MEX note: Engadget's review of the LG Optimus 3D is consistent with most early impressions of glassless 3D displays: "…the novelty can be genuinely intriguing…for about five minutes. After that, spectators may either get bored with it, or end up feeling like their eyes were just juggled through a meat grinder (our experience skewed heavily toward the latter)."

The key word here is 'spectators'. It sums up the problems with the first generation of 3D experiences on mobile devices: users are left feeling they are simply a passive audience for the complex, eye-straining visuals on the screen. To succeed, 3D experiences need to combine 3D input mechanisms with the 3D displays, enabling users to feel connected with and in control of the visual interface. Secondly, a new generation of 3D services must make unique use of 3D capabilities to provide experiences which go beyond what's possible with 2D. Currently, most 3D services experiences on mobile devices are simply existing 2D products with added visual depth.