Minoru 3D Webcam: Cool Tech That Will Gather Dust

Minoru means "reality" in Japanese

Dave at CES: Another cool image technology that I don't think will go far is the Minoru 3D Webcam. The cutesy device has two eyes with cams that transmits 3D-like video across the Internet.

It sounds cool, and it is. Kinda. I only had a short time wearing the 3D glasses, and was for a few seconds wowed by the image appearing to pop off a standard LCD monitor. But I woon was shifting around, trying to get the right angle for the best 3D effect. And shifting, and shifting as a sweet kid pranced around in a backyard somewhere.

The maker kept the price low at $90. Maybe something more expensive would work better. Or maybe I could calibrate and adjust the image to keep a good 3D effect.

But I suspect this is a novelty worth a short "wow" moment. Besides, prolonged use would probably cause a headache, as pointed out by the Pocket-lint blog.

The site does suggest a benefit I hadn't considered:

...aside from the cute factor, the design does mean it is easy to talk to. Rather than staring down the lens of a webcam, you can talk straight to the camera and feel fairly natural doing it, because the lenses are spaced pretty much like human eyes.

Take note, webcam designers.