Motorola patent application offers new option for 3D cellphones
By Donald Melanson 
posted April 1st 2010 3:53PM
posted April 1st 2010 3:53PM
Flip phones may be somewhat on the outs these days (at least among those demanding the latest and greatest), but they may well be the key to future 3D cellphones -- at least if this Motorola patent application is any indication. The basic idea is actually a fairly simple one: you'd see a regular 2D image on the screen when the cover is open, but when it's closed you'd be able to look through the transparent lid and see the images with a "three dimensional appearance." As you can probably figure out, that screen would be a touchscreen that takes the place of a keypad, and another illustration also shows that the same idea could be applied to a slider phone. Of course, what the illustrations don't show is how effective that three dimensional appearance would actually be, although it seems like it could give Motoblur a whole new meaning.
omg now we just need a 3d april fools machine!
Apple is already calling it's lawyers.
3d on a 2 inch display.. err.. uhh..
@rekit I'd rather have 2D on a 3inch display... Or 4G on a 4.3 inch display...
"WARNING: Motorola has entered the battlefield..."
@Plazmic Flame
I think Steve just Farted...
Sent from my Ipad.
I Krave some 3D.
@Noswal i was gona mention that they might finally be doin sometin cool wit the krave design
Add WP7 and im ready to start writing!
Ok moto...we all know how much you loved the Razr, and how thin it was...but that was a 3D phone too. It had depth, whether you admit it or not
Can you patent a dimension?
@Wolfticket In the country where you can patent using more than one finger at a time while using something, I'd say you can...
Or a country where you can patent naturally existing human DNA? Wait, they just overturned that? Well the patent system is still one off
Motorola's new to this.... Patents aren't supposed to look obsolete when leaked.
Hey, if it means new phones in a the flip-form factor I'm all for it.
I love me some flip phones. Haven't owned one yet that wasn't a flip form factor, and god willing I won't ever.
My cell phone is already in 3D and it even has an advanced physics engine. For example, if I throw it on the bed it will bounce up in the air.
@dicobalt haha. you made my day. :)
@dicobalt
It probably also draws polygons at the speed of light.
this is for the razr3 android phone i gave moto the idea for.
Keep going moto
I'm guessing that the top layer is a lenticular overlay. When the unit is closed the image displayed on the open screen is replaced by one chopped into lines that are set to correspond with the lenticular.
Kinda old school tech but also could be rather a neat gimmick… ya know for a like the first week.
this 3d is getting old.. where's the damn holographics at already?
Who cares? Flip phones are dead.
now everybody is gettin 3D devices
@JAG
I think there is more to this 3D craze than meets the eye.....
*== TRANSMISSION SEVERED ==*
ummm, wow, the design looks like a toy, u kno, one of those cell phones you would buy at the check out line in walmart :)
Plain dumb idea. Flip phones were invented to cell phones more space-efficient. With flip design, you can cram comfort keyboard and reasonable-sized screen into one moderate or small sized unit.
What's the point of sacrificing 50% of operatable surface just for the sake of a little 3D visual effects?
Plus, if things go like this illustration, how do you do anything on the phone while the lid is shut...? The whole thing is about "enjoy the cool 3D as long as you are not actually using the phone"...?
@Chassit There's tech around (and moto has already used it once) that enables the use of touch just over the flip. Guess the latest ming do that...
I suppose lcd's are translucent. If you add enough layers of LCD's it would look three dimensional up to the depth of the screen. Maybe we'll have some CRT sized mammoths that can do 3D without the glasses.