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OpenGL Coming to your Cellphone
Little Hamster writes "SGI and Nokia have signed an agreement to co-operate on the development of a 3D standard suitable for all embedded mobile terminals, based on OpenGL. This could be used for bringing real 3D Games to mobile devices, 3D global positioning systems, 3D representations of buildings or even creating entire interfaces in 3D.
You can also find the press release press release here."
This is not to say that I didn't enjoy playing Doom on a Nokia 9210 .. though the arrow pad is worst I've seen :)
Software should be free as in speech, but if we also get some free beer, all the better.
Presumably this technology won't be available for at least a few years, considering that Nokia have not yet launched their full-colour mobiles.
The Nokia 7650 was scheduled for UK release in May but it's been put back to August.
There is absolutely no need for anything 3D on cell phones. What I would like to see, and so far I haven't seen in Europe, is a cell phone featuring:
- full calendar with appointments, alarms, repeats and no-ringing "timespans".
- nice T9 SMS entry like Sagems (as opposed to "menu bloated" alternate word lookups in Nokia's T9 implementation)
- FM _and_ AM radio tuner
- MP3/OggVorbis playback capability with CF storage
- 300hour standby
- flip-out microphone so people can hear what I'm saying
- amber backlight instead of white/green/blue
- notepad/voicerecord/simple_finance app
- GPRS, HSCSD, Bluetooth
If I could find a set that had ALL of the above I could replace my walkman, mp3 player and a pocket calendar. Unfortunately I have not seen one cell phone that has all of the above. Anybody has seen such a beast in a standard cell-phone form factor?
OpenGL? Sure, 3d menus, crappy 3d games in 160x160, will wonders never cease... arghh
3D Snake!
A phone with decent sound quality, a sliding 7110-style front, a good radio section (because I'm often in poor signal areas) and a big battery so I'm not constantly charging it.
I don't want games, I don't want mp3s, calendars, appointment reminders or anything like that. Just a phone.
I don't mind if the improved RF stage and bigger battery makes it a bit big. I don't want a phone the size of a domino. I'm quite big and heavy myself, and can easily carry a bigger phone. Just so long as it means the buttons and screen are a bit bigger, because it's a hassle to use a mobile when it's cold and you're wearing gloves.
It's the same with laptops - I want a new, modern laptop, but about the same size as my old 8086 Toshiba. Why? Because it runs for about 2 days on a fully charged battery, and has a proper clicky keyboard. The layout is a bit smaller, in the way that laptop keyboards are, but the keys have a lot of travel, like a normal desktop keyboard. It's so much more comfortable to type on.
About OpenGL
...
OpenGL is available on all other major computer platforms, including IRIX®, SolarisTM , HP-UX, Compaq® Tru64® UNIX®, AIX®, BeOS, Windows NT®, Windows® 98 and Mac® OS.
No Linux?
AFAIK Mesa isn't officially an OpenGL implementation, because it hasn't been tested, but aren't there any implementations that have gone through the tests?
Also missing from the list are the newer versions of Windows...
I doubt, therefore I may be.
Imagine how great it would be to have a FPS type of map of where you were? All you have to do is look down into your PDA and move arround the map to find out where you want to go.
I actually think a top-down map is much better, so you can see some distance around you - you kinda already have the first-person view covered. But, horses for courses, if that's what you want....
Most likely the real application will be service providers trying to rip off customers by offering expensive "animated 3d logos", made by summerworking students getting minimum salaries.
They won't stand a snowball's chance of running DOOM 3 at full res unless you want them to double as central heating. And OpenGL for a cellphone UI would be overkill, and hard to use -- remember how VRML was going to take over the web?
But I can think of at least one valid use for this - streaming videoconferencing. Why stream 24fps video when you can run facial-recognition software, break a face up into polygons like a game model, and transmit the facial movements to be rendered on a screen. Lots of cellphones now come with cameras built in, so it wouldn't be that great a step up. Or perhaps if it was too cheesy for live conferencing you could have a face "read" text messages to you.
Any more ideas, or is this just another flash in the pan?
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Sorry for the contrary opinion. If you disagree, tell me why.
I don't disagree, but I don't see the point of you posting this opinion. Someone posts this on every mobile phone story there is. If you don't WANT this, don't BUY it - easy huh?
Seriously though, how fast could this be? I know that there are some ARM processors with built in 3D acceleration.. maybe that's what it's targeting?
