Originally published February 21 2005
Cell phones offer 3-D surround sound experience
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
British technology start-up Sonaptic has created a new three-dimensional sound technology for cell phones; the first phones equipped with the surround sound technology hit the market in Japan over the last month. The technology works in accordance with the science of psychoacoustics, the study of how sound waves are interpreted by the ear.
A new line of multimedia phones has hit the streets in Japan over the past few weeks that incorporates three-dimensional sound technology from British start-up Sonaptic.
As yet, the content for it is slim--a fishing game, a handful of sound and video clips--but the technology promises a substantial advance for mobile-phone audio.
The company's developers previously created the 3D audio technology for the Xbox, and they are now aiming to create a similarly compelling experience even with the constraints of a little mobile phone, they say.
"If you're going to hold a phone in your hand, the screen is going to be small, no matter what you do," said David Monteith, Sonaptic's managing director.
The company is aiming to capture a corner of a cell phone multimedia market that is expanding rapidly, particularly in Europe and Asia, where fast data networks are more advanced than in the United States.
The Sonaptic technology is based on the science of "psychoacoustics," which essentially studies precisely how sound waves interact with the ear in order to create sound effects.
Traditional stereo is created by blending audio between two speakers, creating the illusion that a sound source is located between the speakers.
Home theater systems with 5.1 or 7.1 sound perform similar tricks, mixing audio between each of the speakers to create surround sound.
The Sonaptic technique, as with other related technologies, is drawn from a study of exactly how the ear and brain perceive where a sound is coming from the shape and strengths of sound waves.
In practice, what this means is that a cell phone with two little speakers can create the illusion of sound around a listener.
IDC analyst David Linsalata said the technology is likely to be particularly beneficial for specific applications like game playing, in which consumers are used to a much better sound experience.
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