No one can have escaped the huge growth in popularity of 3D over the past few years. It started in our towns with niche cinemas, then went mainstream in 2009, with the best known example being Avatar. 2010 saw it move into our living rooms with all the major TV companies bringing out models which support it, and the broadcasters duly supplying 3D content without which there wouldn't be much point. Now HTC is working on bringing it to the palm of your hand in the form of an Android smartphone "due in 2011". HTC did show engineering previews at the Mobile World Congress in Feb 2010, but these weren't ready for prime time then. The next MWC is just round the corner in Feb 2011, where news on this is hotly anticipated.

The reason for this news now is a recent advert placed by HTC for a new job in its R&D centre which stated that applicants "needed experience with 3D and 3D displays". However, HTC are not the only manufacturers in the 3D game - Motorola, Acer, Sharp and of course we keep on hearing about the Sony Ericsson Playstation Android phone. Outside of the phone industry, Nintendos 3DS is expected to use 3D showing how much established players expect this technology to go mainstream.

But what will it look like? Its unlikely to require the user to don special glasses - that would be commercial suicide. And would the software need to be modified to make use of it? That would make the delays users of certain carriers experience now whilst they backport their UI mods to a new Android release seem positively enjoyable.