High-tech soda fountain makes Phoenix debut

Deirdre Hamill/The Arizona Republic Cynthia Contreras, of Phoenix, helps herself to a soft drink from the new touch screen Coca-Cola Freestyle machine, offering 106 different choices, at Pei Wei Restaurant in Phoenix.



A high-tech soda fountain unveiled Thursday at Pei Wei Asian Diner in central Phoenix will dispense an unprecedented 106 flavors out the front end and real-time consumer data out the back end, according to its creators at the Coca-Cola Co.

Jim Sanders, commercialization group director for Coca-Cola, which is based in Atlanta, said the new drink machine will become the standard.

Jim Sanders, Coca-Cola commercialization group director, described it as the biggest advancement in beverage delivery since self-serve soda fountains were popularized two decades ago.

Dubbed "Coca-Cola Freestyle," the machines are different from traditional soda fountains, which are merely refrigerated water and an ice dispenser connected via tubes to bags of flavored syrup.

Underneath the Freestyle's sleek, glossy enamel exterior is a Microsoft Windows-based computer that receives customer input via a large touch-screen, Sanders said.

Customers begin by selecting a "base brand," he said, using Classic Coke as an example. Tapping the desired logo leads to a second screen where the customer can choose from a variety of mix-in flavors, including vanilla, cherry, orange, grape, peach, raspberry and others.

Unlike other fountain-drink dispensers already on the market that offer what Sanders called "flavor shots," the machines designed by Coca-Cola mix flavors according to exact recipes developed through taste-testing.

"The amount of orange in the orange Coke is different than the amount of orange in the orange Sprite," Sanders said.

Freestyle machines each contain what look like 24 giant ink cartridges, within each a super-concentrated beverage "base" or flavor add-in.

Yes, there is even a base cartridge for Dasani, Sanders said, which includes the exact mix of minerals that give Coca-Cola's bottled-water product its taste.

The flavors for each beverage are mixed with precision via a dispensary system developed for medical purposes, he said.

Each machine also includes data collection, transmittal and alert systems that send comprehensive, detailed information about customer behavior back to Coca-Cola.

Coca-Cola doesn't plan to license or sell the new machines to competitors, he said, adding that the company has several patents associated with the new system.

Neither consumers nor business owners can purchase one of the machines. They come in rental form, which includes full-service maintenance, regular software upgrades and access to real-time data.

"It can send a message to the restaurant manager to say, 'Hey, you've got about an hour left on your Coke (cartridge),' " Sanders said.

Coca-Cola will own all the data collected from its customers and intends to use it in a number of ways, such as to develop and test-market products targeted at specific geographic areas or restaurant types, Sanders said.

He indicated that a version of the Freestyle machine also is in development for use by bartenders and food servers, one that could include recipes for alcoholic beverages, too.

Although he would not disclose the monthly fee for a Freestyle fountain, Sanders acknowledged that it would add to the establishment owner's expenses.

Still, he said the company's research showed that the machines inspire more customers to buy fountain drinks, and some are expected to visit particular establishments just because they have a Freestyle machine.

Customers are willing to pay a little more for their beverages, too, Coca-Cola's research shows. Sanders said the company recommends a price increase of about 10 cents per drink to help make the machines more affordable.

Pei Wei brand director Terry Haley said the company, which is based in Scottsdale, was happy to be involved in the Freestyle's Arizona launch at two restaurants, at 701 W. McDowell Road in Phoenix and at 3426 E. Baseline Road in Mesa.

The chain plans to have Freestyle fountains at all of its locations soon.

by J. Craig Anderson The Arizona Republic Nov. 20, 2010 12:00 AM




High-tech soda fountain makes Phoenix debut

Microsoft bets big on new smartphone software

NEW YORK - After years of declining sales of phones based on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Mobile software, the company is starting with a fresh slate - a completely new operating system for phones.

The new handsets will go up against Apple Inc.'s highly popular iPhone and the expanding number of phones running on Google Inc.'s Android operating system.

The first phone with Windows Phone 7 will be the Samsung Focus, which hits AT&T Inc. stores Nov. 8 for $200 with a two-year contract requirement, Microsoft said Monday. It will be closely followed by two more phones for AT&T, made by LG Electronics Inc. and HTC Corp., and one for T-Mobile USA, also made by HTC.

In May, Microsoft launched another new phone-software package, Kin, only to yank it about two months later in the face of dismal sales. Windows Phone 7 is a different beast.

