Disclaimer: Somewhere on this blog are multiple grammatical mistakes, spelling errors and obscure Star Wars references.

Wednesday, October 05, 2011

Review: LG Optimus 3D - Tiny Little 3D Monster!

What a movie..
I remember when Titan A.E. released (back in 2000) as the first animated movie to feature Digital 3D. And what an awesome movie that was. Sure it flopped, but hey, the movie is still legendary. I still have the OST cd. Best movie soundtrack EVER. But I digress..

We’ve come a long way since then with 3D accomplishments like Shrek, Avatar etc.. What started as a ‘gimmick’ has stuck around for a while now and earlier when big budget 3D movies would release, it would say, “3D in select cinemas!” We’ve now moved on to a point where I see “Releasing in 2D in select cinemas.” The gimmick is here to stay.


Since then manufacturers all over the world herald 3D as the next big thing when it comes to technological advance and devices have started joining in the 3D carnival. First you had TVs and Monitors and then video games caught on as well with Nintendo releasing the 3DS, the first 3D device that does not need glasses. Fast forward Q3 2011 and enter the LG Optimus 3D, the first smartphone to boast 3D capabilities, without glasses.



I’ll be very direct; I’m not a fan of 3D visual technology. It gives me (and most others) a headache. Like really bad, behind-my-eyeball kinda headache. So whenever I’m forced to watch a movie in 3D, I usually cringe at the thought and start thinking of ways to get my money back. The annoyance for me has always been the headache. Fortunately for the Optimus 3D, I’ve not had a single headache using its 3D capabilities. Nada. Zilch. Not even a peep. The phone comes packed with 3D options like 3D games, apps, cameras (yes, 3D pictures and videos) and even an exclusive 3D YouTube portal.

For one to be able to enjoy the 3D experience without glasses, the Optimus 3D incorporates a 4.3inch stereoscopic display. Put simply, it’s 2 screens, one behind the other, that are misaligned. Both screens show the same image from misaligned point of views, giving the illusion of depth. Sorta like the prism pictures of old that would show an image at one angle and another when tilted a little.

The result? 3D movies, images, games, applications, you name it! Unfortunately since our monitors (and most probably the one you’re using) don’t support 3D media, I can’t really share the experience with you, but for someone who is not a fan of 3D visuals, I’m quite impressed. The 3D works seamlessly, backed by LG’s Tri-Dual technology, delivering some very good (and headache-less, I must add) 3D results.

Flip the phone around and it boasts not one but two 5MP cameras with an LED Flash. When you turn on the camera function, it defaults on 2D which results in only one of the cameras switching on. With a flick on the top right corner, you switch the camera into 3D mode, which activates the second camera. Both cameras then function as ‘eyes’, capturing 2 angles of the same image which it then throws onto the screen in 3D. Very fancy and very convincing. Video recording works the same way; regular startup in 2D, flick a button and you’ve got 3D video recording on the fly. Take a nice video, upload it to the exclusive YouTube 3D portal that comes built into the phone and voila! you’re middle name is James Cameron (minus the millions). Admittedly it's difficult to show the results of a 3D camera on a blog, but below you'll see the same image shot in 2D on the left and 3D on the right! 




Apologies for the blurry image. I was taking a picture of a picture. *Insert Inception Joke Here*

My only criticism of the phone is that it does not have a dedicated Camera button. Traditionally, smartphones come equipped with a button on the right side of the phone that’s hard wired to the camera. The LG Optimus 3D does not have such a button and one must go through the applications drawer to pull it out. However, that spot is not left blank; instead LG have replaced it with a dedicated 3D hotkey. This hotkey allows instant access to the phone’s 3D capabilities (games, apps, galleries, cameras, 3D YouTube etc.) and also allows for instant 2D – 3D or 3D – 2D conversion. More on that later though!

To summarize, I’ve not been a fan of 3D technology, whether it’s on the big screen or these little ones. However, I’m more than impressed with the Optimus 3D. It’s not easy to get something right, when it's already perceived as annoying. Imagine suddenly liking Justin Bieber's newest single. As it stands though, LG’s doing a pretty decent job with what used to be an annoying feature for me.






4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah I wanted to know if the phone would cause a headache... so this is incredible!

MaliZOMG said...

It's not the headache kind. You'd be well pleased.

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