world's first 3D camera from Fujifilm

Fujifilm Corporation, Japan, one of the world's largest photographic solutions company, today announced the launch of "FinePix REAL 3D System", which it said is its groundbreaking new imaging technology.
Fuji said this is the world's first 3D (three dimensional) digital imaging system that lets users enjoy 3D images with naked eye without the need for wearing special 3D glasses. The revolutionary 3D system consists of FinePix REAL 3D W1, the 3D camera; FinePix REAL 3D V1, an 8 inch viewer on which spectacular 3D images can be displayed; and 3D Print, Fujifilm's high precision production technology that enables users to print 3D images.
Kenichi Tanaka, managing director, Fujifilm India, said, "Fujifilm believes in bringing the latest of its technological innovations to the discerning buyers in India. In accordance with our strategy to become one of the top digital camera brands in India and acquire 15 per cent market share in three years, we shall continue to introduce digital camera models that are world's first in some aspect."
"Fujifilm invented the digital camera and we continue to lead technological innovations in the imaging industry. We wish to assure buyers that when they buy a Fujifilm digital camera, they are getting the best value for money," said A. Rajkumar, country general manager (DSC), Fujifilm India.
To achieve a 3D image, it is necessary to flawlessly layer together two images. So two Fujinon lenses, renowned for their high resolution and exquisite rendering, are installed in the camera. A 3x optical zoom, deemed difficult to achieve in 3D photography because of the precision required to align two lenses, has also been achieved, said a press release.
The engine of the camera synchronizes data passed to it by the two lenses and two CCD sensors, to determine shooting conditions such as focus, brightness and tonality to instantaneously blend this information into a single symmetrical image. (full Story)

Nokia N81 Cell Phone Is First US Phone With N-GAGE Platform

So I got this box in the mail that said N-GAGE on it. But the cell phone inside didn’t look like a taco. I was confused. I tried talking into the side of the slider — it worked just like a cell phone should. What''s this N-GAGE moniker for? Turns out, N-Gage is no longer the name of a specific phone—it’s a platform, meaning that in order to wear the storied (er, buried?) badge a handset must meet certain performance criteria when it comes to mobile gaming. And the phone in question, Nokia’s N81 8GB, is the first so-branded model to be released in the US. This handset has a 3D graphics accelerator, super-bright 16-million-color screen, and physical controls geared toward gaming. There are buttons on opposite ends of the device, mimicking the feel you get when you pick up say, an Xbox 360 controller. In the software department, the N81 runs the graying S60 operating system, and comes with a suite of demo games that cost about $10 to activate. Really? Come on guys, the new N-GAGE is supposed to keep us engaged not enraged.  —Joe Brown

WIRED 3G and Wi-Fi, which should be standard on every phone, thank you very much. Gaming controls work as advertised, with nary a mis-pressed button in several straphanger gaming sessions. 8 gigs is, like, plenty of memory. Sleek design and excellent build quality. Unlocked. Autofocus-free 2-megapizzle camera is paparazzi-fast.

TIRED Paparazzi-fast camera seems like it’s trying especially hard not to focus. Fancy piano-black screen is the opposite of antireflective. Topside button is built around the speaker, and squeaks if you move the phone around during a conversation (= always). Flat, nearly featureless keypad is impossible to use without looking down. Yo Nokia, why can’t you include at least one free game with my $630 phone? And where the @#$! is Snakes?! $629, nokia.com (story Link)

Windows Mobile 7 Announced for 2010

Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer has recently confirmed that Windows Mobile7 will be available sometime next year. Although no specific data has been set yet, it’s still quite an exciting OS to look forward to. Of course there’s still the version 6.5 to contend with this year with stiff competition coming in from Palm’s Pre, TouchFlow, RIM and even LG’s new S-Class 3D UI.

Nevertheless, Windows Mobile has been around for a long enough time for users to appreciate the various upgrades it’s been through and with the ‘Touch’ generation taking over, I personally can’t wait to see what the 6.5 edition will be capable of doing and how it’ll handle. According to a few reports , WinMo 7 will have a tighter integration with Windows 7 for PCs that should be out come September of this year. The UI itself will obviously be optimized for finger touch and hopefully do away with the stylus altogether is what I’m hoping.

It’s something to look forward to for now. To know more of what Ballmer had to say on the subject click here. (story Link)

What's Behind the First 3D Super Bowl Ads

Who or what is InTru3D? That's the message of one of the first two Super Bowl ads to be displayed in 3D, which will feature Intel, DreamWorks, and Sobe.

Two spots will debut on Sunday: a 30-second trailer for the DreamWorks animated movie, Monsters vs. Aliens, and a second spot highlighting Sobe LifeWater energy drinks. A 3D-encoded version of the NBC show "Chuck" will be shown the day after the Super Bowl.

The 3D advertising block will air at the end of the second quarter of the Super Bowl, Intel said. Over 125 million pairs of free 3D glasses, which use a new type of 3D technology, were created by Intel and distributed by PepsiCo through their brand SoBe Lifewater.

