3D Smart Devices
3D smart devices, which were in the shadows for a while, are being spotlighted again in the IT device industry these days.
According to the industry on July 1, major players inside and outside of Korea have recently introduced or will introduce 3D smartphones and tablet PCs.
Although 3D products were very popular in the smartphone and TV markets until 2012, new product launches are quite slow nowadays due to the shrinking market situation.
However, Amazon, the largest distribution company in the world that aims to lead the smart device market as well, produced a 3D smartphone, and this news has stimulated the market all over again.
Amazon introduced its own 3D smartphone, the “Fire Phone,” in the U.S. on June 18.
The Fire Phone enables video clips to follow users as a special front camera recognizes a user’s face and eyes, and this has been a big issue in the market.
In this particular situation, it was announced that Google and LG together will invent a 3D tablet PC at Google I/O 2014. All eyes in the industry are now on them to see whether or not the smart device could be the IT market leader.
The project name of LG Electronics’ 3D table PC is ‘Tango’, and it will have a seven-inch 3D monitor.
As this project is for creating a reference prototype with Google, Google is likely to be involved in 3D engines and other aspects. Some expect that this could lead to a more perfect final product.
In fact, LG Electronics beat its competitors during 2011-2012 by launching the “Thrill 4G,” “Optimus 3D Cube,” “Optimus 3D Max,” and so on.
Subsequent models have not been developed yet though, as the 3D smartphone market did not grow as expected afterwards.
LG Electronics also has a good reputation on “teamwork” with Google through series of previous cooperations for Google’s standard smartphones and tablet PCs such as the Nexus 4, Nexus 5, and G Pad.
Accordingly, LG Electronics will have market advantages if 3D smart devices attract attention starting from the Fire Phone and Tango.
Furthermore, there are sufficient content, as many recent major blockbuster movies are made in 3D, and high-speed Internet has no problem streaming 3D-quality videos.
In particular, users might prefer 3D smart devices, since they do not require 3D glasses, different from 3D theaters.
In theaters, audiences need to put on polarized glasses, as each member of the audience is seated in a different position. However, individual smart devices do not require such glasses, as position of the single viewer's eyes is relatively fixed.