World’s First No-Glasses 3D Laptop Arrives Next Month

  • Share
  • Read Later

I’m still probing for the point of three-dimensional legerdemain as a grumbler and entertainment snob who’ll skirt the 3D versions of most things (especially movies), but if you’re impressed by what seems increasingly like a fad, you can lay hands and eyeballs on the world’s first no-glasses 3D laptop for just north of $2,000 next month.

It has an appropriately trendy name to help persuade your pocketbook—the Qosmio F750, which makes it sound like a cross between a fashion mag (or a cocktail) and a Ford pickup. It can lay claim to the title “first glasses-free 3D laptop,” though the world’s first glasses-free 3D mobile device was technically Nintendo’s 3DS, released in Japan last February and stateside in March.

(LIST: 25 Gotta Have Travel Gadgets)

The F750’s actually unique angle: as Techland editor Doug Aamoth noted in January, it can handle 2D and 3D images simultaneously on its hefty 15.6-inch, 120Hz, 1920 by 1080 pixel display. It lets you to essentially split the screen, rolling something like Avatar in a 3D-enabled window while allowing you to update Twitter or Facebook in another displayed in standard 2D.

The other intriguing bit involves the F750’s webcam, which tracks the position of your eyes, allowing the screen mesh to shift such that the 3D effect is continuous within a broader field of view (we noted from 15 to 20 degrees at CES 2011). That’s a feature you won’t find on Nintendo’s 3DS, and in the latter case it’s a serious point of contention, since you have to hold Nintendo’s games portable rock-steady and game within a painfully narrow field of view to maintain the 3D illusion. Having the option to move your head naturally should enhance the sense of viewing images or videos with geometric depth without having to maintain a rigid or unnatural head (and eye) position.

Alas, the technology can only handle one viewer at once, meaning you’re flying solo if you want to pair up for a little 3D movie-watching.

Other bits and bobs under the hood include an Intel Core i7 CPU, 6GB of RAM, Nvidia GeForce GT 540M graphics card with 2GB memory (a decent middle-of-the-road current-gen card), 640GB hard drive, and a rewritable Blu-ray drive. It’s also glossy red, which seems to be the color of choice if you want to channel “rebel” (I’m looking at you, Nord), though in this case, perhaps also “without a cause.”

But if you’re already smitten, look for Toshiba to trot this one out in August for $2,100.

MORE: Toshiba’s Working On a Glasses-Free 3D TV That’ll Be Available Outside Japan