In all, Microsoft announced nine phones for the U.S. market on Monday, including one from Dell Inc., and it has lined up 60 carriers in 30 countries to carry Windows 7 phones.

Another U.S. carrier, Sprint Nextel Corp., is getting a Windows 7 phones in the first half of next year.

In the most recent quarter, Microsoft's older system, Windows Mobile, accounted for just 5 percent of the worldwide smartphone market. That compares with 41 percent for Symbian (mainly used by Nokia Corp.), 18 percent for Research in Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry phones, 17 percent for Android and 14 percent for the iPhone, according to research firm Gartner Inc.

From a hardware standpoint, the Windows 7 phones are indistinguishable from high-end Android phones: They have big touch screens, and a few models have slide-out keyboards.

But Microsoft has given the software a different look. It is centered around "tiles" on the front screen that are supposed to tell the user at a glance about important new information, such as e-mail and Facebook status updates.

For example, a weather program might show a constantly updated snapshot of weather conditions; photo or music libraries would be represented by a recent snapshot or the cover of the last album played on the device.

Both the iPhone and Android are fundamentally more application-centered. However, some companies including Motorola Inc. have designed overlay software for Android that's reminiscent of Windows Phone 7's information-at-glance idea.

"We want you to get in, get out and back to your life," Microsoft CEO Steven Ballmer said at a launch event in New York. He called it "a very different kind of phone."

Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said the user interface is "a huge improvement" over Windows Mobile, but Microsoft "is catching up with the competition rather than leapfrogging it."

by Peter Svensson Associated Press Oct. 12, 2010 12:00 AM



Microsoft bets big on new smartphone software

Patently Bold: Paul Allen's Internet Lawsuit (AAPL, EBAY, GOOG, MSFT, NFLX, ODP, YHOO)

Another day, and yet another audacious-sounding lawsuit in the tech world. This time it's Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) co-founder Paul Allen's company, Interval Licensing, LLC, suing a host of big-name companies: Google(Nasdaq: GOOG), Facebook, eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY), Apple (Nasdaq:AAPL), Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO), AOL, Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX), Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), OfficeMax, Staples, and YouTube.

The lawsuit claims patent infringement over some basic, ubiquitous, and vital Web functions like reading news in a Web browser and information alerts. In the video below, Fool analyst Rex Moore and Fool Chief Legal Officer Lawrence Greenberg discuss Allen's possible motives, including monetary rewards and credit for inventing these things. The defendants may claim the patents are not valid because the inventions do not meet the patent law's requirement that they be "non-obvious," because people who understood the Internet at the time of their invention would have anticipated them.

The lawsuits may take a long time to work their way through the system if they're litigated and not settled quickly. Most of these companies have very deep pockets and the ability to absorb the costs involved. Though it seems unlikely these companies would be seriously hurt by the final outcome in a meaningful way, it's unlikely that they are happy to have been sued.

Watch the video here:

by Fool TV September 4, 2010

Patently Bold: Paul Allen's Internet Lawsuit (AAPL, EBAY, GOOG, MSFT, NFLX, ODP, YHOO)

Review: Microsoft Kin phones not smart enough - Wireless- msnbc.com

By Rachel Metz Associated Press May 12, 2010


Paul Sakuma / AP Microsoft's Kin Two, left, and Kin One, are geared toward social networking-obsessed teens and twenty-somethings that want a cool, affordable handset without feeling the need for additional apps like Apple's iPhone offers.

SAN FRANCISCO - The search for a cell phone starts with one big question. Should you get a smart phone that lets you customize your device with all kinds of applications, or should you save money and get a not-so-smart phone that has fewer functions?

Microsoft thinks it has two new phones that could bridge the gap. Its Kins, which cost $50 or $100 through Verizon Wireless, are geared toward social networking-obsessed teens and twenty-somethings who want an affordable way to keep in touch on the go without diving into additional apps like Apple's iPhone offers.

It's a potentially shrewd move because the world's largest software maker has been losing ground in the mobile market to newer players such as Apple and Google, which makes the Android operating software. (Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal.)
$30 monthly data plan

The Kins' simple software, moderately good looks and low upfront cost could turn hip young heads. Unfortunately, the phones have aggravating shortcomings. They're saddled with a sluggish processor, lack instant messaging and mapping applications and require a full-price data plan ($30 per month).

