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Electronics maker Sharp plans to make three-dimensional displays for cell phones and other mobile devices, the company announced at a press conference on April 2. The displays would not require the use of special 3D-viewing glasses.
Sharp tried its hand at a mobile phone with a 3D display in 2003, but picture brightness and resolution were poor and the device was a bust. Technology, however, has changed, and manufacturers are betting that consumer appetites have too.
“In the 2D era, contents and infrastructure have spread from movies to homes and from homes to mobile devices,” Yoshisuke Hasegawa, Sharp’s executive managing editor, said at the news conference, Reuters reported.
Televisions that feature 3D displays are also jostling for prominence following the return of successful 3D films to theaters, such as the blockbuster “Avatar.” Panasonic and Samsung currently have 3D HDTVs on the market, and Sony will follow in June.
At the International CES show in January, 3D company RealD announced it had agreements with Sony, JVC, Samsung, Toshiba and Panasonic, among others, to offer its stereoscopic RealD Format for in-home 3D displays. And in December, the BDA (Blu-ray Disc Association), whose members include Apple, Dell, Hitachi, Phillips, Pioneer, Samsung and Sharp, released a Blu-ray 3D specification.
The Blu-ray 3D specification is said to be device-agnostic and hence capable of delivering 3D content to any compatible 3D display. It will also allow the Sony PS3 gaming console to play back Blu-ray 3D content in 3D.
Gaming competitor Nintendo also plans to launch a console with 3D games, the Nintendo 3DS, which would also not require the use of 3D glasses. At the Sharp press conference, Hasegawa reportedly declined to comment on whether Sharp would be making the display for Nintendo.
“Just like black and white TVs turned color, all displays will eventually be 3D,” said Hasegawa, according to the Wall Street Journal.