Why is 3D in laptops still a novelty? Chalk it up to the extra cost of 3D technology, the awkwardness of wearing special glasses, and the lack of killer apps for the average user. Still, it's a current trend, and the technology has been in laptops far longer than it's been in devices like televisions and cell phones. While glasses-free 3D does exist, the best approach for computing is still active-shutter 3D. The $1,199 Toshiba Satellite P755-3DV20 uses Nvidia 3D Vision to power its 3D effects using an included pair of active-shutter 3D glasses.
Toshiba Satellite P755-3DV20 - Core i5 2410M 2.3GHz - 15.6-inch TFT - with Nvidia 3D Vision Kit
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The Satellite P series is a line of mainstream, midrange to high-end 15.6-inch laptops. Toshiba offers a whopping 23 different configurations with various processors and specs (not all with 3D), starting at $699 and ranging up to $1,199 for the 3DV20.
The P755-3DV20 is definitely one of the least expensive 3D laptops we've seen recently. On the other hand, be ready to curb your expectations somewhat: since this Satellite P only has a 15-inch display with a maximum resolution of 1,366x768 pixels, it's a far cry from the usual larger-screened 1080p 3D laptop. A Core i5 processor and Nvidia GeForce GT 540M graphics are good enough for most mainstream games, but fall short of the top tier of processors and graphics seen in laptops like the Toshiba Qosmio X775-3DV78. Both 3D games and Blu-rays will still look good on the Satellite P755-3DV20, but they won't look as good. Better graphics especially make a difference with 3D games because the extra processing puts a strain on frame rate.
With 3D, we'd say the larger the screen, the better, so if you're already planning to spend the cash for a 3D laptop, we'd strongly suggest looking a little further up the ladder. However, if you're considering a 15-inch laptop with a good feature set and don't mind adding 3D to the mix, this could be for you.