Historically as an industry, we would typically pigeon-hole 3D system capability into the categories of “games”, “design”, or “visual analysis”. While historically that was the case, in my opinion, we are about to experience a serious breakout in mainstream 3D. Many of the planets seem to be aligning on the content, interfaces, devices and back end services to make this a reality. For end users, they need to make sure they aren’t buying systems with under-powered graphics solutions.
One simple example is handsets. Almost every major phone maker has licenses some form of 3D technology for phones. Recent news regarding Freescale, STM, and QUALCOMM exemplify this and gives a sense of the future. The iPhone showed with its 3D (albeit, 2D engineered to look 3D) that the population as a whole prefers 3D. It makes sense, right? We see in 3D, so it makes sense that that we would prefer images that reflect our reality.
There are even more things going on in the PC space. It would make sense given the increase in monitor sizes, display resolutions, and the improvements to the 3D engines on mainstream systems. Larger average monitor size gives you the ability to see more on the screen. If you keep your resolution the same on that large display, everything will look huge. So you increase the resolution to, let’s say, 1920x1080 (1080p). Now you are set … except you need apps where you can actually benefit from the “z-axis”. For mainstream consumer computer users, games are obvious. Outside games, it may not be as obvious.
I have tested a few of these 3D apps and wanted to share them with you. Have fun!
· SpaceTime- 3D web search with its own UI. Images, video, and tabbed browsing. Very useful … I love it.
· CoolIris Piclens- 3D web search, images and video, but start search in Internet Explorer or Firefox.
· Google Picasa- Has a few 3D enabled viewing and organizational capabilities.
· Google Earth- 3D flythrough of terrain, buildings, even galaxies. Also, they just added a Flight Simulator feature which is cool.
· Google SketchUp- Simple way to create and share 3D models ... like creating models for your deck, pool, or a home addition. You can embed these inside Google Earth also.
· Microsoft Live Search Maps- 3D terrain, buildings, fly-throughs.
· Microsoft Windows Vista Aero- Interface for Windows Vista Premium, Flip 3D features are most useful with a large monitor.
· Tactile 3D- 3D flythrough of your data on your hard drive and network. Not for the tech weary. Recommend 20" monitor and above.
· AMD LIVE! TM Explorer- 3D media viewing of music, pictures, videos, and TV.
As you can see, 3D is here and available to the mainstream user. It’s only a matter of time, in my opinion, before every app will be 3D-enabled in some way, shape or form.
As you are selecting your systems, make sure you get enough 3D horsepower to accomplish the right task. We offer many types of solutions at many different price points to boost your 3D mojo, whether they be ATI RadeonTM solutions for desktop, notebook, workstations, motherboard graphics, and even the Mac!
You don't need to hear from me on how competitive we are in 3D …. hear it from some select product reviews below.
· HardOCP- graphics cards
· AnandTech- graphics cards
· AnandTech- motherboard graphics
· Tech Report- motherboard graphics
So there we have it …. 3D is becoming more and more important … and consumers are letting the industry know how seriously they take 3D. Case in point? The "Vista Capable" class action lawsuit!
https://twitter.com/PatrickMoorhead
Pat Moorhead is Vice President of Advanced Marketing at AMD. His postings are his own opinions and may not represent AMD’s positions, strategies or opinions. Links to third party sites are provided for convenience and unless explicitly stated, AMD is not responsible for the contents of such linked sites and no endorsement is implied.