Filed under: Macworld, Multimedia, Odds and ends, iPhone, iPod touch
Wazabee brings glass-free 3D to the iPhone
At Macworld 2009, I've seen some cool stuff, but Wazabee's 3DeeShell for the iPhone wins my show pick for most unexpected cool product. The pitch sounds cheesy; it's an iPhone case that lets you view stuff in 3D, no glasses required. This is why it isn't cheesy: it works.
We're working on getting the video edited and working properly (because seeing really is believing), but I was most impressed with this technology. The 3DeeShell consists of an iPhone case (and it's actually a nice case) with a removable screen. The screen, when viewed at the right angle (and I found it very easy to get on the right angle) will show movies, pictures or games that support its 3D processing technology in 3D.
Right now, Wazabee has several apps in the App Store: 3DeeCamera [iTunes link], 3Dee!oader [iTunes link] and 3DeeVUsion [iTunes link] that allow you to view and encode your images so that they are viewable in 3D. These apps support 3D glasses right now, but they'll work with the 3DeeShell when it launches in March.
Additionally, developers can contact Wazabee to get access to the SDK, so that apps and other games can be built with support for 3D viewing.
The 3DeeShell is scheduled for release in March 2009 for $50 US. This summer, Wazabee will be introducing a screen attachment for the 13" MacBooks (larger series to follow) that will allow for viewing of 3D content on your MacBook screen. It utilizes the iSight cam to make sure the screen is always aligned for the best 3D view.
Video is on the way, but this was too cool not to share now.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
kcpro said 7:28PM on 1-08-2009
What about a comparable case for the iPod Touch??
Reply
anony said 7:55PM on 1-08-2009
What the hell is an Eye-Sight camera? It's iSight. Get it right, its the APPLE Weblog!
Reply
Dr. Watz0n said 8:36PM on 1-08-2009
Chill mate :P. You could have just said "It's spelled iSight."
MacSlut said 9:09PM on 1-08-2009
I agree. It's an Apple blog, at the very least get the Apple-speak correct. Show some respect lady. Sheesh.
Danny said 8:47AM on 1-09-2009
Yes. What the heck is Eye-Sight? -.-
Christina Warren said 1:16PM on 1-09-2009
Corrected - and apologies. Running 1000 miles an hour got my brain confused and I screwed up.
scott said 2:25PM on 1-09-2009
OMG guys why do you always attack the writers here...if you hate the way they are humans too...then dont bother to read them
im sorry Christina but some people have no class or manners...great story and i can see how excited you are about this product...and i wish to apologize to you for the rudeness of other commenters
keep up the good stories with all the heart and soul you can give them
Luis A said 9:28PM on 1-08-2009
Is there a case that fits the first gen iPhone?
Reply
Christina Warren said 1:17PM on 1-09-2009
I'm not sure but I'll ask Wazabee as soon as I get back in town (about to leave for the airport). I think the case is 3G only, but it may very well work with the original (if not a perfect fit).
Luis A said 1:24PM on 1-09-2009
Thanks Christina!
Blake said 9:31PM on 1-08-2009
Re "Eye-Sight"
It's stuff like this that make me wonder why I visit this site so often. I've been meaning to comment on this for a while now. You guys really need to get an editor to check these types of things.
This is a Mac fanboy website. Get it right.
Reply
ijohnjones said 10:27PM on 1-08-2009
Sorry, I am a bit confused. You have to have the kind of 3D glasses that have one lens blue and one red, right? I only seem to have the polarized versions from Bolt in 3D, so this app is useless for me then, yes?
If it works with the polarized ones I have, then I'm all in!
Reply
Robyn said 11:28PM on 1-08-2009
The story says:
"it's an iPhone case that lets you view stuff in 3D, no glasses required."
No glasses required. You don't need any special glasses
ijohnjones said 12:47AM on 1-09-2009
... and without the case if I just download the apps? It says in the article the apps support glasses but does not mention what kind.
Christina Warren said 1:17PM on 1-09-2009
The apps currently support glasses (the app page has a link to supported models) but they will work with the 3DeeShell when that is released.
Dan Finlay said 2:29PM on 1-09-2009
Just to clarify to readers who wonder how this works:
I checked out the Wazabee screens at MacWorld, and they are pretty cool. They seem to function on a similar premise to those old bookmarks and animated cereal box prizes that appear slightly 3-D. Like those old bookmarks, the 3-D effect loops when you get too far to one side or the other, making multiple viewers possible.
The downside or sacrifice is that to milk this extra video data from your monitor, it basically cuts the resolution of everything in half, sorting the pixels in a checkerboard pattern, and projecting them in the opposite directions. This means that while it really looks 3-D to multiple people in multiple positions, it is a really gritty, dithered looking 3-D. Even their own $1,000 monitor created this effect on their Call of Duty 4 demo.
So while this will mean glasses-free 3D on the iPhone, it'll be half the iPhone's pixel count (per eye), and it'll look a little scatter-pixeled.
Reply
Steve Shaner said 6:26PM on 1-12-2009
So... where's the video for this again?
Reply
MacSlut said 10:08PM on 1-14-2009
Unless you were talking about this: http://www.klieme.com/EyeSight.html
Then you are cool.
Reply
makc said 5:28PM on 1-27-2009
what a bunch of whiners. "yo dont cant call my eyephone an eyephone!" duhh, suck it up: not everything will be spelled with leading "i", accept it and get over it.
Reply