Japan cell phone goes 3D with special display

The Japanese already use their cell phones to shop, exchange e-mail and watch digital TV. Now comes another dimension to the ever-growing list of eye-catching mobile features: the 3D display.

The Hitachi Ltd.'s Wooo H001 cell phone, which went on sale last month in Japan for 50,000 yen ($510), has a tiny button that says "3D" below the keyboard. Push it, and the screen's image will appear three-dimensional, seeming to protrude slightly from the 3.1-inch liquid crystal display.

Similar to how 3D movies and TVs work, the technology takes advantage of how the human mind understands depth and spacing. By sending a slightly different image to each eye, the 3D cell phone creates the illusion of 3D, almost like a miniature hologram.

Some 3D theater and the 3D Hyundai TV require special glasses to shut out the image meant for the other eye. But the Wooo phone comes with its own invisible barriers packed inside the display to ensure the same effect.

Watching a tiny 3D image or animation video on a cell phone is fun — but for a few seconds. It gets a bit tiring on the eyes, once the novelty wears off.

The 3D feature works for any image, but it would be more enjoyable if there were more mobile content especially designed for 3D. Reading e-mail in 3D is simply nerve-racking.

There are no plans to sell the 3D cell in the United States and other overseas markets, according to mobile carrier KDDI Corp., which offers the phone. KDDI doesn't disclose the number of 3D handsets sold so far.