The first thing you'll notice about the Kins is their shape. Kin One ($50 with a rebate and two-year Verizon Wireless contract) is short and squat with a keyboard that slides out from its bottom, while Kin Two ($100 with a rebate and two-year contract) is longer, with a keyboard that slides out from its side.

Kin One has a touch screen that measures 2.6 inches diagonally, a 5-megapixel camera and 4 gigabytes of built-in memory; Kin Two includes a touch screen that measures 3.4 inches diagonally, an 8-megapixel camera and 8 gigabytes of memory.

Software too limiting
The Kin's software, which Microsoft developed just for these phones, is a mixed bag. It's well designed and extremely simple, but it's too limiting.

It starts in a promising way, with a home screen populated by a rotating list of your friends' updates to blogs and social networks like Twitter and Facebook. There's also a nifty feature called the "Spot" that lets you send photos to friends by pulling them into a little circle at the bottom of the screen.

The Kin home screen is flanked by two hidden side screens you can swipe to see. One is meant to be plastered with a collage of your favorite contacts, and the other houses the Kin's limited list of applications and settings.

No way to IM friends
Once I started perusing the applications, I was vexed that there was no way to instant-message my friends, or look up directions on a built-in map application to meet up with them. Sure, you can send text messages or use the phone's Web browser to look up directions, but why not just include these functions on the phone if you're already forcing customers to pay for a full-size data plan?

This was all made worse by the phone's pokey performance. On numerous occasions the touch screen had a delayed response, such as when I scrolled through a list of albums in the music player, swiped between the main screens or tapped to open a link or contact. At times, the mechanical "back" button on the face of the phones took a little while to respond.

Surfing the Internet was possible but painful as the Kins languidly loaded websites. A Kin often refused to update my status on Facebook, claiming Verizon's network wasn't available.

Zuner player a plus
It's not all bad. The Zune music player is attractively laid out and super simple to navigate. It was easy to find and download music straight to the Kins once I signed up for a Zune Pass subscription ($15 per month).

I also liked the Kin Studio site, which users can access to see a big timeline of everything they've done with their phone, from photos and videos taken to texts sent.

Phone calls sounded OK, and it was nice to see the Kins come with Wi-Fi access.

Both Kins have no-fuss, decent cameras with bright LED flashes, numerous picture-taking settings and dedicated camera buttons. I found it easier to focus my shots with the smaller, lower-resolution Kin One, because the phone fit better in my hand than its bulkier brother. I also liked that the Kin screens respond to multiple finger gestures for zooming in and out of photos and, if you dare load them, Web pages.

Review: Microsoft Kin phones not smart enough - Wireless- msnbc.com

Microsoft Office 2010 to Debut May 12 - PCWorld Business Center

Microsoft Office 2010 to Debut May 12 - PCWorld Business Center

By Gregg Keizer, Computerworld

Microsoft will officially launch Office 2010 to businesses at an event slated for May 12, the company announced today.

Enterprises with volume license agreements will be able to obtain the finished product that same day, Microsoft added. Office 2010 is set to go on general sale to consumers and business without licensing deals sometime in June.

As expected, Microsoft today also unveiled a program that provides a free upgrade to Office 2010 for customers who purchase the older Office 2007 between now and Sept. 30.

Earlier this week, Microsoft's chief financial officer had confirmed that the Office 2010 Technology Guarantee Program would launch this month . Last month, details of the free Office 2010 upgrade program leaked to the Web when a Microsoft technology specialist briefly posted information to the firm's partner community site.

Customers who purchase an eligible copy of Office 2007 between March 5 and Sept. 30 will be allowed to download a corresponding edition of Office 2010 for free when the new suite is available in June. Users who want a DVD installation disc will have to pay a small shipping-and-handling fee. Microsoft said fees would be announced in June.

Buyers of Office Home and Student 2007 will receive a free copy of Office Home and Student 2010, while buyers of Office Standard 2007 and Office Basic 2007 will be eligible for a free copy of Office Home and Business 2010, a new addition to the Office lineup. Purchases of Office Small Business 2007, Office Professional 2007 or Office Ultimate 2007 will be eligible for a free copy of Office Professional 2010.

Office 2010 is the first of Microsoft's suite line to drop less-expensive upgrade editions . Instead, Microsoft plans to sell single-license activation keys via its online store and select retail outlets to customers who want to upgrade from older editions, or from the bare bones Office Starter 2010 that will come pre-installed on new PCs.

There is a limit of 25 free upgrades per person, a standard Microsoft practice meant to push businesses with multiple copies to its volume licensing deals.

