Apparently 3D laptop shipments are dragging behind in a pretty dramatic way. Of the roughly 100 million units shipped, only about 100,000 have been 3D laptops. I think the problem goes beyond the issue of price, it more about the fact that most users have no use for 3D on something portable.
ComputerWorld reports that analysts believe that the problem seems to center around price, and culture. A 3D laptop will run over $1000, whereas it’s really easy to pick up a pretty decent machine for around $600 – $800. On top of that, it’s difficult to justify to your boss exactly why you need a laptop that will let you play games or watch movies. The 3D laptops that have shipped have been mainly purchased by gamers which makes sense – they’re usually the class of consumer that cares the most about fancy displays and high end video cards. The other issue is cultural. If you’re buying a laptop, you’re looking for a reasonably powerful, light weight machine – not necessarily a high end multimedia powerhouse.
In the long term, 3D laptops will eventually become more popular. There’s no question that a display that runs at the proper frequency to display a 3D image looks better, but it’ll be a novelty feature until the price drops.