Sharp Announces Glasses-Free 3D Panels For Cellphones
3D is going places that you never thought possible, and honestly, in
more places than you probably ever imagined. Just a couple of years
ago, 3D was seen as a has-been format that died out in the 80s. Today,
it's the "next big thing." As if taking over the cinema and your living
room weren't enough, 3D is also coming to handheld gaming consoles. And
maybe, your next phone.
Sharp has announced that it will start making "advanced 3D displays for cellphones and other mobile devices that don't require special viewing glasses," so it's very likely that 3D versions of devices you already own will start popping up soon. The great news here is that no extra glasses are required, which is a big deviation from what currently exists on the market. We get the impression that glasses-free 3D is difficult with large screens, but maybe not when sized down to something as small as a phone or portable media player. We also know from experience that the 3D effect is far less when viewing a small panel, so we're guessing that these won't be nearly as amazing to look at as Avatar in a 3D cinema.
But still, it's added depth, and it's a way to improve upon a device without dramatically innovating. A new panel is certainly innovative, but it's not like we haven't seen this kind of change before. We've gone from CCFL to LED backlights, from LCDs to OLEDs, and now, from 2D to 3D. There's no sales target (and thus, no price and solid release date) for the 3D panels, but with Nintendo already announcing a 3D DSi, we would not be surprised in the least to hear that Sony was thinking about a 3D version of the PlayStation Portable. And can you imagine the hype that would surround a 3D iPhone or iPad? On second thought, we'd probably rather not.
Sharp has announced that it will start making "advanced 3D displays for cellphones and other mobile devices that don't require special viewing glasses," so it's very likely that 3D versions of devices you already own will start popping up soon. The great news here is that no extra glasses are required, which is a big deviation from what currently exists on the market. We get the impression that glasses-free 3D is difficult with large screens, but maybe not when sized down to something as small as a phone or portable media player. We also know from experience that the 3D effect is far less when viewing a small panel, so we're guessing that these won't be nearly as amazing to look at as Avatar in a 3D cinema.
But still, it's added depth, and it's a way to improve upon a device without dramatically innovating. A new panel is certainly innovative, but it's not like we haven't seen this kind of change before. We've gone from CCFL to LED backlights, from LCDs to OLEDs, and now, from 2D to 3D. There's no sales target (and thus, no price and solid release date) for the 3D panels, but with Nintendo already announcing a 3D DSi, we would not be surprised in the least to hear that Sony was thinking about a 3D version of the PlayStation Portable. And can you imagine the hype that would surround a 3D iPhone or iPad? On second thought, we'd probably rather not.
