Ubisoft Predicts Every Home Will Have One By 2013 But 12% Of Brits Can’t See 3DTV

Ubisoft has said that the level of demand for 3D gaming is such that it predicts every home will have 3DTV installed by the year 2013. However, research has shown if this is the case then a reasonable amount of them will be largely unused as 12% of all Brits are unable to see 3DTV in all its glory.

What’s more, according to a report in the Telegraph, Samsung announced a couple of months ago that its 3D TV sets (and 3D TV in general) could be harmful to those suffering from epilepsy as well as pregnant women, the elderly, and children. In fact, those deprived of sleep and those that have been drinking are also advised to stay away while the list of possible side effects for even the average viewer includes dizziness, altered vision, nausea, convulsion, and cramps.

The positive news is that as long as you’re between the ages of 18 and 40 and have a signed letter from your doctor you should be enjoying a much greater range of 3D entertainment (assuming you’re not one of the 6 million people that can’t actually enjoy 3D, of course).

3D technology means that images are constantly bombarded at the viewer’s eyes and according to The Eyecare Trust our brains struggle to comprehend what is being thrown at them due to poor binocular vision.

If you are one of the lucky 8 or 9 people in the country that will be able to watch 3D then you might be interested to learn that not only is there an incredible range of Samsung TVs and TVs from other manufacturers designed for the very purpose but the PS3 has had a firmware update which means it is capable of playing 3D games and Nintendo has recently announced the launch of a 3D mobile gaming device by the end of the year that will not require users to wear those “special” glasses.

How’s your binocular vision?

Acer launches new Predator gaming PC

A new PC from Acer designed to entice the hardcore gaming crowd has been launched and the aptly named addition to the Predator range is certainly not for the casual user.

The new Predator shares the admittedly garish case of its stable mates, complete with a hinged front panel that resembles an alien battle mask and covers the bright orange face plate in a more reserved black.

Inside an Intel quad core i7 processor running at 2.8GHz lurks and its partnership with 12GB of DDR3 RAM and an NVIDIA 470 GTX graphics card make it suitably powerful from a hardware perspective. Acer has even thought about a sensible upgrade route by using a motherboard that can house two additional graphics cards for some ultra expensive expansion.

Acer has confirmed that the Predator is going to launch in the UK and if its US price is anything to go by it may hit the market at about £1300, although with all of the various additional costs there is a likelihood that the final price point will be far higher.

The Acer Predator is not a subtle machine, but then it is aiming to please gamers who like to drool over modded cases and acres of RAM and in this respect it is bang on target. If you are not a fan of PC building then this pre-made gaming package represents a pretty compelling reason to buy straight from the shelf rather than getting into assembly.

Nexus One to ditch OLED in favour of Super TFT LCD

Rumours suggest that smartphone manufacturer HTC is going to stop using the famous OLED screens in both the Google Nexus One and Desire handsets from the beginning of August, choosing instead a Super TFT LCD (SLCD) display produced by Sony.

The 3.7 inch OLED touchscreen display that is shared by the Nexus One and Desire was a real selling point, but now Samsung, the supplier of the screens, has encountered issues with keeping up with the demand for the high end handsets. As a result, HTC has made an executive decision to go for a supplier and screen technology that will meet growing public interest in its Android-based mobiles.

The head of the US network provider Verizon broke the news about Samsung’s supply problems to Unwired View and although the OLED display has won praise from observers, it seems that the SLCD has a few tricks of its own. The resolution is said to be higher whilst it will be more energy efficient, although quite how this will be possible is a mystery at the moment as unlike OLED technology the SLCD will require a backlight.

Most current and future Nexus One and HTC Desire owners are unlikely to notice any marked difference if HTC does actually boot out the OLED screen in favour of an SLCD alternative. However, for those who do care about their gadget hardware, this could become fairly significant news and might have an impact on the appeal of the two smartphones, for better or worse.

iPhone-controlled hover drone gets UK launch date

A remote controlled drone that can be manipulated using either an iPhone or iPod Touch is being launched by aerial gadget firm Parrot, complete with augmented reality features and a high desirability factor.

Parrot’s AR.Drone is going to hit the UK on the 18th of August this year, which is good news as it was only at the 2010 CES event a few months ago that Parrot showcased a prototype quadricopter that blew away many visitors to the conference.

The AR.Drone will be controllable from a distance of up to 50 metres and it takes full advantage of the iPhone’s integrated accelerometer to allow for natural controls which respond to tilting the smartphone.

The most exciting aspect of the AR.Drone’s functionality is its augmented reality software. Basically there are two cameras hidden in the ‘copter and live feeds of the video are fed back to the iPhone, complete with an overlaid assault course, thanks to some clever programming, turning it into the ultimate gaming experience.

The AR.Drone will communicate with the iPhone or iPod Touch using a Wi-Fi connection and the gadget will have transferrable shells which allow you to put on a bulkier, more protective layer whilst you get to grips with the controls and then give you the option to switch to a lighter, more aerodynamic option to speed things up when you are more of an expert.

Parrot says that it will sell the AR.Drone for around £300 when it launches in August and it is looking for developers to work on an Android version of the control app.

Toshiba creates first dual screen, touch sensitive laptop

The Toshiba Libretto W100 is a unique arrival on the laptop market because it is the first device to feature two screens that are both fully touch sensitive.

