Minoru 3D webcam 3D-ME

'Minoru' means 'reality' in Japanese, so it's no surprise we found the Minoru 3D webcam was realistic enough to cause us to jump from our office desk in fright, at the sight of our friend leering through the monitor at us.
With all the charm and good looks of a Christmas cracker gift this won't be setting the pace in the tech style stakes of 2009, with it being more cute than cutting edge.

We had a few initial problems when setting the 3D webcam up, it managed to crash our computer twice before working - but it was worth the wait, with the 3D image really impressive for such a dinky-sized gadget.
Of course, it's not as good as all the 3D telly we saw at CES, but you do get some depth in both the pics and the video snippets. In order to make the picture 3D, you have to wear the dorky glasses supplied - we're as yet to see 3D technology possible without them, sadly!

Five sets of the glasses are supplied with the webcam, however the question is worth asking - do you keep one set for yourself, and send the other four to some of your favourite webcam buddies? Or does everyone buy a webcam each? Speaking of chatting with your mates, the Minoru is compatible with Skype, MSN, and you can even upload your own 3D masterpieces to YouTube.
After the trials of the initial set-up this was pretty easy and uncomplicated. In addition to the 3D fun, the Minoru can also be used as a 2D cam - perfect for when you’ve lost all those snazzy glasses, and got over the initial novelty of 3D. As a 2D cam the Minoru is as good as other veteran Logitech cameras out there, and with the controls on this camera being easy to use with mics in both ears, we have no hesitation in recommending it to anyone interested in fooling around with 3D.

There’s no denying that the Minoru 3D webcam is an exciting slice of the tech cake and with dozens of budget webcams out there its three dimensional credentials are certainly a selling point.
If you’re looking for a cheap webcam that does something extra, then the Minoru is your 'cam but if you're after a high-spec, quality peripheral it may be worth looking elsewhere,price 49.95$