Juniper Foo | Sep 13, 2004

Has 3D imaging's time finally come? NTT DoCoMo and Japanese J-Phone are already selling mobiles containing small 3D screens, while Sharp has released a notebook with a display that lets people view 3D images. Now NEC, literally thinking out of the box, has developed its own prototype cell phone which plucks an image and projects it into three-dimensional space visible to the naked eye. No need for those nauseating, eye-straining 3D goggles. While holographic 3D--of the Industrial Light + Magic wizardry we saw in Paycheck--will likely remain the realm of Hollywood for some time, NEC's technology greatly improves on current 3D LCD resolution. Utilizing a lenticular lens, this ups the ante to VGA 235ppi (pixels per inch) in 3D format, compared with a 90ppi resolution on a mobile phone using a QVGA 180ppi 2D display. We can just imagine the 3D spam coming your way.
Price: N.A.
Availability: In concept stage
Device: Mobile phone
Basic specs: 470ppi (horizontal) x 235ppi (vertical) pixel resolution in 2.5-inch diagonal and 640 x 480-pixel VGA format
Juniper Foo | Sep 08, 2004

What will they think of next? At the recent Future Creation Fair in Tokyo, Fuji Photo showed off a prototype wearable digicam called Sign Operation Camera that it's working on. We're not talking about a mini cam you can wear around your neck but one that, quite literally, fits you like a glove. The concept uses the hand as an anchor, with the lens worn on the forefinger like a ring, the LCD display sitting at the back of the hand and the battery placed somewhere around the wrist. The shutter, interestingly, is triggered by finger signs such as making a V sign with forefinger and middle finger. Now if HP can customize a diamond-encrusted iPod for rapper Puff Diddy, we reckon it won't be long before the gloved one puts in orders for this Fuji shooter.
Price: N.A.
Availability: Still in concept stage
Device: Digital camera
Basic specs: N.A.