3D may not be gaining as much traction with mainstream consumers as companies wish, but PC gamers are all over it. And with the announcement of the new 3D Vision 2 technology from Nvidia, it’s about to get even better.

3D Vision 2 glasses have larger lenses (20% increase in size) and better light blocking than the first generation. They still fit over many prescription glasses, so even those of us who don’t rock the contacts can experience an immersive 3D experience.

Nvidia’s LightBoost technology also brightens things up overall, so you’ll see more detail in the games you play as well as being able to find the keys on your keyboard without having to flip the glasses up.

Overall the glasses are just more comfortable to wear as well. And they still look good. 3D Vision 2 glasses will work with first gen 3D vision devices, so you won’t have to buy a completely new setup.

You may want to, anyway, as the technology is also in new 3D vision panels that allow for full HD 3D and reduced 3D ghosting (which is the cause of headaches when dealing with 3D media). Among the first notebooks to take advantage of 3D Vision 2 are the Toshiba Qosmio X770/X775 and Satellite P770/775 models, which comes bundled with a pair of the new glasses.

Full kits (glasses + emitter) will cost $149 and extra glasses alone are $99.

At Comicon yesterday I watched some con-goers play the Xbox version of Batman: Arkham City, which is still pretty sweet, but it wasn’t as awesome as playing with the 3D glasses on. I got to try this a few weeks ago and was really impressed with the technology. Utilizing the latest Nvidia GeForce GTX GPUs, PCs can take best advantage of DirectX 11 and GPU PhysX for fast, smooth, and detailed gameplay.

Batman is a good game for seeing the difference, as you not only have some incredibly detailed character CGI going on, but they also have to move swiftly and realistically. Plus, the environment has to be top notch as well. Thanks to Nvidia GPUs the CG world has a lot more intricate detail and depth, like Poison Ivy’s vines pulsating with creepy veins and energy.

Aside from that, there are over 500 games compatible with 3D Vision 2, including Portal 2, Duke Nukem Forever, and Fable III. And there are a slew a new games coming up built to work with 3D Vision 2.

If you’re a gamer, you need to try doing it in 3D. And among the current 3D choices for media, Nvidia has the most impressive technology I’ve seen in both the glasses and on the hardware side.

Nvidia’s 3D Vision 2 Brings Extra Dimension to Batman: Arkham City is a post by K. T. Bradford from Notebooks.com.

The Qosmio F755 uses face tracking technology to do away with glasses and deliver a 3D experience that doesn’t quit when your glasses batteries die. The Qosmio line of Toshiba notebooks is focused on gamers and entertainment lovers and the F755 is no different.

Toshiba claims that this is the first notebook to display 2D and glasses free 3D at the same time.

Toshiba Qosmio F755 3D Doesn't Need No Stinkin' Glasses.

Glasses Free 3D Notebook Experience

The Qosmio F755 uses the built in webcam to track your face while you watch 3D movies and game, adjusting the images based on your location to provide optimal 3D. This technology means you aren’t restricted to a sweet spot for viewing 3D content.

The 15.6″ display doesn’t stop there. You can actually watch 3D content and see 2D content at the same time. This means you can watch a 3D movie on half the screen while you browse the web in readable 2D.

Toshiba Qosmio F755 3D Notebook

Pop in your favorite movies and the built in Toshiba Blu-Ray player will convert classics into 3D for a new experience.

Toshiba doesn’t specifically state that this is a solo experience, but we would be surprised to see the face tracking technology work with more than one individual at a time.

Toshiba Qosmio F755 Specs

The 15.6″ entertainment notebook comes packed with powerful internals to deliver a glasses free 3D experience.

An Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor does the heavy lifting in combination with an NVIDIA GeForce 540M GPU. The F755 has an undisclosed amount of RAM, we’re guessing 8GB, and a 750GB hard drive.

Toshiba Qosmio F755 3D Overview

There are built in Harmon Kardon speakers which get a bump with software audio solutions from both Dolby and Waves.

The integrated Blu-Ray player will convert content up to 3D and the HDMI port can output 3D in 1080P to 3D ready displays.

Toshiba Qosmio F755 3D Price and Availability

The Toshiba Qosmio F755 3D will be available in mid-August for around $1,699 at select retailers and direct from Toshiba.

