The Acer 5738DZG, the first laptop with a 3-D display, is a widescreen, 15.6in model. The 3-D effect is achieved by a transparent polarising filter overlaid on the screen, which splits images into separate streams for each eye.
When looking at the screen straight on (if the angle of view is too wide the effect disappears), and seen through a suitable pair of polarising glasses (two are included, one a clip-on pair in case you already wear specs), the results range from stunning to not so good.
Best are the special trailers and animations saved on to the 500GB hard drive. Many more can be downloaded, and they are genuinely breathtaking. Portal, a computer-animated trip through time and space, is bound to win over any sceptic, with the effect being far more noticeable on the relatively small, bright laptop screen than on a TV or cinema screen.
Handling all the hard work is a piece of software called TriDef 3D, which can also add three dimensions to PC games and DVD and video footage, although these are less impressive. With video, the effect is fleeting and often minimal. It hardly seems worth suffering the dimming of the screen and washed-out colours caused by wearing the glasses, not to mention the lower screen resolution - half the normal 1,366x768 pixels - as the video signal is split in two. Games do look better, and dozens of big PC titles are supported, but they can be blurry.
The Acer has a decent-enough processor - an Intel Dual Core running at 2.1GHz, and 4GB of Ram - but only a middling graphics chip. You could get more for your money; indeed, specify the laptop without the 3-D gubbins and you'll save about £100. It seems like a lot of cash to pay for the 3-D but, to be charitable, this is like the first fax machine or photocopier: it's bound to improve with time and as dedicated software and video material becomes available.
Advertisement
£560, acer.co.uk