Microsoft has set up a site that spells out the upgrade program in detail.

Silicon Valley takes lead as wireless carriers falter

Silicon Valley takes lead as wireless carriers falter

by Peter Svensson Associated Press Feb. 19, 2010 12:00 AM

BARCELONA, Spain - Silicon Valley is looking like a winner in the tug-of-war with wireless carriers over who will control the new world of Internet-connected phones.

The tension between the largely U.S.-based PC and Internet industry and the world's wireless carriers was palpable this week at the world's largest cellphone trade show, Mobile World Congress. Google Inc. was one of the headliners, and Apple Inc. was the ghost hovering over it all. While many wireless carriers are cooperating or working with Google and Apple, many are also signaling that they don't want to cede power and be reduced to simple utilities.

For consumers, the reduced power of wireless carriers could mean more choices. Traditionally the network operators tried to limit the content people could access on their devices, before the rise of "app stores" and Web-based services dramatically expanded ways to customize phones.

Phones are becoming more sophisticated and wireless intrnet access is spreading across the globe. These trends play to Silicon Valley's strengths in software and the Internet. Voice service, the mainstay of the wireless carriers, is becoming less lucrative and less important.

Advertising keyed to Web searches is a small but growing business, and one Google dominates, along with Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. This worries the CEO of British-based Vodafone Group PLC, part owner of Verizon Wireless and one of the largest carriers in the world. Vittorio Colao said in a speech at the show that regulators such as the U.S. Federal Communications Commission should examine Google's power over this market.

Sales of downloadable programs known as applications for smartphones are also growing - and forcing carriers to struggle to stay relevant. When Apple took skills honed in the computer industry to create the iconic iPhone, it also created an application store where it gets a 30 percent cut of the sales, and the carrier gets nothing. Google has followed the same path with its application store for phones that run the Android software it's created.

Two dozen of the world's largest wireless carriers struck back at the show, announcing that they would create a "Wholesale Applications Community." The idea is that software developers will write their applications once, following a standard set by the community, which can then distribute them to carrier-run applications stores.

U.S. carriers Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc., Sprint Nextel Corp. and T-Mobile USA are part of the group, which has 3 billion customers globally. Phone makers LG Electronics Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Ericsson also said they would support the group.

Microsoft Replays Zune Design For Phone Comeback : NPR

Microsoft Replays Zune Design For Phone Comeback : NPR

by The Associated Press BARCELONA, Spain February 15, 2010, 12:51 pm ET


Associated Press - Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gestures during the "Windows Phone 7" presentation at the Mobile World congress in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Feb. 15, 2010. The Mobile World Congress will be held from Feb. 15-18.

Apple Inc. rocked the wireless business by combining the functions of a phone and an iPod. Now, more than two years later, Microsoft Corp. has its comeback: phone software that works a lot like its own Zune media player.

The software, which was unveiled Monday at the Mobile World Congress, is a dramatic change from previous generations of the software that used to be called Windows Mobile. But Microsoft is, for now, sticking to its model of making the software and selling it to phone manufacturers, rather than making its own phones.

Microsoft's mobile system powered 13.1 percent of smart phones sold in the U.S. last year, according to research firm In-Stat. That made it No. 3 after Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry and the iPhone. But Microsoft has been losing market share while Apple and Google Inc.'s Android gained.

All the while, the market is becoming increasingly important. People are spending more and more time on their phones, and the devices steer people to potentially lucrative Web services and ads.

Phones with the new software will be on the market by the holidays, Microsoft said. All four major U.S. carriers will offer phones, just as they sell current Windows phones.

The new ones won't be called "Zune phones," as had been speculated. The software will be called "Windows Phone 7 series."

Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin said the new software looked promising, but that it was also Microsoft's "final chance to get it right." He notes that those who have current Windows phones don't seem excited about the brand — many of them believe their phones are made by Apple or Nokia Corp., according to his firm's research.

Andy Lees, senior vice president of Microsoft's mobile communications business, said Windows Mobile suffered from the company's chaotic approach to the market. The software maker gave phone hardware makers and wireless carriers so much freedom to alter the system and install it on so many different devices that none worked the same way.

As a result, while other phone vendors such as Apple linked their hardware and software tightly to ensure a better experience, Windows Mobile might not have looked like it quite fit on a certain handset.

With the new software, "We really wanted to lead and take much more complete accountability than we had in earlier versions of the Windows phone for the end user experience," CEO Steve Ballmer said at the Barcelona launch event.

