3D

3D technology has not captured the attention of the average consumer or even the power-user techie yet. But, that day is coming soon in my opinion. It started with 3D TVs (which are very expensive – typical of first generation products) and the second generation Fujifilm W3 3D camera last year. In 2011, we’ve seen announcements for several Android based smartphones and tablets that feature 3D cameras and, in some cases, glass-free lenticular 3D viewing displays. The release of Nintendo’s 3DS 3D mobile gaming console this past weekend will probably get a lot more people thinking about and actually working with 3D viewing and photo creation. However, the biggest push for 3D might come if Apple jumps into the market.
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The $250 Nintendo 3DS is available in the U.S. now. It brings glasses 3D viewing for game play, photos, and vido, motion sensor, gyroscope, and the ability to record 3D photos with its dual rear-facing cameras. Its base price is comparable to Apple’s iPod touch which starts at $229 for the 8GB model. The 3DS’ ability to provide 3D gameplay may or may not be a plus. It really depends on whether or not any of the 3D games avaiable at launch can capture the attention of its target market the way Nintendogs or Brain Age did for earlier DS models.

The 3DS’ biggest obstacle will be the price of its premiere games. These games each sell for $40. A parent for young children or a teenager with his/her own money can buy between 8 and 40 games for an iPod touch for $40. While this difference may not impact initial sales, it may impact the future health of the 3DS market. Buying 2 or 3 games for the 3DS costs $80 or $120. The same amount can buy an awful lot of iOS games, songs, and a video or two for an iPod touch (or iPhone).

Nintendo’s online DSIWare provides the ability to purchase less expensive games online. Games tend to cost around 500 DSI points which is roughly $5. However, the 3D games will probably not be in this price range for the forseeable future.

Video courtesy of HTC

I’ve been giving some thought to retiring my Motorola Droid and its associated Verizon Wireless account. The HTC EVO 3D that will be available through Sprint in the U.S. may push me over the edge on that decision.

HTC EVO 3D

It features a dual-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon processor running Android OS 2.3 (Gingerbread), dual 5 megapixel cameras to capture 3D photographs and a glasses-free lenticular display to view 3D images. It also provides a mobile hotspot feature that lets up to 8 WiFi devices share the EVO 3D’s 3G/4G wireless data connectivity. Sprint’s network in my area provides good coverage and has been very stable.

You can see a brief, and perhaps a bit over-dramatic, visualization of the EVO 3D in the HTC provided video embedded above.

In the days and years before the iPhone, iPad, and other powerful multi-function mobile gadgets, Nintendo’s GameBoy, DS, and DS Lite were “must haves” for kids and, more accurately, “must gets” for parents of those kids. They simply defined mobile gaming. Today the iPod touch and a variety of smartphone and tablet platforms are the current “must haves” for mobile gamers of all ages.

Nintendo’s large screen DSi XL did not seem to generate much interest in a world of iPhones and Android phones are very good game platforms. Will the $250 Nintendo 3DS set to launch this Sunday (Mar. 27) in the U.S. recharge Nintendo’s mobile game plan? If you are trying to decide whether to buy one for yourself or your child, you definitely want to take a peek at Engadget’s early and detailed preview of the U.S. 3DS model.

Nintendo 3DS review

Engadget notes the quirks of using a lenticular glasses-free display for gameplay. But, there overall assessment is that this a minor issue and seemed to enjoy the 3D visuals. On the other hand, the 3.5 battery life was not a winning feature.

My interest in the 3DS is its stereo 3D cameras. This essentially makes the 3DS one of the most affordable 3D cameras available. The cameras are limited to sub-megapixel 640×480 VGA photos. However, this is a good starting point to introduce 3D photography. It also provides the 3DS the ability to present Augmented Reality (AR) views. At some point in the future, 3D movies will also be available for the 3DS.

The question is: Is 3D enough to reinvigorate Nintendo’s mobile gaming platform?

The Nintendo 3DS portable game console with a 3D viewing screen won’t be available in the U.S. until March 27. However, iFixit obtained the model released in Japan last month and tore it apart to see what’s inside. Note that the 3DS features two cameras to create its own 3D photographs.

Nintendo 3DS Teardown

- The 3DS has a relatively small battery. The battery takes about 3.5 hours to charge.
- An InfraRed (IR) port was found. However, its function is not yet known.
- The 3DS has an SD storage card slot. The 3DS ships with a 2GB SD card.
- The 3DS has a gyroscope chip
- The 3DS’s battery can be replaced by removing the back cover.
- iFixit gives the 3DS a middle ground 5 out of 10 score for repairability (10 being easiest to repair)

I found it interesting that the 3DS has a gyroscope. The iPhone 4 was the first phone that I know of to provide that feature. It is mostly used for gaming and Augmented Reality (AR) apps. At $250, the 3DS may be the least expensive 3D camera from a tier-1 company and may help kickstart consumer 3D.

