Everything 3D… and more!

iPhone + 3D Apps

by admin on 08/26/2011 | 0

To date, it seems that neither Apple or any major app developers on the Apple App Store have created any applications that utilize 3D, and this is a major surprise. In a world where 3D is the latest craze, with 3D TV’s, 3D movies, 3D portable consoles and endless other products, it is a major surprise that the technology doesn’t seem to have filtered through to mobile platforms, particularly the iPhone.

Now, I am by no means saying that the next iPhone will contain a 3D screen or technology, as I am not in the business of creating speculation, but it would not surprise me if something involving 3D began to appear in mobile platforms and applications in the near future. I guess that is fueling speculation in a sense, but I digress.

Nintendo have shown us that there is 3D technology that will work on a smaller screen. Albeit, technology that will destroy your eyes after 20 minutes of playing, but the basis of the product is there. As time progresses, the tech will develop and become more suitable for general use, and with the amount of cash Apple have, it wouldn’t be surprising if they pioneered one of the first 3D screens in a mobile device, such as the iPhone 5.

With a 3D display, the potential for new iPhone apps would be incredibly. 3D is still increasing in popularity with the ever-increasing availability of 3D products, and adopting the technology early could give them a good foothold on the 3D mobile market if they did it well enough. Knowing Apple, they will certainly have had similar thoughts, but whether or not they would actually go ahead with implementing it is a different matter. 3D displays aren’t everybody’s cup of tea and depending on it too heavily for sales might actually damage the iPhone’s image in some cases.

Again, I am not saying that Apple are even considering this, merely that I am surprised that 3D hasn’t been incorporated into a mobile device thus far, and with Apple’s record of ‘innovation,’ they would be the likely suspects to be the first, especially with their heavy promotion on the app store. 3D would add a new dimension (literally) to applications, and I’m sure it won’t be long before a mobile manufacturer decides that it’s the next step in mobile displays.

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Reflection 3D – All About 3D!

by admin on 06/15/2011 | 0

Hello, and may I say, welcome to reflection3d.com! In future, the site will focus on all things 3D, from games to TV to movies, and any other electronic things related to 3D. Basically, we wanted to create a blog in which we could rant about 3D games and media, but also allow readers to have an input. For instance, the 3D functionality of Minecraft – definitely not a game that needs 3D (even the old red-and-blue type) and badly implemented in our opinion, yet some people enjoy the effect.

Ultimately that is the aim of the website – a small discussion site about anything involving three dimensions (and possibly the superiority of two dimensions, if you’re into that sort of thing), possibly focusing on the 3D functionality of the Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) to begin with due to the fact we know a lot more about it than most other forms of 3D. That said, we will also venture towards the Nintendo 3DS, 3D gaming on the PC, 3D movies, 3D TV services, and anything else.

So, to start the ball rolling, what do you think of video games (such as those on the Playstation 3/PS3 and the Nintendo 3DS) that feature 3D functionality? Does it create an immersive gaming experience, or do you think it’s an expensive gimmick that will disappear in due course?

Personally, I believe that 3D in gaming is not a great feature – not to knock 3D overall, since it is rather good for movies – but on a smaller screen the effect just isn’t the same. While I have only tested one 3D game on the PS3 (Call Of Duty: Black Ops), the 3D effect just wasn’t appealing on a small 40″ screen (well… small compared to a cinema screen, anyway). While it is impressive from a technical point of view, small screen 3D just isn’t developed well enough yet compared to movies in the theatre.

I think the main problem currently is still the cost of 3D TV’s and peripherals. $1000 + for a TV which only comes with one pair of glasses is far too much in our eyes, when you consider that another pair of 3D glasses could set you back up to $100, and a 3D enabled device (such as a PS3, for example) costs another several hundred dollars. Fifteen hundred bucks for a package that you may not fully utilise is undoubtedly a lot of money, and most people just can’t afford it.

I guess that’s our main point-of-view on 3D… it’s good (incredibly good) from a technical point of view, but the costs still need to fall significantly before it’s tempting enough to buy into. Hopefully by the time the cost has fallen to an acceptable level, the technology will have matured and 3D will actually be worth buying for the home market for use on PS3 consoles, 3D Blu-Ray players and other 3D enabled equipment.

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