Sharp Actius AL3DU

In late 2003 Sharp introduced the world's first 3D notebook, a novelty machine that could render 3D graphics without the help of special glasses. The idea was innovative, but the results were something of a mixed bag. Some images would pop off the screen while others just made your brain hurt. Back to push that envelope further, Sharp has introduced the Actius AL3DU second-generation 3D notebook. It squeezes the same pioneering technology into a system more than two pounds lighter than its predecessor. While that's an admirable feat, the performance of Sharp's 3D engine doesn't justify the sky-high $3,499 price tag unless you work in a highly vertical industry that can take advantage of this extra field of view.

 

At first glance, the 15-inch XGA screen looks like your average display. Push the blue button next to the power, however, and the Actius launches into 3D mode. It works by separating the light signals into two separate patterns (Sharp calls it the parallax barrier technique), which your left and right eyes then process into a single three-dimensional image. This should create the illusion of depth where images appear to be jumping off the screen.

 

In our field tests, most people found the 3D mode more disorienting than engrossing. When angled dead center with your eye level, many of the Sharp-provided demos do look like they've been lifted off the background to float in free space, but in general the visuals appear as a blurry set of scanlines that cause a strong sensation of vertigo. For DVDs and ordinary images that aren't optimized for the parallax barrier technique, this unpleasant sensation becomes magnified.

 

For professionals working in select areas-pharmaceutical chemists who want to show complex molecular structures or doctors who want more realistic video preparation for surgery-the 3D effect could be a useful tool. That also explains the cost somewhat; those who work in medical imaging, analyzing proteins or MRI data, probably aren't working with the same budget as the average consumer and can afford to shell out big bucks for a portable 3D display.

 

For non-3D applications, the display is gorgeous. Between Nvidia's GeForce Go 6600 (its mid-range graphics processor) and Intel's 1.86-GHz Pentium M processor, there's enough power under the hood to play the latest 3D games, though the Actius only posted an average 3DMark2001 score of 5,430, and ran Doom 3 on high settings at a barely-passable 32 frames per second.

 

Physically, the Actius AL3DU looks good. Its black and white color scheme nicely matches its brainiac appeal, and the smooth sheen contributes to the futuristic concept of the 3D mode. Weighing almost eight pounds, it's much lighter than the original Sharp RD3D, but is more than we would generally cart around an airport or office building. The dual-layered DVD combo drive is a nice touch, although it's positioned frustratingly close to the AC adapter port, which leads to tangles.

 

So much time and energy has been invested in the display that it seems the rest of the notebook suffers. The MobileMark score of 156 is unexpectedly low. The 100-minute battery life is poor even for a desktop replacement, especially when you consider that endurance will be cut dramatically when doing processor-intensive applications like gaming or watching a DVD. In other words, the AL3DU lacks true cutting-edge performance, and working away from an outlet is pretty much out of the question.

 

The most surprising omission is integrated Wi-Fi. There's a built-in Ethernet jack for wired connections, but if you want the ease and freedom of wireless, you'll have to buy your own Wi-Fi PC Card, as if it's 1999 all over again. According to Sharp, the thicker-than-normal display interfered with the internal antenna and forced the removal of integrated 802.11b/g. For a machine that claims to mark out new territory in notebook technology, and one that costs well north of three grand, the decision is unfortunate.

 

Despite the innovative 3D display, pound for pound, the Sharp Actius AL3DU simply can't compete with other notebooks in its price range. Professional users with an interest in a portable 3D display might consider taking a look, but consumers looking for a better price/performance ratio should look elsewhere.