[by John Dvorak, PC Magazine]

The Nintendo 3DS will be successful not only because it produces a great 3D image without glasses, but because it takes 3D pictures. Making 3D personal with 3D pictures and video is the key to the eventual success of home 3D.

The new Nintendo 3DS promises to be a success not only because it actually works well and does indeed provide a 3D image without any glasses or aid whatsoever, but because it takes amusing 3D photos and is just fun to play with.

When all is said and done, the Nintendo 3DS may actually accomplish what Fuji has been promoting and what many 3D hobbyists have tried: popularizing 3D photography for everyday use.

And, yes, we know that it’s a gimmick. But it’s a cool gimmick.

After taking a few 3D pictures of just about anything, you’ll find that they are so compelling that it is hard to express the odd joy you get from them. This is the key to the eventual success of home 3D. It has always failed in the past, because it was somebody else’s 3D. It was never personal.

Photography itself never flourished as a hobby when the cameras were the big bulky clunkers utilized by Matthew Brady and others. Think about this. Photography was nothing new during the Civil War in the 1860’s, but all the photos were done by a limited number of pros. You have to wonder what the Civil War would have been like if everyone had a cell phone camera like we do today.

Then Kodak produced the Brownie and gave photography to everyman. Next thing you knew, photography became the number one hobby in the world. 3D is following that same pattern. It’s just odd that a game company, Nintendo, is the Kodak and the 3DS is the Brownie.

Fuji is the only one that has been promoting 3D photography to any extent, but the seriousness of its efforts are questionable. The company seems intent on being a marginal player and is hardly promoting its 3D cameras. How many people reading this column knew that Fuji is the leader in consumer 3D cameras?

It’s okay, since Nintendo will pick up the slack. If the 3DS is a success, I would hope the company pushes the 3D angle to the next level, which is to create 3D video that can be played on a big screen 3D TV.

I suggest this because, again, here is where Fuji dropped the ball. There is nothing more boring than people’s home videos of little Becky’s birthday party that were filmed with flip-cam. But the exact same event becomes oddly compelling and interesting when shot and viewed in 3D. Instead of watching a flat two-dimensional replay of the event, 3D puts you into the moment, as if you were actually there.

3D movie-making adds a whole new dimension to the 3D hobby. While it is inconvenient to set up the 3D TV and outfit people with glasses, it’s still fun to watch on the small 3D screen without the glasses.

Before I get too carried away, let’s back off and logically look at how this whole 3D thing will unfold.

Be assured that small 3D screens do work well, and combine that with the fact that making 3D pictures and movies is a lot of fun, and it will trigger all sorts of uses for 3D. But who are the most aggressive makers of handheld devices with small LCD screens? The mobile phone handset makers, of course.

So it’s obvious that someone will come out with a 3D mobile phone, and the likelihood of it being Apple is quite high. The iPhone 3D would be a good moniker.

When Apple goes 3D you can be assured that all the 3D naysayers will change their tune from “it’s a fad” to “3D finally done right!” But when the history is written, I think the Nintendo 3DS will be recognized as the father of it all.

See the original post here:  http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2382761,00.asp

[by CIARA O’BRIEN, Irish Times]

Excerpt:

The new Nintendo 3DS might herald a change in attitude towards 3D technology

MORE THAN a year after 3D TV was unveiled, the technology has yet to become a staple in households. But that could be about to change with a new generation of smaller, portable products with 3D options, which could provide a back door into consumers’ homes for the technology.

The launch of the Nintendo 3DS last week could herald a change in attitude towards 3D. Heralded as a “game changer” for 3D, hopes are high that the console, which does not require the use of special glasses, could give 3D the push it needs to become an entertainment standard.

It has already proved popular, with Nintendo reporting record sales for the handheld console, although exact figures will not be released until mid-April.

Games makers are expecting the 3DS to further the cause of 3D among consumers.

“Even though it’s a handheld device, people are going to have a good experience with it and are going to be searching out that 3D content on the home console as well,” said Tony Key, vice-president of marketing at video game publisher Ubisoft.

3D gaming was expected to, in some way, drive sales of the new TV sets. However, it could be a while before that adoption is widespread. Although Sony is backing 3D gaming, enabling big name titles such as Call of Duty: Black Ops and Gran Turismo 5 and promising 20 titles by the end of the year, Microsoft has been a little more circumspect, concentrating instead on its motion-sensitive Kinect product.

The Nintendo-inspired boost would be welcomed by an industry that has worked hard to promote 3D with varying degrees of success.

A number of factors are blamed for holding back the adoption of 3D TV as a standard, including the cost of the equipment, a lack of content and the expectation that newer, better technology that will not require the use of glasses is coming in the near future.

There could be hope on the horizon for TV manufacturers. A study by research firm Futuresource Consulting claims that almost 15 million households in the US will have a 3D-enabled TV by the end of 2012. Prices have fallen in recent months as more 3D-enabled TVs become available.

Addressing the lack of content is another issue. While there has been a rash of 3D film releases, content for the average consumer is thin on the ground.

The new generation of portable, create-your-own-3D devices could go some way towards solving that problem, encouraging consumers to invest in the new equipment.

Companies such as Panasonic and Sony are also adopting the technology into cameras, camcorders and even laptops this year, increasing the chances that consumers will become exposed to it.

Even mobile phone companies are getting in on the act, with LG unveiling a 3D phone at Mobile World Congress in February.

…

Auto-stereoscopic 3D TVs, which do not require the use of glasses, are available in Japan, but the expectation that this will become the norm in the near future may be misguided.

…

See the full, lengthy post here: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2011/0401/1224293532698.html