Amazon has become the latest manufacturer to venture into the 3D arena, with rumours surfacing last week that the company is developing a smartphone with a 3D screen.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon will expand its range of devices, extending beyond the Kindle, to compete with Google and Apple. These devices, expected to be released within the next few months, would include two smartphones and an audio-only streaming device.
Sources familiar with the company's plans told the publication that one of the new smartphones would allow 3D viewing without glasses. With the use of retina-tracking technology, the images on the smartphone would appear to float above the screen like a hologram.
The sources could not indicate what exactly Amazon's line-up would be called, or what the price range might be. An official company spokesperson declined to comment on these reports.
Last month, Amazon announced it would expand its Appstore to 200 countries over the next few months, including South Africa.
There is, however, doubt that the Appstore will take off locally. World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck says the real value proposition of the Amazon Appstore is its integration with the Kindle Fire tablet, which is not currently available in SA. The result is that the Appstore will make little impact in SA initially.
"But it does open the way for a distributor to bring in the device. With the Amazon Kindle already officially distributed in SA, we can expect a similar distribution deal for the Kindle Fire in the course of this year," he adds.
Previous attempts
Amazon is not the first company to venture into 3D smartphone territory. But attempts by mobile manufacturers LG and HTC have not proven to be successful.
Goldstuck says the Optimus 3D phone, which was released by LG in 2011, was a great toy, but an impractical smartphone. HTC followed with the Evo 3D, and last year, LG produced the 3D MAX.
"The silence since then has been deafening. The problem was that the 3D functionality was more of a gimmick than a solution and it didn't meet the real needs of any user. The sample games and applications available to use it were also limited."
He adds that increased power was needed to run these applications, which meant rapid draining of battery power. "The biggest issue, though, is that screen resolution drops the moment you enter 3D mode. People don't buy a high-end phone to get a middling display."
Tough competition
This would be a brave step for Amazon, entering a market that is dominated by established mobile manufacturers like Apple and Samsung, which combined have more than half of the market share.
It would be even harder for the online retailer to enter the smartphone market for the first time with a 3D device. Goldstuck also believes there is little reason to think Amazon will be able to improve on the shortcomings of LG and HTC's 3D attempts in the short term.
"If they want to set themselves apart, they may well do it. If they are concerned with sales volumes, they would probably drop the idea," he adds.
Not the future
While 3D TV screens have become more readily available and affordable to consumers, Goldstuck says smartphones are not heading down the same innovation path. "We are more likely to see improvements in gesture technology, as with the Samsung Galaxy S3; in audio technology, as with the HTC One; and in camera technology, as with the Sony Xperia Z."
He says any of these devices could have added 3D to the mix, but chose to innovate in areas where it mattered to users and where there are practical uses.
When it comes to market leaders, Goldstuck says they are highly unlikely to follow in the 3D footsteps. "Especially given the lukewarm response to the LG and HTC entries into this segment. That could change once practical applications are found for the technology, but the bottom line is that 3D doesn't offer practical benefits. If 3D remains a broken technology on TV, phones are unlikely to fix it."
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