Qosmio F755 3D Gallery

Toshiba Qosmio F755 3D Notebook Says Goodbye to Glasses is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Toshiba Qsmio X770 Quick Specs

The Toshiba Qosmio X770 and X7703D are powered by Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors capable of Turbo boosting to faster speeds when you really need more power and support up to 8GB RAM. The Qosmio X770 notebooks will use the latest NVIDIA GTX 560M GPU which delivers high frame rates, full HD gaming and DirectX 11 support for gaming and power for multimedia creation. The X770 supports Nvidia Optimus to automatically switch between the NVIDIA GPU and the integrated Intel GPU to deliver battery life or raw processing power depending on your current use.

The Qosmio X770 gaming notebooks have a 17.3″ display with a Full 1080P HD resolution and on the X770 3D the NVIDIA 3D Vision software will bring gaming and movies to a new level with full stereoscopic 3D gaming when paired with the included wireless active shutter 3D glasses. The Qosmio X770 3D is capable of 3D Blu-Ray playback, 2D to 3D movie conversion, 3D gaming and output to a 3DTV

Toshiba Qosmio X770 Hands On Video

Toshiba Qosmio X770 Features

In addition to the 3D gaming and multimedia features present on the Qosmio X7703D, both of the X770 models come with a collection of multimedia and usability features.

• harman/kardon speakers and subwoofer with MaxxAudio 3 by Waves Audio
• Island style keyboard with red LED backlighting
• USB 3.0 port for faster connectivity
• Toshiba Sleep & Music – Plug your MP3 player into the Mic jack to use your computer’s speakers when it is turned off
• USB Sleep & Charge – Plug in your smart phone to charge up while your computer is off.

Toshiba Qosmio X770 and X770 3D Pricing & Availability

The Qosmio X770 starts at $1,199 and will be available later in June from retailers and online from Toshiba. Select retailers will also have access to the Toshiba Qosmio X7703D which starts at $1,899.

Toshiba Qosmio X770 and X770 3D Gallery

Toshiba Qosmio X770 and X770 3D Deliver Gaming Goodness at $1,199 is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Hardcore Specs

This new notebooks will have some serious chops. The ASUS G74Sx is powered by Quad Core 2nd Gen Intel Core i5 and Core i7 processors and includes WiMAX technology. For graphics the G74SX uses the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M which will drive the latest games available including titles like Duke Nukem Forever and Crysis. You will also be able to plug the notebook into an external 3D HDTV to get full 3D video and gaming output on a large screen via HDMI 1.4 compatible displays.

The built-in 17.3″ display will be 3D capable as well having a full HD resolution of 1920×1080. The G74Sx will not only be a good gaming system but also a nice entertainment notebook.

Cool Runnings

Because this is a powerful system it needs powerful cooling. The G74Sx will have what ASUS calls “a unique thermal management system”. The chassis has a pair of fans that will cool the CPU and the GPU. It draws the cool air into the front of the system through vents and blows the hot air out the back through another set of vents.

The system will need this extra cooling since it is designed with gamers in mind who like to squeeze every last ounce of power out of a system by over-clocking. The system will have special overclocking features, but ASUS didn’t share particulars.

Pricing and Availability

There is no pricing or available date as of yet.

ASUS Announces ROG G74Sx 3D Gaming Notebook is a post by Kevin Purcell from Notebooks.com.

The Toshiba Qosmio X770 notebooks come packed with power including a 2.0GHZ Quad Core Intel Core i7 Sandy Bridge processor that can bump up to 2.9GHz in TurboBoost. The notebook can handle up to 8GB RAM and up to a 750GB standard hard drive, though there is an option for a Hybrid 500GB hard drive with a 4GB Flash Drive.

The notebook also includes a NVIDIA GeForce GTX GPU with 1.5GB of Video RAM and on the Qosmio X770 3D, expect to see NVIDIA 3D Vision. The notebooks will also be equipped with a webcam, and on the 3D notebook, expect to see a 3D webcam.

The Qosmio X770 will also include Bluetooth 3.0, USB 3.0 and your standard WiFi b/g/n connection options. There are also a 1 GBps Ethernet jack, HDMi and VGA connections.

As far as looks go, Toshiba is giving the X770 notebooks a bold chrome finish with a red accent. It’s nice to see a gaming notebook that doesn’t look like it fell off of a sci-fi spaceship.

No pricing or U.S. availability was given, but Notebook Italia expects it to arrive in Italy in the next few weeks with a 1300 Euro price.

Head over to Notebook Italia for more pics, article in Italian.

