It’s a handheld, it plays games, it delivers no-glasses 3D, and–surprise–it’s not from Nintendo. Meet LG’s Thrill 4G, just announced by AT&T, and promoted as “the first U.S. smartphone to deliver a glasses-free 3D experience.”
Glasses-free means it’ll employ some form of stereoscopic 3D, sending separate images to each of your eyes to create the illusion of depth without requiring you put junk on your face. Nintendo’s 3DS does it, and so (apparently0 will the AT&T-exclusive Thrill 4G.
Due in “the coming months,” the Thrill 4G’s 3D display measures 4.3-inches and renders from a dual-core 1 GHz processor. The phone features 16GB of memory (8 onboard, 8 via a MicroSD card), a 5-megapixel dual-camera that supports both 3D high-definition video (720p) and still images, an HDMI-out port or wireless DLNA streaming for video playback, Android OS 2.2 (aka “Froyo”) and the ability to tap into AT&T’s fledgling high-speed 4G network.
Android apps and games, check, but AT&T says it also plans to offer “special” 3D content through something dubbed “LG 3D Space”–basically a portal to 3D games, video clips, and images.
The company adds the usual disclaimer about 3D content, noting that if you feel dizzy, nauseated, or like your eyes are doing push-ups in their sockets (“eye strain”), disable the 3D feature pronto until the symptoms pass. Frequent breaks, people, but then that’s what we’re already supposed to be doing with computer screens, right?
AT&T also cautions parents to “speak to a physician” before allowing children 5 or younger to view 3D content. A simpler solution: Don’t let your 5-year-old anywhere near what’ll probably be another pricey smartphone.
If you want totable glasses-free 3D now, Nintendo’s 3DS launches this coming Sunday, March 27. You’ll have to wait a little longer for the Thrill 4G, of course, though AT&T says it’ll be one of “more than 20” 4G devices it’s launching in 2011.
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