The Fujifilm W3 3D camera provides striking glasses-free 3D images on its lenticular display (though some people can’t see 3D for a variety of reasons). There is the problem of sharing 3D images to a wider audience on web pages since I can’t expect most people to have special and generally expensive displays or 3D glasses. My solution is to create red/cyan(blue) anaglyph photos that can be viewed with inexpensive (less than $5) red/cyan filter glasses. Anaglyph glasses are often provided free for 3D promotions of 3D TV events (those not requiring 3D TV sets), DVDs, or books.

How To: Turn a Fujifilm W3 3D MPO Image Into a Red-Cyan Anaglyph Using Freeware

The freeware Anaglyph Maker (for Microsoft Windows) software I use to create the anaglyph photos can create them in a variety of formats including one that attempts to maintain some of the color from the original stereo photos. Sometimes, however, it is not a good idea to do this. This illustrated in the set of photos to the left. I noticed a classic Pepsi Cola vending machine in an restaurant the other day and took a photo of it using the Fujifilm W3 3D camera. It looked fine in full color on the W3′s lenticular display. However, the red/cyan anaglyph color photo did not look good. A moment of reflection seemed to point to the Pepsi vending machine itself which is red and (mostly) blue. A grayscale version of the photo, however, looked great. And, since the vending machine is quite retro, it complemented the image itself with a 1950s look.

You can find the full-size 10 megapixel anaglyph photos for closer inspection here:

Anaglyph 3D photos (color & grayscale) of old Pepsi Cola vending machine

The LG Optimus Pad will launch as the G-Slate on T-Mobile’s network in the U.S. I’m especially interested in it because of its ability to record 3D video (and presumably photos) and play back 3D content using some kind of special glasses. Engadget took it for a spin on the Mobile World Congress show floor.

LG Optimus Pad first hands-on! (video)

One welcome piece of news is that the G-Slate model they tried provided an unadorned Google Experience user interface. This means that it does not have a vendor provided “enhanced” UI found on many Android phones. Engadget also noted, however, that they managed to crash the G-Slate in two apps (browser & Google Maps). The one thing Engadget does not discuss is the 3D viewing experience with glasses.

People who follow this blog may recall that my current passion is 3D photography (something I’ve been interested in for many years). You can find the 3D photos I’ve been sharing in the anaglyph format (red/cyan glasses required to see 3D) on my personal blog. Long time Windows Mobile developer Spb (which now develops apps for many mobile platforms) announced a glass-less 3D user interface for Android.

SPB Software Collaborates with Spatial View Inc. to Demonstrate an Auto-Stereoscopic 3D User Interface for Mobile Devices

So, how are they doing this? Their press release notes a partnership with Spatial View which specializes in 3D content delivery. Spatial View’s 3DeeCentral app for the iPhone 3GS (and only the 3GS) provides a clue. Registering with Spatial View entitles you, for a limited time, to get a free 3DeeSlide accessory for the iPhone 3GS. This is an add-on is a lenticular lens that fits over the 3GS’s display. The result should be something like the lenticular display on Fujifilm W3 which provides a credible glasses-less 3D viewing experience.

I’ve been having a lot of fun playing with and learning to use my Fujifilm W3 3D camera. One of the current problems with 3D photography is that it is a bit difficult to easily share the photos. The simplest and least expensive way to share 3D photos is to convert a stereo image pair (2 photos) into a single anaglyph image that uses color tinting (red and cyan in my case) to provide 3D viewing using inexpensive (less than $5) glasses with red and cyan (or blue) filter lenses. You can see a sample anaglyph to the left.

Producing this anaglyph is a two part process.

1. Fujifilm provides the MyFinePix software for their W3 camera than can split their 3D “.MPO” image file into two JPEG (.JPG) image files.

MyFinePix Studio ver.2.0 For Windows 7 / Vista / XP

2. The freeware Anaglyph Maker software for Microsoft Windows) can merge this pair of JPEG image files into a variety of 3D image formats including a color red-cyan anaglyph.

Anaglyph Maker

If you’d like to take a look at the full-size (10 megapixel) anaglyph image, you can find it on my personal tumblog (on Tumblr) here: Anaglyph 3D photo of a tree.

I believe that 2011 will be a breakthrough year for mobile 3D photo and video. My own modest expectations centered around 3D cameras and the upcoming Nintendo 3DS which can also record 3D photos. Mobile hardware manufacturers, however, appear to be exceeding my expectation by a longshot.

Engadget, for example reported that the Android-powerd LG Optimus 3D phone includes both a 3D camera (dual lens) and glasses-free viewing.

LG confirms Optimus 3D for MWC 2011: glasses-free screen and 3D camera

GigaOm reported that the Android-powered T-Mobile G-Slate Tablet also includes 3D recording and playback capability. The G-Slate’s 3D viewing, however, apparently requires some kind of special glasses.

T-Mobile’s G-Slate Tablet Is a 3-D Recorder/Player

There will probably be issues related to 3D photo and video file formats. But, these types of issues will be sorted out over time. The important thing is that 3D mobile recording for the masses is hitting the ground running in 2011. You’ll be able to follow our coverage of mobile 3D in the:

ThinkMobile 3D Topic Category