Not to be outdone by the upcoming Nintendo 3DS, Toshiba has announced that they will release three models of 3D-capable displays in time for Christmas according to the Agence France-Presse (AFP.) The displays are reported to go on sale for "thousands of dollars" and there is no mention of sizes.
According to Toshiba, "People can enjoy images in three dimensions from various positions and suffer less stress." It is not clear what the "less stress" comment is in reference to. They could be saying that it is less stress than the competitor's 3D glasses, or that it is less stress than other no-glasses 3D solutions.
Doing a bit of research, it looks like this display is most likely the same one we reported on back in April. As a reminder, this display uses a multi-parallax design that changes what the viewer sees depending on their viewing angle. This allows a person to move around the room in a limited manner and for people seated in multiple positions to still see an in-focus 3D image. Toshiba's 3D display can be viewed from nine discrete angles. The technology is very similar to what Nintendo is doing with the 3DS, except that Nintendo's console is only using single parallax because only one person needs to see the 3D effect.
Personally, I support these efforts to get 3D images into the home without needing to wear glasses. However, I also remain skeptically optimistic when it comes to these displays. I have not yet experienced either the Toshiba display or the Nintendo 3DS. However, if they can deliver an experience similar to the displays requiring glasses and are not prohibitively expensive, they will likely sell much better than the other displays. Another reason I remain skeptical is that, so far, we are only seeing this technology from a small list of manufacturers.
Assuming the technology does work, one huge advantage that Toshiba will have is that their displays will look great on the sales floor displaying 3D images, as all the passerby's will be able to view the 3D content.
