An unlikely player is about to make an entry-level push into the booming 3-D market.
Hasbro (NYSE: HAS) will be rolling out My3D early next year. The $30 kid-friendly device is shaped like a pair of binoculars, with a slot to insert an Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone or iPod touch to display content.
In other words, it's a high-tech ViewMaster.
Hasbro isn't taking this lightly. It will be making video content and even a few games available through Apple's App Store -- and some of the downloads will even be free. It's already teaming up with the country's first 24/7 cable channel that will be all in 3-D -- bankrolled and spearheaded by Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCK), Sony (NYSE: SNE), and IMAX (Nasdaq: IMAX) -- to crank out valuable My3D content.
It's surprising to see Sony supporting this move, because this should be yet another attack on its PSP handheld gaming business. Then again, Sony may at least profit from its own disruption.
It's clear that 3-D is big business these days. RealD (NYSE: RLD) is thriving as the country's leader in retrofitting multiplex theaters to project premium 3-D screenings. RealD still isn't profitable, but revenue soared 69% in its latest quarter. IMAX has also cashed in as the result of folks willing to pay more for a 3-D flick on its super-sized screens.
Walk into any consumer electronics store, and you'll find new lines of 3-D televisions to turn things up a notch in your living room.
Maybe Hasbro misses here. Planning a springtime launch means that it misses out on this year's potent holiday season. Hasbro's also dabbled in portable video before, even though it may be hard to find a whole lot of kids that eventually outgrew their VideoNow systems.
However, $30 is a small price to pay for a shot at a promising ecosystem of content. Unless the video quality is horrid or optometrist trade journals rip into potential vision impacts of prolonged usage of My3D, you have to like Hasbro's chances here by piggybacking on an established and popular Apple iOS platform to get its point across.
Will My3D be a hit or a flop? Share your perspective in the comment box below.