Microsoft is imposing a set of required features for Windows phones. Manufacturers must include permanent buttons on the phone for "home," "search" and "back"; a high-resolution screen with the same touch-sensing technology as the iPhone; and a camera with at least 5 megapixels of resolution and a flash. Hardware QWERTY keyboards will be optional.

A test device from Asus, which Microsoft used to demonstrate the new phone software for The Associated Press in Redmond, Wash., also had a front camera and a speaker.

The iPhone's success has spurred lots of look-alike phones with screenfuls of tiny square icons representing each program. Just as it did with the Zune, Microsoft has tried to avoid an icon-intensive copy of that setup. Instead, it relies more on clickable words and images pulled from the content itself. For example, if you put a weather program on the device's home page, it shows a constantly updated snapshot of conditions where you are, rather than a static icon that you have to click in order to see the weather.

The idea of pulling information from different Web sites, like Facebook, and presenting them on the phone's "home" screen isn't unique to Microsoft: Motorola Inc. and HTC Corp. have created such software for their own phones.

Windows Phone 7 Series borrows the clean look of the Zune software, departing from the more "computer screen" look of earlier Microsoft efforts. These were also reliant on the user pulling out a stylus for more precise maneuvering, while the software is designed to be used with the fingers. It's not clear how older third-party applications designed for the stylus will work on the new phones.

Most of the built-in applications complement or connect with existing Microsoft programs or services, such as the Bing search engine. The games "hub" connects to an Xbox Live account and lets players pick up where they left off with multiplayer games. They will even be able to play games against PC users. Microsoft also turns to the Zune programming for the phones' entertainment hub, much in the way the iPhone's music library is called iPod. And when users plug the phone into a PC, the Zune software pops up to manage music, movies and podcasts.

About 18 months ago, Microsoft stopped most improvements to its existing smart-phone operating software and started from scratch on Windows Phone 7 Series.

Microsoft "is resolved at a company level to be successful in mobile," Lees said. He indicated Microsoft is willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on marketing to ensure it's successful.

Smartphone programs in spotlight

Smartphone programs in spotlight

by Peter Svensson Associated Press Feb. 12, 2010 12:00 AM

As smartphones increasingly appear alike, with high-end models mostly taking their cues from Apple Inc.'s iPhone, more and more it is the software they run that makes a difference.

A growing number of operating systems are jostling for the attention of phone buyers and manufacturers. The winners will determine what our phones can do, which Web sites we're steered to and which manufacturers will survive the next few years.

The battle will be on display as wireless carriers and phone makers gather next week in Barcelona, Spain, for the Mobile World Congress, the industry's largest trade show. One in six U.S. adults had a smartphone last year, according to Forrester Research. That share is expected to grow rapidly in the next few years, as consumers warm to mobile devices that can run a wide range of applications and surf the Web nearly as well as computers.

Analysts don't expect smartphones to settle on one kind of operating software, like the PC industry largely has with Microsoft's Windows. But analysts do expect the smartphone field to be winnowed down to two to four winners over the next few years.

Here are some starting with the largest worldwide market share:

Symbian

Nokia Corp.'s use of Symbian software has taken it to the top, but its perch is precarious. It's down from a 56 percent worldwide share in 2008 to 44 percent in 2009, according to research firm In-Stat. Even though it's No. 1 in the world, it's nearly unknown in the U.S. One problem is that Nokia and Symbian have failed to keep up with the latest trends in the U.S. market, particularly touch screens. To power more-capable phones, Nokia is now trying a version of the Linux operating system called Maemo.

iPhone

Apple's phone sales more than quadrupled last year. Its features are a model for competitors, and it has by far the most support from application developers.

But although Apple is likely to be one of the winners in the smartphone fight of the coming years, its reach will be limited because Apple doesn't allow any other manufacturer to use the iPhone operating system. And Apple doesn't make a wide variety of phones to choose from - just two models, with some variations in color and memory capacity.

BlackBerry

Research in Motion Ltd. of Canada uses its own software for its BlackBerrys and doesn't license it to others. Though sales are still growing strongly, they could not keep up with Apple's growth last year, and the iPhone's market share at 19.8 percent edged past the BlackBerry's 19.2 percent, according to In-Stat.

"The BlackBerry platform looks old and tired. It needs a significant scrub and redo," ABI Research analyst Stuart Carlaw said.