The glasses include the InTru3D logo, although it's unclear how high profile Intel and DreamWorks will make the brand. Intru3D represents a "premium 3D cinema experience," an Intel spokesman said.

And how important is 3D to DreamWorks? It's the future of moviemaking, according to DreamWorks chief executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, whose support was documented in a video blog shot by an unnamed Intel representative during the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

"The whole enchilada," Katzenberg replied, when asked if the studio's films would be made in 3D following the release of Monsters vs. Aliens. "[It's] all 3D from here on out for us."

InTru3D represents the fruits of a partnership Intel and DreamWorks struck last July, where DreamWorks said that Intel microprocessors would be used as the rendering engines to create DreamWorks films. Intru3D is a "new set of rendering and animation tools that run on top of Intel hardware," according to an Intel spokesman.

The Intel spokesman referred to what DreamWorks refers to internally as Shrek's Law, where the processing power needed to calculate clothes, hair, backgrounds, and other scene components in the Shrek movies with the appropriate visual fidelity doubles with each film. "With 3D, you're quadrupling your processing requirements," the Intel spokesman said.

DreamWorks used Intel's Xeon processors to render the film, and will move to "Nehalem" processors, the Intel spokesman said; the first Xeon server chip will be known as the Nehalem-EP, Intel executives have said previously. DreamWorks will also be a future test site for "Larrabee," Intel's upcoming multicore graphics processor for PCs and rendering farms, the Intel spokesman said.  (full Story)

Technorati Tags: Intel Nehalem,Dream Works,3d Animation Movie,Entertainment

Qualcomm Grabs AMD Handheld, Graphics Tech

Qualcomm has picked up handheld assets from Advanced Micro Devices, including graphics chip technology.

San Diego, Calif.-based Qualcomm and Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AMD announced on Tuesday that Qualcomm has acquired graphics and multimedia technology assets, intellectual property and resources that were "formerly the basis of AMD's handheld business."

The acquisition includes "graphics cores that we have been licensing for several years," said Steve Mollenkopf, executive vice president of Qualcomm and president of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, in a statement. The agreement provides Qualcomm with "vector graphics and 3D graphics technologies and IP," AMD said in response to an e-mail query.

AMD would not provide further details on what Qualcomm got but said that AMD's handheld graphics is centered on "unified shader architecture" technololgy that has been used in Microsoft's Xbox, for example. "We have not disclosed the specific assets and technologies that Qualcomm has acquired. Our Handheld 3D graphics technology is based on unified shader architecture," the AMD spokesperson said. AMD, however, did make it clear that the agreement does not include its Imageon processors. "The agreement does not include the AMD Imageon processor products, the Imageon brand, or any existing Imageon customer commitments," an AMD representative said.

"AMD will retain rights to the AMD Imageon products," the spokesperson said. "We intend to honor existing customer commitments for the currently available AMD Imageon products, including the A250 application processor and the M180 media processor, for the remaining lifecycle of these products."

AMD added that it will not update the Imageon road map. "We will not add any new AMD Imageon products to the road map," according to the representative. (full Story)

NVIDIA glasses make home computer screen 3D

NVIDIA wants zombies to reach right out of videogames and virtually grab players by the throats.

The graphics chip specialty firm is at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with an affordable way for just that to happen.

NVIDIA has created a kit that turns computer screen images 3D provided machines have GeForce graphics processors and one of the new-generation of high-resolution monitors launched at CES by Samsung, ViewSonic, or Mitsubishi.

"Imagine being home alone in a dark room playing; you turn a corner and zombie arms come out of the screen at you," said NVIDIA GeForce vice president Ujesh Desai.

"I call that the true pee-your-pants-moment. In shooters you see bullets whizzing past you."

Desai demonstrated the technology with a chilling bout of zombie hunting in popular videogame "Left 4 Dead." Ravines looked bottomless. Bridges appeared treacherous and zombies swarmed.

3D Vision for GeForce kits selling for 199 dollars each contain glasses embedded with circuitry and an emitter that wirelessly sends signals from computers to wearers. (full Story)

Panasonic 3DHD: Decent 3D Video That's As Impractical As Any 3D Ever

After the press conference blitz of today, I snuck off to Panasonic's booth (still under construction) to check out their 3DHD technology—a 3D plasma screen that runs in true 1080p.

Before you read any further, I'll answer that nagging question. Yes, you need to wear special glasses.

The demo system starts with a retrofitted 103-inch Panasonic plasma. Coupled with active shutter glasses, a Blu-ray player feeds a 120fps 1080P signal to the television. 60fps are for the right eye while the other 60fps are for the left. IR syncs the glasses to the Blu-ray player to the TV, and presto, 3D magic is made.

So how's it look?

Good. It is sharp, I'll give Panasonic that. 60fps per eye means that the 3D image isn't created through some cheap interlacing effect that would kill the resolution. Watching highlights of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremonies (captured on dual lens 3D cameras), I was really impressed by the endless lines of drummers popping off the screen without the hokey feel of most 3D. A basketball game was equally impressive. It was like watching a perfectly photo-realistic NBA video game, minus the canned animations. (full Story)