Whatever the merits or otherwise of Avatar, there can be no arguing against the fact that James Cameron’s latest blockbuster has redefined the future of cinema. A new type of camera was invented to make the film, and entire cinemas have been built specifically to screen it in all its digital IMAX 3D glory. But is 3D all it is cracked up to be?

I saw the Avatar: An IMAX 3D Experience presentation at the brand new Odeon Metrocentre cinema in Gateshead, the only digital IMAX theatre outside of London, and opened in the week of the movie’s release. Screenings were fully-booked days in advance, and we struggled to get tickets for a couple of weeks.

When we did eventually get to see it, we were sat at the front right corner – not great seats for the £12.50 ticket price. The screening was preceded by a brief introduction from a man in a suit who reminded us to return our hefty 3D specs for sterilisation after the movie, and warned us that the immersive nature of the experience might cause illness. But there was no warning of physical injury. Looking up and left at the huge screen for 162 minutes required a painful twisting of the neck and back that left me in pain for a few days afterwards. Injured by a 3D movie! Pah!

The 3D effect certainly works, although the final image appears to be made up of several flat layers, almost like a paper diorama, and so is not particularly realistic. The end result is a little like leafing through a child’s pop-up book. Amusing, and worth a look, but hardly the holy grail of cinema. It seems to me a technology that will be better suited to video games rather than movies. And the sum effect of Avatar is a bit like watching someone play a video game for the best part of three hours.

The movie itself – well, it’s Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure on a bigger budget, isn’t it? To be fair to Cameron, he has obviously tried hard to ensure that the 3D doesn’t get in the way of the story. For example, there are noticeably few arrows and pointy sticks flying out of the screen. But the overall experience still detracts from the movie’s content. Moviegoers around me were constantly removing their glasses to see how the effect worked, and looking around the cinema to see how it was affecting others. Hardly the immersive experience Cameron was trying to create.

And that’s the problem with 3D. Unlike sound and colour, 3D doesn’t represent an advancement in cinema technology. In many ways it’s a backward step. Rather than immerse the cinemagoer in the movie, 3D is an unwelcome distraction. Using 3D for the odd novelty slasher movie is fine, but surely no one want to see it become the standard for every blockbuster movie?

Unfortunately, the amount of money invested in 3D suggests that we’re going to be seeing a lot more of it. Better get used to those specs.

Film, Technology

Hopes that an end to O2’s exclusivity with the iPhone might lead to a drop in price have been dashed, with savings offered by Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone and Tesco amounting to little more than pocket change over the term of a contract. However, there is a way to grab a top-the-range iPhone at a much reduced cost – or even free.

O2 is currently offering a limited number of “reconditioned” iPhones to customers. In this scenario, “reconditioned” means phones returned by customers under their 14-day no quibble arrangement, and so crucially they are not repairs. They are essentially brand new, and come with the standard 12-month warranty. O2 have been offering the 8GB 3G, the 16GB 3GS and the 32GB 3GS, although stock levels fluctuate. (Yesterday, for example, they had no reconditioned 16GB models in stock.)

The reconditioned iPhones are being offered primarily to customers through retention and upgrades. Offers vary by customer (and, apparently, by O2 advisor) according to account status. For example, customers with higher monthly spends who threaten to leave O2 are likely to be offered a better deal. However, some customers on O2’s lowest-value Simplicity tariff have also been offered free iPhones.

The best deals centre around the O2 iPhone 35 tariff, which includes 600 minutes, 500 texts and unlimited internet for £35 per month. Some of the deals offered over the last few days include:

*18-month contract at £35 per month with iPhone 32GB 3GS free.
*18-month contract at discounted £29 per month with iPhone 32GB 3GS costing £179.
*24-month contract at discounted £29 per month with iPhone 32GB 3GS costing £96.

You can check reconditioned iPhone availability and order upgrades online here (select “Upgrade Online”).

The best way to secure a good deal is to call O2’s retention department, although that’s only possible if you’re approaching the end of your O2 contract.

However, it is possible to sign up to O2’s cheapest and shortest contract and get a retention or upgrade deal almost straight away. O2’s one-month Simplicity contract costs from just £10, and because it is renewed every month you can choose to leave or upgrade whenever you like. You can sign up for Simplicity here (select “Sim-only Simplicity”).

A reminder that reconditioned stock levels fluctuate, and that offers will vary. But the above offers were all offered to customers on the lowest Simplicity tariff over the last few days. So be prepared to haggle. Say you’ll leave O2 unless you get a good deal. If you have O2 broadband say you’ll cancel that too. There are great iPhone deals out there if you are prepared to dig for them.

O2 Mobile Phone and Broadband Deals
www.o2.co.uk Mobile phone, tariff, SIM only, broadband and laptop deals from O2.

Technology

Voddler is a much-talked-about video on demand service that launched in beta testing mode in Sweden last year. The service allows registered users to stream movies and TV shows either on a free ad-supported basis, or premium pay-as-you-go or subscription options.

So far Voddler has attracted at least £10 million of investment, and has signed deals with Disney and Paramount. It’s been labelled as a Spotify for movies, but can it live up to the hype?

Voddler beta is currently only (officially) available by invitation in Sweden, but I’ve had the opportunity to try it here in the UK. (It’s possible to register for an invitation at www.voddler.com, and on receipt sign up using a Swedish zip code – thanks Andy.)

The initial impressions of the Voddler client are poor. Navigation is via the keyboard arrow keys, with no mouse or QWERTY use, and username and password entry is incredibly laborious. Setting up the screen resolution size is a similarly annoying process. It seems to have been optimised for wide screens – great for TVs, but not so good when viewing on most computer monitors.

Once logged in, you’re presented with a very underwhelming menu screen – essentially a load of movie poster thumbnails that can be sorted into recommended, free, premium and genre categories. Highlighting a thumbnail brings up (very) brief details, such as director, runtime, and year of release. Again, navigation is annoyingly slow. But what’s available?

The free-to-view movies include the likes of Chinatown, Crash, Chopper, Bridge To Terabithia, The Italian Job, Lucky Number Slevin, and Saws I-IV. So there’s plenty to keep you occupied, although perhaps nothing to really excite.

Premium movies, costing around 24 to 37 Swedish Krona (£2 to £3.25) each, include titles such as Angels and Demons, The Proposal, The Wrestler, Watchmen, Hanna Montana, and Saw V.

The TV show category is home to a forgettable selection of cheap documentaries of the type that play on unwatched Sky channels.

The actual viewing experience is more impressive. After a brief period of buffering, your chosen movie is preceded by a couple of (Swedish) ads, and a trailer. Movie playback is very good, certainly comparable with the BBC iPlayer, although again the clunky controls let Voddler down.

Overall, Voddler seems to have the under-the-hood technology in place, but needs to work on its user interface. One of the real joys of Spotify was how instantly and easily it worked. Voddler, in contrast, is slow and difficult to use. The movie selection isn’t great, but this will no doubt expand as it moves out of beta and into other territories.

For the time being there is enough here to make it worth installing on your laptop for long train journeys, but, unlike Spotify, Voddler is far from essential.

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Film, Technology