Gear

Samsung Misleads with World's First '3-D' Blu-ray Portable

Samsung’s BD-C8000 is the world’s first portable 3-D Blu-ray player. It is also a pretty pointless and misleading waste of time. Despite the 3-D part of the same, the player doesn’t show any more than plain ol’ 2D on its own screen. For the extra dimension, you’ll need to hook it up to a 3D […]

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Samsung's BD-C8000 is the world's first portable 3-D Blu-ray player. It is also a pretty pointless and misleading waste of time. Despite the 3-D part of the same, the player doesn't show any more than plain ol' 2D on its own screen. For the extra dimension, you'll need to hook it up to a 3D television.

If you have a 3-D TV, it's pretty likely you already have a 3-D Blu-ray player. This leaves the new Samsung player in a rather queer position, especially as it costs $500, or the price of an iPad. (Or 3 Wal-mart fixies and a couple cases of beer. --Ed.)

Now, it's not all bad. The BD-C8000 has a 10.3-inch screen and Wi-Fi, which combine with the power of widgets -- or "Samsung Apps" -- to bring you Blockbuster, YouTube and others. You won't be storing any movies on there, though: The player has just 1GB memory. If you're really into movies, might we suggest buying an iPad instead, and skipping the battery-sucking spinning disk part altogether (battery life is claimed to be three hours, which really means 1.5-hours).

If you absolutely do need the capability to maybe, someday hook up to a 3-D TV and never stray far from a PowerPoint, the BD-C8000 is available now, through Amazon. Or, you know, you could buy something else. (*cough* iPad *cough*).

Samsung BD-C8000 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player [Amazon via Oh Gizmo!]

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