Windows Mobile

Once a pioneer in smartphones, Microsoft is struggling to keep up. Manufacturers are shifting away from Windows Mobile toward Google's Android.

Microsoft is expected to show off a new version of its mobile software

Monday.

Android

Google's software has been on a tear, racking up a lot of support from manufacturers and favorable reviews. There was just one Android phone out in 2008. At the end of 2009, there were more than a dozen. Android is free for manufacturers as part of Google's effort to stimulate use of its Web services on cellphones. It's attracting a lot of attention from application developers, but the offerings still don't match those on the iPhone.

Gaming industry studies 3-D platform

by Louie Villalobos The Arizona Republic February 4, 2010 12:00 AM

If you play video games, it might not be enough to just shoot the bad guys or save the world. You might want to do it in 3-D.

And though people have been able to play video games in 3-D for a couple of years, gaming developers and hardware producers say the technology and consumer interest have reached a point where it could be in more homes this year.

NVIDIA, a leader in computer-graphic cards, was one of several companies pushing 3-D gaming at the International Consumer Electronics Show that recently wrapped in Las Vegas.

The graphics-hardware developer, based in California, showcased its 3-D Vision products during the show. Company officials touted the ability to provide gamers the same quality from 3-D gaming that they get watching a 3-D movie in theaters.

It's not, they said, the 3-D experience made popular by red and blue glasses.

"Consumers think it's awful because they're using outdated paper technology," said Bryan Del Rizzo, a spokesman for NVIDIA. "That's not what consumers want. They want something that looks like 'Avatar' 3-D in the movie theater."

It's a sentiment that two game developers echoed after the show. Both partnered with NVIDIA to feature 3-D technology in their games. Both did so on the PC.


For a game about flying, sights like this are the rarity.

Dark Void is a new intellectual property that was published in January by Capcom, a major publisher of video games across all platforms. The game is set on the brink of World War II and focuses on a commercial pilot who crash-lands in the Bermuda Triangle. What ensues is a game that creates a science-fiction shooter with a hero who uses alien weaponry and a jetpack.

It was demonstrated at CES in 3-D, running on NVIDIA's technology. Morgan Gray, senior producer on the game, said he hopes rendering his game in 3-D will help bring the gamer closer to the game world.

"It does provide a layer of depth to the game world," he said. "Getting that depth of the environment and sense of scale is a huge addition."

Not everybody is convinced, however. Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo are the industry leaders when it comes to console games. Only Sony, maker of PlayStation 3, has made any significant announcement when it comes to 3-D gaming.

Sony plans to release a firmware upgrade for the console as part of its expected lineup of 3-D televisions and content. Sony also showed a couple of games in 3-D during CES.

Microsoft, in a comment after the show, said it is not focusing on the technology. Nintendo is remaining focused on the motion-control experience of the Wii. Del Rizzo said the PC market is just now starting to catch mainstream momentum because of the evolving display technology of monitors and televisions. NVIDIA offers a range of 3-D-gaming products for the PC.

People with 3-D-compatible computers, including the graphics cards, can simply purchase 3-D glasses. Others can get the entire setup, including a computer.

Gray said game developers have realized that proactively coding their products for 3-D can add to the experience. His game was released last month.

Another game that is being optimized for 3-D technology is Battlefield Bad Company 2, a military shooting game that features both a campaign and online-player mode. That game releases on March 2 in North America and March 4 in Europe.

Patrick Bach, senior producer for the game, said putting the technology to the PC version of his game adds a sense of place when the player is in the middle of the action. The challenge, he said, is to get gamers to realize the benefits of how the game looks and feels.

Bach's game is being published by Electronic Arts, which also puts out the John Madden and Tiger Woods games franchises.

"It's like explaining color to a blind person," Bach said. "You need to see it to believe it."

But just how many people will see it in the near future is up to how well the companies using the technology can market it.

NVIDIA's products, matched with the specially optimized video games, will start to push the technology. But all three people interviewed said it's still a predominantly PC-based experience. Del Rizzo said his company's technology renders just about any game in 3-D out of the box. There are plans to release a new 3-D product later this year. For now, people with a quality monitor and computer can get a 3-D-vision kit for $199. Or get the monitor and glasses kit for $598.

Both Gray's and Bach's games will be available for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. But the 3-D experience will only be on the computer. They each said the move to the console is just now starting to gain traction. It could take years to fully mature, they said.

"It takes several years before a new technology becomes a mass-market thing, but it will come to the consoles as well," Bach said.