-- 2 + 2 = 5, for very large values of 2
While it might not be as good at games as a GBA or similar, in many cases it's "good enough". I remember playing games for hours on a Spectrum which had much less power than one of these!
It's an advancement of technology. When the 3D phones first come out, the 2D phones will still be available.
And then, by the time only 3D phones are available, they will cost the same as the 2D ones used to.
Asking for both types is like asking for a black and white TV nowdays, because you don't want the colour.
It's just evolution of mobile devices... they will have 3D capability. If you don't want that, buy a phone now and don't upgrade it.
What will throwing this extra functionality in - I assume an extra gpu to do the math etc. - do to battery life which is already painfully low! How about someone coming up with a revolutionary new battery or power source instead of putting 3d on a tiny screen?!
Okay I tell you why. I own a GBA. Recently I managed get a co-worker with a credit card to order me a backlight for it. With some skills I have not used in two decades(yes I am old) in managed to install the light and even to close it again. It works brilliantly. I now once again spend an awfull lot of time playing on it and might even buy some more games.
So thumbs up for the GBA right? Wrong. You see I work for a company called O2 as the web-developer, the cause I am the only programmer for the moment, for their online presence for the dutch branch. Holland was the first country in wich the XDA, a PDA with pocketpc(I know I know) and GPRS, was available. Apart that it is MS and is a bit underpowered the thing has one major advantage over the GBA, QUAKE!!!!!!! Yes it is tiny, yes the controls suck, but it is QUAKE!!!!!!! I have played doom on the GBA, trust me the two don't compare.
Since the XDA has gprs, and I presume that nokia will also, it has internet. Multiplay anyone? Fragging people why waiting for the plane could make waiting really fun. Only slight problem is that the processor is designed for boring old office type apps and so lacks the oomph needed to play later 3D games. With this move perhaps they will add a simple 3D accelerator as well
Try not to see this new devices as phones with gadgets but as mobile pc with a modem attached and if you only want a phone that can do voice. ehm what is stopping you? Just keep you're old one youre provider will love you since they will really get back the subsidie they made on it.
As for those wanting big screen, buy a nokia PCMCIA gprs/gsm card to play online while on the move.
I hope that someday soon I will simply be able to do quick FPS missions while travelling to work or maybe even a online RPG.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
With all the suppliers desperately trying to justify the 3G licences they've bought.
Now the only thing that is pointed at as a money spinners is pron (Virgin have signed with Penthouse or somesuch already).
Perhaps if the openGL takes off 3D mapping, gaming etc will be another revenue stream.
Because on a flat surface the human eye best perceives information laid out on that 2D surface. Until we have a perfect 3D display and a revolutionary new input device (a bat?) you won't see 3d interfaces taking off any day now.
"I tend to think of OS X as Linux with QA and Taste", James Gosling, creator of Java
...you can pull it out of your pocket (NO! I meant the phone!) and start playing (yes, I really, really meant the phone!).
If the musical ringers aren't already the worst thing invented, imagine five people on the bus playing games with the volume all the way up. And yes, I guarantee that there will be people on the bus who don't give a damn about your right to peace and quiet.
I'm almost positive that there will be, one day, a public place where so many random bastardized classical music ringers will be going off every two seconds that someone in the crowd will snap and do natural selection a favor.
Healthcare article at Kuro5hin
Some people seem to be concerned about how good a 3D app would be on such a small screen at a low resolution. I think the best idea is to look at the state of 3D games on the GBA. There are a mirid of them and many of them are great. One of the best examples is V Rally 3. While most of the other racers use a technique called Mode 7, this one is fully 3D in all aspects. Since the GBA at 240x160 on a small screen can look good in 3D, I wouldn't be concerned with the 3D not being acceptable on a cell phone...
Unstable Apps: Our Android Apps Don't Suck
From: Competitive Comparisons:
> [Windows 2000 offers] Better business alignment with straightforward licensing and clarity of intellectual property ownership.
So my choices are:
1) Pay big bucks and be sure of who 0wns me, or
2) pay nothing (aside from development costs) and not give a rats ass.
What's with all this hooplah with 3D? I say, "been there, done that"....Let's go straight to 4D!!!!
"You have the option of insanity. I do not. And that makes me crazy!" - Brian to Angela, My So-Called Life