Hasbro has released a new gadget that turns the iPhone into a type of 3D View-Master.
Selling for $35, the My3D latches onto an iPhone or iPod Touch, allowing users to view apps and play games in 3D. To enable access to the touch screen on the iPhone or Touch, the My3D viewer has two openings through which people can place their fingers. The gadget also comes with four different types of cradles to fit specific iPod and iPod Touch models.
Apple’s App Store currently offers eight Hasbro 3D titles that can take advantage of the new gadget, including My3D Presents, a look at movie trailers and demos of 3D apps; My3D 360 Sharks, a game that lets you explore the ocean’s depths through the eyes of a shark; and My3D Sector 17, a 3D shooter game in which you defend the galaxy.
The apps are all free, but only for now. Some of them, such as Sector 17, will cost $4.99 starting next month.
Partnering with Hasbro, Target is the only retail outlet selling the device initially. Available in black or white, the My3D is compatible with the iPhone 3, 3GS, and 4 (both the Verizon and AT&T models), and the iPod Touch 2G, 3G, and 4G.
A review of the My3D and some of its apps by the Associated Press found them engaging, but cautioned that the 3D experience works and looks much better on the higher-resolution displays of the iPhone 4 and iPod Touch 4G than on older model iPhone and Touch devices.