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Wazabee brings glass-free 3D to the iPhone

by Christina Warren Jan 8th 2009 at 7:00PM

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.



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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...
 

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makc

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.

January 27 2009 at 5:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Steve Shaner

So... where's the video for this again?

January 12 2009 at 6:25 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Dan Finlay

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.

January 09 2009 at 2:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
ijohnjones

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!

January 08 2009 at 10:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to ijohnjones's comment
Blake

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.

January 08 2009 at 9:31 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Luis

Is there a case that fits the first gen iPhone?

January 08 2009 at 9:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Luis's comment
Christina Warren

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).

January 09 2009 at 1:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Luis

Thanks Christina!

January 09 2009 at 1:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
MacSlut

Unless you were talking about this: http://www.klieme.com/EyeSight.html

Then you are cool.

January 08 2009 at 9:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
anony

What the hell is an Eye-Sight camera? It's iSight. Get it right, its the APPLE Weblog!

January 08 2009 at 7:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
5 replies to anony's comment
kcpro

What about a comparable case for the iPod Touch??

January 08 2009 at 7:28 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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