3D in mobiles

Sharp plans to launch their new e-reader in the fall in Japan, and in US by the end of 2010. It will probably have a color LCD, and "the potential for 3D down the line". In fact, Sharp's President Mikio Katayama claims to have witnessed great enthusiasm for 3D -- particularly when it comes to games -- and posits it as a likely future direction for this new ebook reader. Here's a 10.8" prototype they shown us a month ago:

Sharp are already making small (3.4") glasses-free 3D displays, are working on a mobile phone with a 3D display, 3D camera modules, and 3D TVs. So it's not surprising that they're also thinking of using 3D in their tablet/e-readers.

Yesterday we reported that ViewSonic is set to introduce (at IFA 2010, September 3rd) several new devices that support 3D - a 3D camcorder, camera, handheld 3D TV and a photo frame. Today we have found a photo of those gadgets.

As you can see in that photo, the camcorder looks like a rebadge of Aiptek's i2 (AKA DDD11K) camcorder. Aiptek's i2 is already shipping for $199.99.

Nokia and Intel will jointly research mobile handset interfaces over the next three years, targeting 3D projects and virtual reality, based on the MeeGo open-source mobile operating system. The two companies will fund about two dozen researchers, working in the University of Oulu at Finland.

The first project will be glasses-free 3D display, but don't expect immediate practical results - the objective is to establish a long-term process that will 'eventually' result in real products.

via MobileDev&Design

Update: We have a photo of the camcorder and mobile TV... it seems that the camcorder is a rebadge of Aiptek's i2.

ViewSonic is set to introduce several new devices that support 3D. There will be a 3D digital camcorder (supporting 720p video) with an integrated 3D display that will cost around £199 (about $300). They will also have a handheld 3D TV, we do not know the size of this one yet. Finally they'll introduce a digital camera and photo frame, both supporting 3D.

ViewSonic will show all these upcoming gadgets at IFA 2010 (September 3rd).

Sharp plans to launch a smart phone that has a 3D panel that does not require glasses, which will probably use their 3.4" (480x854) touch-enabled parallax-barrier LCD announced back in April (pictured below). The phone will also likely to have a 3D camera - Sharp will soon start producing their HD (720p) 3D camera module for mobile devices.

The phone will launch in 'worldwide', although they do not specify which countries exactly.

There are reports that Nintendo's upcoming 3DS gaming console will be very powerful - indeed more than the Wii. And it won't use NVIDIA's Tegra chip...

via Engadget

A few weeks ago we heard that Motorola has filed a patent for a new 3D phone system - a clamshell phone with a regular (2D) image when it's opened, but when it's closed, the lid is transparent, and you'll see a 3D image through it. Photos of a new Motorola Android phone (called MT810) has now leaked, and it's got a transparent cover... this might be the first implementation of this patent and new 3D system:

Motorola MT810

Via PocketLint

266YKWQESNYX