Sharp shows off portable 3D screens

Sharp has developed a new line of portable 3D screens which will not require glasses.

The company said that the new screens would be touchscreen equipped and could soon appear in smartphones, digital cameras and handset appliances.

The screens combine a conventional LCD screen with a special parallax filter. The slitted filter allows images to be specially directed to the user's eyes to create a 3D image without the need for glasses.

Additionally, the new screens will be able to switch between 3D and conventional 2D images.

Sharp said that the new 3.4 inch screens would be the first of its compact 3D systems to support touch controls. Additionally, the new screens will be twice as bright, feature double the resolution and offer a contrast ratio roughly ten times that of previous models.

The development of high definition 3D screens has become a key selling point for electronics vendors in recent months. Many of the major consumer electronics vendors chose to make 3D monitors and television sets the headline of their presentations at this year's CES conference in Las Vegas.