HTC to follow LG with 3D smartphone
All about Evo
HTC has followed LG's lead by fitting its latest smartphone with a glasses-free 3D display.
The HTC Evo 3D runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread with the latest HTC Sense UI sitting on top, all on a 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. It features a dimension-boosting 4.3in, 540 x 960 - aka "qHD" - display, as well as twin 5Mp cameras geared for 3D snapping in low light conditions, and for 720p video capture.
The HTC Evo 3D will be "broadly available" in Europe next month. There's no word on pricing just yet, but it will be interesting to see how it compares to the HTC Sensation which, 3D capability aside, seems almost identical.
HTC's new handset becomes the second available in the UK to feature a glasses-free 3D display, following the LG Optimus 3D, due to hit shelves on 7 July. ®
COMMENTS
Priorities
HTC would be better off improving their dodgy touchscreen accuracy (on the HD7 I had anyway) and terrible screen performance in sunlight than messing with 3D.
It probably doesn't
Parallax barrier displays are currently passive - something sits in front of the pixels and masks odd pixels from one eye and even pixels from the other.
Biggest issue is it cuts the horizontal resolution in half and requires the user be exactly positioned to see the effect. I assume in phones that it wouldn't even enable the barrier except when you're taking a 3D picture or something so even if it consumed a small amount of power when enabled it wouldn't be used that often.
I'd be more worried about the stupid premium the phone would command for having 2 cameras on the back and a gimmick 3D effect.
Silly
I can't see this as being anything other than a gimick on such a small screen. Long term, no future for 3d smartphones in their current design.
Battery?
And how does this affect the battery?
When I look to replace my Android next year, I'll be looking for two things: NFC support, battery life.
Oh, and an alternative to the 32MB of Adobe crap that's required on my device.
