Mobile Magazine » stereoscopic 3d

ViewMaster Lives Again with Sanwa Stereoscopic 3D Viewer

Michael Kwan — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 20:15:19 +0000

Do you remember the old ViewMaster? Where you’d have a series of still photos and you pull that lever on the side to advance to the next picture? The Sanwa Stereoscopic YouTube viewer is eeriely reminiscent of the old ViewMaster, except this one is designed to work with your iPhone to provide you with a 3D viewing experience on the go.

Yes, there are already 3D-capable smartphones out there like the LG Optimus 3D, but this is a fun little gadget that can transform your iPhone into a personal big-screen 3D TV. It’s designed to work with the stereoscopic 3D videos on YouTube, but it could presumably work with any 3D image that is displayed in side-by-side form as shown here.

I know Sanwa for for arcade stick parts, but I guess they venture into other areas too. The bad news is that the Sanwa Stereoscopic is only available for iPhone users in Japan at the moment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t try importing it.

[Source]

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HTC EVO 3D ships with Sprint, heading to Europe too

Michael Kwan — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:42:11 +0000

All it takes is a tipping point. The iPhone represented a tipping point for touchscreen smartphones for regular consumers. The iPad represented a tipping point for the popularity of tablets. And perhaps the Nintendo 3DS (despite being bad for kids) represents the tipping point for glasses-free stereoscopic 3D. Joining the fray is the HTC EVO 3D, which starting shipping with Sprint in the United States earlier this week.

The smartphone was originally announced back in March and while it doesn’t look terribly different than other Android smartphones from HTC, it boasts that same kind of glasses-free 3D viewing that you’d find on LG Optimus 3D and, more recently, the Brando Gadmei P83. It just doesn’t make sense to have some clunky 3D glasses in tow when you want to watch videos and view photos on your cell phone, right?

As far as the specs go, you get a dual-lens camera on the back for shooting 3D content (up to 2MP stills and 720p 30fps HD video), 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and a 4.3-inch qHD display. The camera has a tilt-shift feature as well. The 3D-ness extends beyond photos and videos too, as they’ve refreshed HTC Sense UI to include 3D menus, an active lockscreen, and a 3D weather app with 3D animations.

Sprint has the exclusive on the HTC EVO 3D in the United States and that version boasts WiMAX connectivity. Expect it to sell for $199 on a two-year contract. Over on the other side of the pond, Vodafone UK has confirmed it’ll nab the EVO 3D, but other European carriers will likely get it too. In lieu of WiMAX, Euro folk will get the usual combo of Wi-Fi and 3G.

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LG Optimus 3D teaser video reveals an iPhone-esque glimpse

Michael Kwan — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 01:40:47 +0000

Maybe you can thank the Nintendo 3DS for this whole stereoscopic 3D vision thing, but we are on the cusp of seeing the official revealing of the LG Optimus 3D. The newly released teaser video gives us a better look at this phone.

The promotional video is relatively short at just 23 seconds, but it pretty much confirms the design for the LG Optimus 3D that we saw last week. One difference, and it could be just because of the renders and lighting, is that there might be a chrome bezel around the front that isn’t quite so obvious in the earlier leaked photo.

In line with all the previous rumors, you get a glasses-free 3D display and a couple of cameras in the back to shoot pictures and videos in 3D too. The overall design isn’t a huge departure from the other Optimus phones, so we’re not expecting much in terms of surprises.

I’m not completely on board with this idea just yet, but maybe they’ll convince me when they do the official unveiling at MWC later this month.

[PocketLint]

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Nintendo issues warning that 3DS is bad for childrens’ eyes

Michael Kwan — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 21:10:14 +0000

What do you do when you have a product that is clearly targeting a younger audience, only to discover that it may not exactly be appropriate younger audience? That’s exactly the pickle that Nintendo has somehow found itself handling with the Nintendo 3DS. You see, the 3D-ness could have seriously detrimental effects on the eyeballs of young children.

Nintendo has issued a warning, saying that the 3D mode on the Nintendo 3DS shouldn’t be used by children under the age of six, because their vision is still in development. The way the stereoscopic 3D works on the device “has a potential impact on the growth of children’s eyes.” They might not go blind, but they might not develop properly either.

I think everyone’s parents told us not to sit too close to the TV while playing video games as a kid and, well, it seems that they might have been right. Staring at the stereoscopic 3D on the 3DS could fry their little brains and melt their little eyeballs… so to speak. That’s why Nintendo is also implementing a parental control on the 3DS that will lock the device in 2D mode.

Oh, and don’t think Nintendo is alone on this front. You know how the PS3 does 3D gaming too (albeit with glasses and all that)? Well, Sony has also issued a warning saying that kids under six shouldn’t play their 3D games either, unless they’ve been examined by an optometrist and given the go-ahead. So, 3D gaming might be the wave of the future, but the future could have a bunch of blind kids too. Great.

[Gizmodo]

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