Toshiba Qosmio X770 Specs:

• Processor: Intel Core i7-2630QM (2.0GHz, 2.9GHz max in Turbo Boost)
• Memory: 8GB DDR3 (4GB + 4GB) 1333MHz, 2 slots, max 8GB
• Storage: 1.25TB (Hybrid 4G 500GB 7200RPM SATA + 750GB SATA 5400RPM)
• Display: 17.3 “Widescreen HD and 3D (Full HD 1920×1080) Nvidia 3D Vision
• Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX performance category (3D Vision) with 1.5GB VRAM
• Optical Drive: Blu-ray/DVD burner SuperMulti Double / Dual Layer
• Interfaces: HDMI (Regza Link), VGA, headphone and microphone jack, 1 x USB 3.0 powered, 3 x USB 2.0
• Expansion: Card reader 8-in-1 SD, MiniSD and MicroSD (with adapter), SDHC, SDXC, MMC, MS, MSPro
• Audio:  Harman / Kardon Advanced Audio compatible with Dolby
• Webcam: Webcam (HD 3D)
• Networking: Gigabit Ethernet, Wireless 802.11 b / g / n, Bluetooth V3.0 HS (High Speed)
• Dimensions: 41 x 27 x 2.8 to 4.2 cm
• Weight: 3.4 kg
• Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
• Others: backlit keyboard, color Red Metallic Urban / Black

Toshiba Qosmio X770 & X770 3D Gaming Notebooks Previewed is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The 17.3″ display on the Samsung RF712 has a brightness of 400 nits, which is incredibly high, double what you’ll find on some notebooks and even brighter than some tablet displays which come in around 350 nits. The bright display isn’t meant to blind you, but rather to make 3D gaming and media watching a more enjoyable — and bright — experience. The 17.3″ display has a Full HD 1080P resolution.

As for the internals, they aren’t too dim either. The Samsung RF5712 will come with a 2nd Gen Core i family processor, AMD Radeon HD 6650 GPU w/ 2GB Video RAM, a 750GB hard drive and USB 3.0 support.

The Samsung RF712 will launch in South Korea soon for what translates into $2,400 USD, but there is no news on when this bright beast might arrive in the U.S. to deliver gamers from the darkness.

Samsung RF712 Hands On Video with 400 nit display

Via Engadget

Samsung RF712 3D Gaming Notebook Brings Brightness to 3D (video) is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

The Qosmio T851 is able to deliver simultaneous 2D and 3D images thanks to  the glasses free 3D technology inside including face tracking via the Qosmio’s webcam. The 15.6″  Super View LED display is able to keep the 2D images separate from the 3D images so that you can achieve the side by side 3D and 2D images.

As you can see in the press shot above, Toshiba thinks you will want to use the Qosmio T851 to watch a movie clip in 3D while browsing a website in 2D. Based on the issues some users have with 3D in a setting like the Nintendo 3DS, we have to wonder if the side by side dimensional changes will cause any discomfort.

It will also be interesting to see how users will be able to focus in on their web page while a 3D movie is jumping out at them just an inch away. For the most part, 3D is an experience, not a random thing that happens in the window you have aligned to the left.

Questions about usability aside, the glasses free 3D with face tracking technology is really cool. We saw a demo of the face tracking and glasses free 3D at CES 2011 which worked well and delivered a very usable 3D experience for watching a movie. Since then, Toshiba has been able to shrink the technology down to size to fit into a normal sized notebook. We can’t wait to see how this handles in person.

Toshiba Qosmio Glasses Free 3D Demo

As far as specs go, there is a 2nd Generation Intel Core i5-2410M processor, NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M GPU, 750GB hard drive and a Blu-Ray drive.

Toshiba has not announced a price or a U.S. release date for the glasses free 3D Qosmio T851, but we anticipate a lofty price when it comes to market. The Toshiba Qosmio T851 will launch firs tin Japan this summer for an unannounced price.

Toshiba Qosmio T851 Delivers 2D/3D at the Same Time is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Laptop Magazine put the Dell XPS 17 3D and the HP ENVY 17 3D to the test and found that when games were played in 3D, there were significant reductions in performance on both systems. Laptop Mag notes that these notebooks are designed more for entertainment, but they illustrate the performance impact of 3D.

If you want to see the specifics, head over to Laptop Mag to see exactly how gaming is impacted by 3D. If you want to turn off 3D mode, open the Nvidia Control Panel where you can turn off 3D by unchecking the “Enable Stereoscopic 3D” option.

How to Turn off 3D Mode for Better Gaming Performance is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Toshiba Qosmio Glasses Free 3D Prototype

We’ve seen a collection of glasses free 3D TVs and glasses free 3D notebooks in person, including the best looking one which uses facial tracking to configure the 3D image relative to your position. Unfortunately, the upcoming Toshiba notebooks appear to be using a lenticular lens sheet to provide a 3D display.

