Telson handheld does 3D gaming without the goggles

We've seen companies toss out kit that claims to showcase the third-dimension without requiring a set of those face-consuming spectacles, but we're having an even harder time believing it would go over well (or at all) on a 'roided-up do-it-all handheld. Details are scarce on this one, but the Telson prototype / reference model device looks to be hung somewhere between the land of gaming handhelds and unadulterated UMPCs. Within, you'll find a VIA C7-M processor, 512MB of RAM, a 30/60GB hard drive and a 4.3-inch 800 x 480 resolution panel that's reportedly capable of displaying 3D imagery without special glasses. Can't say we're huge fans of the design / idea / etc., but we'll be keeping an eye out just in case this somehow makes it into production.

[Via SlashGear]

[KEROLiUKAS @ Jun 5th 2008 11:51AM]

Specs look pretty good for something that size.

[Flashpoint @ Jun 5th 2008 11:59AM]

BUT CAN IT PLAY C R Y S I S


(low rank here I come !!!!!)

[stellar @ Jun 5th 2008 12:29PM]

NO IT D O E S N ' T
.
.
.
but it does play doom :D

btw, i upped your rank +1 ^_^

[teej @ Jun 5th 2008 12:26PM]

not as good as your mom on easy mode w/ low graphics. hope someone sees what i did there.

[fanthem @ Jun 5th 2008 7:22PM]

That's what she said.

[CaptSaltyJack @ Jun 5th 2008 11:54AM]

Dude.. why does the site keep saying "You did it!" when I try to post a comment (with a valid username and password), and it says it will email me a confirmation link, yet it doesn't?

[Jhongerkong @ Jun 5th 2008 3:19PM]

...


Huh?

[shimmy shimmy yah @ Jun 21st 2008 9:16AM]

i know!!!! I HAVE THE SAME ISSUE! I JUST MADE A NEW ACCOUNT INSTEAD

[Daniel @ Jun 5th 2008 11:56AM]

I guess it would be easier to show a 3D image from close up. The whole parallax thing. From up close the angle from the screen to each of your eyes is alot greater.

[CaptSaltyJack @ Jun 5th 2008 11:59AM]

OK, now it works. WTF?

I'm convinced there was a keyword in my post that the comment system didn't like. I think it was this word: (can't type it out normally) sus pic ious

[CaptSaltyJack @ Jun 5th 2008 12:02PM]

Yep. Engadget, could you please fix it so comments with the word "sus pic ious" in them aren't actually blocked?? Seriously. I can see it now, in the blog code:

if (stristr($user_comments, 'sus pic ious')) // ZOMG, sus pic ious comment!!
return false;

[Jason Kurczak @ Jun 5th 2008 12:03PM]

I've done a little research into autostereoscopic screens before (3d screens not requiring special glasses), and one promising area was that of small screened devices. The price varies hugely with the size of the screen, so small screens are actually reasonably priced. And since the number of pixels is small it wouldn't be a huge drain on the graphics chip either. If they had a webcam on the front, it might even be able to display multiple viewing angles, but I suppose you can't wish for TOO much.

[Necrotix @ Jun 5th 2008 12:06PM]

Lack of two analog sticks on a "3D" system = epic failure...

[required @ Jun 5th 2008 12:19PM]

The PSP is doing very well as is the Nintendo DS.

[Dom C @ Jun 5th 2008 12:46PM]

PSP? NDS?

What about a PC? That has NONE!

[maveric101 @ Jun 22nd 2008 1:07AM]

DS and PSP (kinda) have been doing well, but thats not to say i wouldn't like a portable gaming system with 2 analog sticks.

[Matt @ Jun 5th 2008 12:25PM]

wow.. not one 'the goggles! they do ___' comment yet!

[Paulmichael @ Jun 5th 2008 2:31PM]

My eyes! The goggles, they do nothing! :)

Engadget, you amaze me! On the one hand, you seem to generally oppose the 3d display trend, even concepts. Yet on the other, you've given into a really stupid trend - calling sub-notebooks "nettops" or "netbooks."

[JonLem @ Jun 5th 2008 3:15PM]

Now I'm not going to claim to be completely savvy in 3D imaging. So, here is a question, perhaps one of the more educated Engadget readers can enlighten me.

If the glasses are such an impairment or fashion faux pas or whatever is it possible to take whatever it is that makes these glasses work and just use them as another layer on the display itself? I would assume there is a reason as to why not, I'm just curious.

[corystal @ Jun 5th 2008 3:51PM]

The common way that electric 3-d glasses for viewing a monitor work is that the screen flickers back and forth between L and R eye image while the glasses black out each eye back and forth in unison with the screen using liquid crystal.. therefore, they need to be on your face to achieve the effect. I think these type of screens use something akin to those stickers that animate when you move them... the screen pretty much interlaces the L and R images vertically and the surface of plastic sheet in front of the screen is textured to act kind of like little vertical prisms to change which of the interlaced stripes you see depending on the angle each of your eyes sees it from...

[TareX @ Jun 5th 2008 3:45PM]

I hope NVIDIA gets to have a hand in this.

It's a prototype so it doesn't matter the desgin sucks... PC gaming now has the ability to go handheld and I can't think of a company better than NVIDIA to do it.