Whether a new technology is immediately useful or not is not a question. But it surely shows that the company is engaged in advanced R & D and will be the among the first to commercialise such new technologies when they become affordable for mass production. Honda of Japan keeps on announcing a lot of breakthroughs in their lab . Once they announced a car which gave 1000 kms in just one litre of gasolene. Such car never came to the market but it enhanced the brand image of the company , that it is engaged in R & D to increase the fuel efficiency of its cars.
@Marc, haha, how silly of me to neglect to mention such an obvious use case!
Now while I will reluctantly admit that perhaps 3D will have some staying power in movie theaters... I am skeptical as to the amount success it will have in the gaming industry.
The problem is -- echoing what I said earlier -- 3D usually doesn't increase functionality. It's just a cool visual thing. If you take a boring game and give it 3D graphics, it's just a more gimmicky boring game. Just making something 3D doesn't improve the gameplay, and may in fact detract from it.
Of course, we will find out soon enough if 3D in gaming has a future with Nintendo's 3DS. Who knows? It could flourish and be a raging success. But I'm not betting on it. Even if the 3DS system itself does end up overtaking the DS, success-wise, I wouldn't be surprised if a few years from now the 3D capabilities were largely ignored.
I thought about possible applications. The most obvious one I thought of was that when Darth Vader takes the princess captive, she can call for help. Other than that, my bet would be gaming. I also wonder how this will parallel with Hollywood's 3D experiment, the reaction to which seems very much mixed. Which is all to say, I agree that developers have to be designing toward this or similar devices. But it's not at all clear that anyone actually wants this.
Exactly. It would be absolutely pointless for a company like LG to go on with such a project, go on with manufacturing the product just for nothing, without a single goal or vision.
There was a lot of debate on here about 3D due to Barbara's earlier article on the subject, but it seems to me that there are an absurdly large number of companies jumping on the 3D bandwagon despite the seemingly gigantic lack of consumer interest.
Yes, the lack of content for 3D is a problem: why buy a 3D device if you can't view things in 3D on it? But the bigger question is... why buy a 3D device to begin with?
I don't know about you, but I've never thought, "gee, my phone is great, but I wish it had a 3D screen."
For the most part, 3D is a gimmick. It doesn't largely never improves functionality or performance. So why bother?
Susan, I agree with you on that. I know they must have a goal or a target to have brought the 3D phone out in a time like this. with time, a better use for it would emerge.
I doubt LG has developed a 3D phone without having content in mind. They may be waiting to see what developers come up with before exposing what they already have in mind. With 3D becoming more and more common I wouldn't be surprised that soon the LG 3D phone will become a success and some industries will even find useful uses for it.
I suppose what strikes me is that a few weeks ago, I was writing about how nervous everyone was about the fate of the Suez Canal amid the Egyptian revolution, because transit through that waterway was so essential to world commerce and global supply lines. And a few weeks later I'm staring at a dazzling piece of technology that seems almost perfectly useless, at least for the moment, and thinking, "if they couldn't run the supply chain to make this gizmo, would I care?" It's a pretty odd change of perspective.
It's 21th Century,era of "strange technology". I am not surprised at all at some of the inventions we will be seeing around soon.I feel one of the reasons for that is that all manufacturers want to stay on top and stay relevant as long as possible.
Marc: This is really a mind blowing post.
While still thinking about the content of your post, are you saying that the phone may not be of much use to common phone users or you think the technology came too early?. All inventions are suppose to solve a problem or invented for a purpose, with time LG will justify that technology soon.
EBN Dialogue enables and encourages you to participate in live chats with notable leaders and luminaries. Not only editors and journalists, but the entire EBN community is able to comment and ask questions. Listed below are upcoming and archived chats.
Archived Dialogues
Thailand Stages a Comeback Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Euro-Crisis: What It Means for High-Tech Firms Join EBN Editor in Chief Bolaji Ojo and Contributing Editor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday, July 12, at 10:00 a.m. EDT for a Live Chat on high-tech and Europe's economic difficulties.
Microsoft Surface: Potential Winners & Losers What are the implications for the electronics industry supply chain of Microsoft Corp.'s decision to launch its own tablet PC? Join industry veteran and EE Times' systems and OEM expert Rick Merritt on Tuesday, July 3, at 12:00 pm EDT for a Live Chat on this subject.
Join EBN contributor Jennifer Baljko on Thursday August 23, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. EST for a live chat on how electronic manufacturers in Thailand have shored up their supply chain to reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
Peter Drucker famously said "Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window." Yet in the razor's-edge world of electronics—with a lean supply chain and just-in-time demands—the need to know the future is vital.
While no one really can accurately predict the future, we can take guidance from another Drucker saying which is the best way to predict the future is to create it.
You've heard the saying "the No. 1 supply chain risk is your people." That hasn't always been the case. But today's complex global supply chain requires a new type of multitalented employee. It's one who understands, finance, marketing, economics, is savvy with technology, graceful with relationships and can think analytically.
Where are these people? Are universities properly preparing the next generation supply chain professionals? How do train your existing workforce for these new, demanding positions?
Brian Fuller, editor-in-chief of EBN, will lead a 60-minute Avnet Velocity panel discussion that will ask and answer these and other questions swirling around today's supply-chain talent challenges.
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