Is 3D really the future?

One day, you'll tell your grand-kids about ye old times when you drove a car which ran on explosive fuel, watched ITV without a 'talent' competition on it and looked at 2D pictures on every gadget's screen.

This week, a device released promising the 3D-screen experience for around £200 - about £1000 cheaper than any 3D-enabled kit so far. It does 3D movies, photos and games all without glasses - the Nintendo 3DS.

Heralded by many as the device which will finally break the uncertainty barrier keeping people from investing in 3D tech, the 3DS could well spark a revolution of sorts. Remember how after the DS launched, every piece of tech, from mobiles to printers, slapped on a touch screen? Or how every film suddenly rushed to slap (often rubbishy) 3D effects on their flicks after Avatar? The same could soon happen with 3D on the go.

The iPhone 5 is rumoured to be packing 3D. LG are already prepping their 3D mobile - the LG Optimus 3D - while TV companies charging over a grand for a flatscreen which needs £150 glasses are suddenly scrambling around trying to do damage control.

But is it hype for nothing? After all, I've seen many a person struggle on with a touch screen, wishing they'd stuck with the cosy comfort of proper buttons.

Similarly, many people complain of sickness, nausea and headaches when viewing 3D images. Just today, The Sun ran a scaremongering attack on the 3DS, citing the views of "The Sun Doctor" (I'm not making this up) who said the 3D effect was 'unnatural' and will make your brain explode, or something.

But there may be something to the reports. And leaving the queasy aside, there's still people with weak vision and lazy eyes, or missing eyes (honest) who can't see 3D at all.

And to top it all off, we've been here before. Feast your eyes on this film advert, for a movie released in 1922.


Now, 3D before they had talking parts was probably sprinting before we could gurgle, but the point is: we've had several 3D resurgences since and they've all failed too. Can it ever work?

Well for one thing, the glasses are gone - at least in the portable realm, and TVs will catch up some day.

For another thing, 3D is backed by Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, LG, Nintendo, Philips - pretty much anyone who's anything in the tech world.

Plus, the amount of 3D content available this year is astronomical. Sky Sports 3D, hundreds of 3D games both on 3DS and PS3, as well as several major 3D movie releases.

3D isn't the future, it's the present, and it's a great time to get on board.