The shift to glasses free 3D displays is a double-edged sword. On one hand, you no longer need to carry and wear a pair fo glasses that are certain to draw stares in public, and glasses free 3D is supposed to reduce eye strain that comes from watching too much 3D content.

On the other side, there can be some background shift in a glasses free 3D setup, which could lead to wobbling in the background which would at the least be distracting and at the most could actually play into eye strain or headaches.

That’s not to say that Toshiba isn’t working on these very issues, but it is a good reminder that we still have a way to go before 3D notebooks and glasses free 3D notebooks enter mainstream. Traditional 3D notebooks, with glasses have hit the market in mass, but Tom’s Hardware reports that, “sales are lackluster at best.”

The Toshiba glasses free 3D notebook is rumored to be on track for a release later this year, but there has been no pricing or images announced.

If you are thinking of waiting, keep in mind that 1st generation technology often comes with a high price and a few sacrifices in terms of use or quality. If you just want to watch 3D movies from time to time or game in 3D at home, you may be better off buying a 3D notebook that is on the market right now and sticking with the glasses.

Toshiba Rumored to Deliver Glasses Free 3D Notebook This Year is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.

Best Smart Phone of CTIA: EVO 3D

HTC Evo 3D Best Smartphone of CTIA

The HTC EVO 3D smartphone is a new dual core 1.2GHz Snapdrgaon powered smartphone that brings glasses free 3D to your pocket. The EVO 3D has a 4.3″ qHD display and runs Android 2.3 with a new HTC Sense UI. The 3D smartphone has 1GB RAM and comes with 4GB internal storage and a MicroSD card. All of this comes with access to the speedy Sprint 4G network.

The HTC EVO 3D isn’t just for watching 3D, the dual 5MP rear facing webcams that allow you to record your own 3D movies for playback on the device or on YouTube.

For the sheer collection of features, bringing 3D to your pocket and to your home movies we’ve chosen this powerful smart phone as the Best Smartphone of CTIA

Best Tablet of CTIA: EVO View 4G

HTC EVO View 4G Best Tablet of CTIA 2011

The HTC EVO View 4G is powered by a single-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor and will have 32GB internal memory, 1GB RAM and a microSD card slot for additional space. This new Android tablet comes with the ability to write on the screen for digital note taking and access to the Android marketplace.

As a 7-inch tablet, this Android powered device caught our attention with the ability to write on the display and 4G network access. For the overall package, we have named the HTC EVO View 4G as the Best Tablet of CTIA.

Best of CTIA Simul-tasking: Kyocera Echo

Best of CTIA Simul-tasking - Kyocera Echo

The Kyocera Echo is a new 4G smartphone coming to Sprint in April with a new twist on the smartphone, dual screens. The Echo looks like a Nintendo DS< but the Android smartphone has a collection of uses that allow you to use the combined displays as one, or to use a different app on each display.

Kyocera is taking a chance on something new, and for users who want to email or write something while looking at a webpage or some other app, this is the smartphone for you. Kyocera is working with developers to make more apps capable of handling the Simul-tasking feature.

For the unique capabilities, we have chosen the Kyocera Echo as the best Multitasking and simultasking Smartphone of CTIA 2011.

Best of CTIA Gaming: XPERIA Play (Verizon edition)

Best Gaming Smartphone of CTIA - Sony Xperia Play

If you want to game on Android, you need to feast your eyes on the Sony Xperia Play, an Android 2.3 powered smartphone coming to Verizon with access to Sony Playstation games and a slide out Playstation controller.

This smartphone was announced at MWC, but with more time at CTIA 2011 we have chosen to award the Sony Xperia Play with the Best Gaming Smartphone of CTIA 2011. If you’re looking to game on the go, you should wait for the Xperia Play to arrive on Verizon.

Best of CTIA Affordable Smartphone: Nokia Astound

Best Affordable Smartphone of CTIA 2011

The Nokia Astound is a new budget smartphone that is hitting T-Mobile alongside a data plan that starts at $10 a month for 200MB. The Nokia Astound has an ARM 680Mhz processor and 256MB of RAM and runs Symbian^3. The Astound also has WiFi and access to Symbian apps.

Because of the AMOLED display, access to apps, a browser and the affordable starting data plan price we’ve named the $80 Nokia Astound as the Best Affordable Smartphone of CTIA.

Notebooks.com’s Best of CTIA 2011 Awards is a post by Josh Smith from Notebooks.com.