3D gaming goes portable with the new Acer laptop, delivering 3D visuals to users wearing the included polarizer glasses.
While NVIDIA has been pushing stereoscopic 3D gaming since January with its GeForce Vision 3D technology, that has been relegated to desktop PCs. Now, Acer is introducing the world's first stereoscopic 3D laptop with the Aspire 5738D. Launching in December for $799, this laptop's 15.6-inch display has been coated with a special 3D film that clings to the panel pixel by pixel, enabling the LCD technology to deliver 3D visuals by wearing the included polarizer glasses.
The laptop comes with TriDef 3D Experience software preinstalled, which brings 3D games, movies and photos to life without needing a special graphics card like NVIDIA's GeForce Vision. (The laptop comes equipped with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics card.) The TriDef Media Player plays back videos and pictures in 3D, while TriDef Ignition turns PC games running on Direct X9 and above into 3D experiences.
"For this first offering, we took a current notebook and added this polarized laser on top of the normal screen, but in the future we will also study specific products which are given better feedbacks like larger screen laptops and PCs," said Gianpiero Morbello, vice president of marketing and branding, Acer. "We're currently working with the many technology companies on the market to expand our 3D offerings in the near future."
Morbello said the primary focus for Acer, which also owns PC makers Gateway and Packard Bell, is 3D gaming.
"Gaming is actually also an area where we're investing a lot overall, not only with 3D, because gaming is growing everywhere in the world," said Morbello. "It's exploding. People are playing for hours and hours. We're very interested in that area, and of course, mapping this 3D into the traditional gaming experience is a step ahead in the market."
While NVIDIA has been focusing on the more hardcore gamers with its Vision stereoscopic 3D set-up, Acer is aiming for mainstream consumers with its 3D technology and its $799 price point.
"Both options offer a 3D experience, but the technology behind each approach differs," said John Miedema, product marketing manager at Acer. "NVIDIA's solution requires the NVIDIA GeForce VGA card and kit, while ours is more generic. Also, the NVIDIA solution is more expensive. We chose to offer a more value-based proposition system to reach a certain price point and aim at a broader audience." The TriDef 3D Ignition Game technology currently supports over 120 games on the market from the Call of Duty franchise to Left 4 Dead to BioShock and Battlefield 2. (NVIDIA's technology supports over 300 games.) Miedama said shooters like Crysis: Warhead and racing games like Dirt make the best use of the 3D technology. For a full list of supported 3D games, check out this list, which includes everything from Portal to Assassin's Creed.
Miedama said 3D game effects and performance will vary depending on the system and graphics performance. While the TriDef 3D Ignition game driver will support games running on 3D framework of DirectX 9, not all game titles which run on the Windows Vista or XP operating systems will be supported by the Windows 7 operating system. Acer will include a free demo of Microsoft's Flight Simulator X with the laptop. Acer is also offering gamers two polarized glasses options in the box to complement the 3D experience.
"We have the standard flat, 'ugly' glasses, which you can put on your reading glasses and the second pair are more stylish," said Morbello. "We decided to develop some nice glasses because style is important to gamers. This way you can have nice glasses to enjoy your 3D gaming or entertainment experiences with."
There will also be additional glasses available for purchase on its website. With this 3D technology, as many as four or five people can watch 3D content on a single laptop. Morbello believes the step from 2D to 3D in PCs will be similar to Hollywood's jump from black-and-white to color in movies. As a result, Acer is not only working with game publishers and talking to hardware makers like NVIDIA about future 3D laptops and PCs, the company is also talking to Hollywood to support the wave of new 3D movies that have been successful on the big screen like Up!, The Final Destination, Coraline and upcoming films like A Christmas Carol and Avatar.
"For the time being, Hollywood has not been as excited as I thought they would be," said Morbello. "They still don't see laptops and PCs as their main ways to promote their content. They still see the old channel, which are theaters, DVD and Blu-ray Disc."
Of course, that could change with a $799 option that turns 2D movies, games and even digital pictures into 3D experiences. The laptop comes with demos to show all of the ways one's world can become 3D.
"With more people now working on laptops with HD screens, they are constantly looking for something better," said Morbello. "We see 3D as the next logical step. We're working on 3D products, including a new 3D projector and 3D monitors and PCs. We do believe that 3D is going to be one of the major changes in how people interact with computers and home entertainment in the future."
It wasn't long ago that the Acer brand wasn't the first place a gamer would go for a PC, but a lot has changed over the past year. The company recently overtook Dell to become the number two PC maker in the world. Morbello said the company has focused on building up its infrastructure to accelerate new technology like 3D, touch screen and longer battery life. In addition, Acer's purchase of Packard Bell and Gateway last year added two new brands to the line-up. Once a small company, Acer has grown into a worldwide brand. The Aspire 5738D is just the beginning of new options that gamers should-- many for the first time - take a look at come December, and beyond. The ability to play upcoming PC games like Avatar on-the-go should help open up this still niche market beyond the hardcore gamers.
For more computer gaming news, visit GamePro. Story copyright © 2007 IDG Entertainment. All rights reserved.
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