US$15.7 billion technology and services enterprise with world leadership in the critical and still emerging document management industry. Think you’d have assessed it differently? Then riddle us this one – does this new X-arm motorized wall mount for flat panel TVs offer a significant advantage and will it be able to capture a sufficiently large niche to prosper? The X-arm allows a viewer to adjust the viewing angle of the TV with a remote control. The market for wall mounting brackets is naturally experiencing massive growth at present due to the popularity of flat panel LCD and plasma TVs. Research estimates on the number that will be sold in the U.S. in the next three years vary between 6 million and 8 million units. What percentage of those would be motorized if they retailed for less than US$2000?
The X-arm can handle up to 60 inch flat screen TVs weighing up to 150 pounds. When the X-arm mount is in a retracted position, the TV is only 4.6 inches from the wall so that all you notice is the TV. The magic, however, happens when the remote control is used to activate X-arm mount which smoothly extends the TV away from the wall, then can swivel the TV from side to side 35º (total swivel movement 70º), and/or tilt the TV up and down 25º (total tilt movement 50º).
Apart from getting the viewing angle you require when you’re watching, the X-arm offers a clean aesthetic look when the TV isn’t being used. When the X-arm extends the TV from the wall, a bellow extends to cover the mount's actuators, enabling all of the video and audio wires to be hidden within the bellow between the wall and the TV.
And if you answered yes to the question in the introduction about the prospects for X-Arm, CLO Systems is seeking strategic partnerships and is interested in co-branding X-arm with new partners. If you’re even more bullish and wish to invest in the idea, the company is seeking smart money. Either way, contact Mr. Sung Oh at CLO Systems.
