If 3D is going to take off in the UK, then it will the games industry which pioneers the technology in the home.
There's simple logic to it: if you are happy to play a fake guitar, sing into a fake microphone and wield a controller like it's a tennis bat, then it is more than likely you won't mind putting on a pair of plastic specs to play a game.
Toshiba's foray into 3D gaming is with the Satellite A665 3D laptop. The Satellite A665 comes bundled with a pair of Nvidia 3D Vision active shutter glasses, which means you can have out-of-the-box 3D playback.
Nvidia has been pushing the merits of 3D gaming for a good while now, so this means there are a number of games on the market that utilise 3D. We had a go at Prince of Persia and there was a certain amount of immersion you got that is missing from the game when played in 2D.
To power 3D content you need a fair amount of back-end chug and the A665 certainly has this in spades.
Beneath the chassis is Intel's powerful i7 processor. This is backed by up to 4GB DDR3 RAM and there's also a 500GB hard drive on board which is fairly capacious for a portable computer.
An 15.6-inch TruBriteHD display (running at 120 Hz) with LED backlighting makes sure that the 3D content you view sparkles.
The A665 is not just about gaming, though. On board is a Blu-ray player which has been spec'd up to play 3D content. It also moonlights as a rewriteable drive.
This will be a big draw for those looking to bring Blu-ray 3D into their home. The supplied HDMI connection means this will double as a 3D Blu-ray player. As long as you have a compatible 3D TV, then you are all ready.
When it comes to other connectivity, the A665 houses 3 x USB 2.0, 1x eSATA / USB combo port with Sleep-and-Charge and a Multi-Card Reader.
Internet connectivity comes in the form of WLAN, Gigabit Ethernet LAN and there is also good ol' Bluetooth inside.
The A665 has certainly been built with the 3D enthusiast in mind. The machine wants you to view as much 3D content on it as possible, which is why there is also a 2D-to-3D converter inside, which will add another dimension to movies and games in real time. It's not perfect but it does fill the current content gap.
Couple this with some meaty audio courtesy of Harman Kardon stereo speakers and Dolby Advanced Audio and this is one desirable piece of kit.
The Satellite A665 is available now. And if you have already purchased one without all the added 3D goodness, then you can download a software update from www.toshiba.co.uk/computers.
