Asian Computer Firms Betting on a 3D Future

Computer companies are betting that the future is not only bright but in three dimensions, as a string of manufacturers are set to bring 3D laptops and desktops on to the market. Fujitsu announced on Wednesday a desktop computer that can play 3D content, convert two-dimensional DVDs to 3D and even has a 3D camera. And Toshiba's 3D Dynabook TX/98MB laptop, which it says is the first laptop to play 3D Blu-ray discs, goes on sale in Japan in July.

Taiwan-based ASUSTek was the first off the drawing board and into the shops with the launch of its G51 3D late last year, which was branded as "the world's first true 3D ready notebook".

"We believe 3D is now an important part of the market," ASUSTek spokeswoman Jenny Lee told AFP on Wednesday. "More and more games and more and more movies are being made in 3D. We think there is a huge demand for 3D computers."

A Fujitsu spokesman said that its machine, which will retail at roughly 200,000 yen (2,200 dollars), comes with a pair of lightweight glasses and has a special filter for the screen that enables 3D viewing.

"We came up with a 3D computer because it targets people living on their own who can use it as a television for personal viewing," the spokesman said.

Graphics card and chipmaker NVIDIA make the computer guts that will help create the 3D magic on screen for many of the new machines. The company's CEO Jen-Hsun Huang made a keynote speech at Computex, Asia's biggest IT trade fair, in Taipei last week setting out the company's 3D stall.

"This is the beginning of the 3D PC revolution," he was quoted as saying by tech news website TG Daily. "It's been 10 years since there's been a revolutionary change in gaming graphics."

"This is by far one of the most captivating technologies ever introduced on the PC," said Hidehito Murato, Chief Marketing Executive at Toshiba in an NVIDIA press release. "The era of 3D is upon us."

Source: AFP