ANALYSIS - 3D to bring new dimension, profits to PC world

By Baker Li

TAIPEI (Reuters) - At a packed stall during the Computex show in Taiwan this week, young buyers excitedly put on 3D-enabling glasses that turned flat images on PC screens into solid objects.

3D, long reserved for movie theaters, is emerging as a profitable niche for the PC world even though it is not quite ready for the masses yet. Some big names in the chip and display sectors are developing new products, mostly targeting the niche but lucrative gaming computer market.

They are betting a new generation of displays and state-of-the-art processors could boost demand for the costly computer machines, which tend to shape PC design trends and influence mainstream buyers.

"When you look at 3D movies, look at 3D games, you feel like you are inside the computer and the experience is very dramatic," said Nvidia CEO Huang Jen-hsun, whose company's demonstrations of 3D video games were a spotlight at the world's No. 2 PC fair.

By using special shutter glasses that connect wirelessly to personal computers, U.S. graphics chip maker Nvidia's new GeForce 3D Vision System brought stereoscopic experience to buyers at Computex.

In May, Intel Corp announced a $12 million investment over the next five years to create a visual computing research center in Europe focused on 3D imaging.

Besides gaming enthusiasts who are keen to pay hundreds of dollars for new PCs, 3D imaging could soon expand to films on DVD and advanced medical and scientific research, supporters say.

Gaming PCs may be just a blip in a PC market estimated by research firm IDC at $244 billion last year, but margins of such PCs and other accessories, including keyboards and laser mice, are fatter than those used in regular computers.