The popularity of tablet computers, as manifest in Apple’s iPad, has doubtless fuelled the production of the W100, whilst Toshiba has retained several key laptop features, such as a clamshell design, thus making it something of a hybrid.

The W100 has Windows 7 preinstalled and it takes advantage of the native touchscreen support offered by Microsoft’s latest operating system in order to make menu navigation and general inputs feel intuitive and relatively natural compared to laptops with physical keypads.

The identical touchscreens measure seven inches across the diagonaland the whole thing is just three centimetres thick when you close it. Despite its small size you still get 2GB of RAM and a 62GB hard drive that is quiet, cool and energy efficient because it uses solid state technology.

The W100 has a one megapixel camera built into the frame and it can even shoot video clips in high definition. The battery life of 3.5 hours is adequate if a little underwhelming, although powering two independent displays is going to require quite a bit of juice.

As you might expect, the Libretto W100 has Wi-Fi connectivity built in, but it is also available with 3G network connectivity for mobile broadband access. This might be a good choice for those who do not want to sacrifice its single USB port to a mobile broadband USB modem.

Nintendo debuts 3DS

The brand new hand-held console from Nintendo has appeared at the E3 gaming event, bringing with it 3D effects that don’t require the wearing of polarised glasses.

Nintendo has implemented the rather novel idea of having the 3D display properties controllable in real time thanks to a slider on the side of the console. This means the user can choose in real time just how much depth is perceived on-screen, perhaps allowing Nintendo to sidestep criticism that the 3D display could result in eye damage after extended use.

Nintendo has secured some very important partnerships to allow it to showcase 3D films on the 3DS. These partners include Disney and Dreamworks, which means titles such as “Up” and “Shrek Forever After” could be coming to the 3DS in precisely the manner that was intended by their creators.

A host of 3D games will be made available for the 3DS, including adaptations of previous Metal Gear Solid titles. Expect to see Street Fighter IV also making an appearance, alongside a Final Fantasy game, in a line up that appears to be encroaching upon traditional Sony territory.

In addition to displaying 3D games and movies, the Nintendo 3DS will be able to take pictures in 3D and then make them viewable on-screen. This is a fairly impressive feature that would not necessarily have popped up on the wish lists of many, but is certainly a welcome addition.

The Nintendo 3DS has the dual screen set-up of the current DS consoles, with a touchscreen supplementing the primary display with 2D-only capabilities.

iPhone 4 Announced

Apple CEO Steve Jobs and a host of partners and colleagues took to the stage at the WWDC event in San Francisco on Monday in order to unveil the iPhone 4.

The latest addition to Apple’s smartphone line up represents the biggest step forward since the first iPhone was launched in 2007 and it has got even the cynics excited, desperate to get their hands on a retail version.

Read more

Nintendo 3DS to wipe floor with Wii

Rumours suggest that the next handheld from Nintendo, which has been tentatively nicknamed the 3DS because of its 3D gaming capabilities, will be much more powerful than the full sized Wii home console.

Some have claimed in the run up to the E3 gaming expo that the 3DS will have a graphics chip and central processing unit so powerful that it will be able to directly compete with the Xbox 360 and even the monolithic but often under-utilised PlayStation 3.

Although critics have continually derided Nintendo’s choice to make the Wii a cheap, cheerful but ultimately underpowered console, if the rumours about the 3DS are true, it would pose a serious threat to the other handheld gaming platforms.

Nintendo’s strategy of courting the mass market and offering its consoles at a low price point has made it billions over the last half decade, but it has seen its profits tumble as the Wii’s popularity wears thin, partly due to a lacklustre catalogue of games and a disinterested casual audience who will not invest in software on a regular basis.

The rumours about the 3DS and its powerhouse performance capabilities have come from developers cited by gaming site IGN, with industry murmurings suggesting that the 3DS will be able to match up to the major HD home consoles in terms of graphical fidelity. Since the 3DS is going to have to generate 3D images, this news of processing prowess may not be a huge surprise.

3D TV to ditch glasses in five years

A Taiwanese firm has said that by 2015 the use of polarising or active shutter 3D glasses in home cinema systems will be a thing of the past as technology evolves to make them unnecessary and obsolete.

The first crop of 3D TVs are all going to use the slightly wacky glasses to provide the 3D effect in the home and at the moment this is being seen as an added expense that increases the price of the already expensive 3D equipment.

The Industrial Technology Research Institute is developing parallax barrier technology which will provide native support for 3D without the need for any eyewear and it showcased its potential in a 42 inch display which it thinks will be market-ready in five years.

The biggest problem with parallax barrier in its current form is that the effects are only visible to people sitting in a particular spot in front of the screen. Hopefully this obstacle will be overcome before we start getting glasses-free 3D TV at home, otherwise fighting over sofa space will become even more of a battle.

The first products to use the parallax barrier technology being developed in Taiwan will be digital photo viewers and signs for advertising. Rumours also suggest that the next handheld console from Nintendo, tentatively titled the 3DS, is going to use similar technology. Clearly, with a handheld, getting the user to view the display from a set angle is a far easier proposition.

Brits pay over the odds for iPad

New figures show that Apple’s new iPad is costing customers in the UK far more than their international contemporaries.

European prices for the iPad are much higher than in other regions of the globe and the UK is being hit even harder with high prices for the must-have gadget of the day. More on iPad Uk Prices

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