Contrary to what the headline implies, dual-lens smartphones came a long time ago. I had an HTC EVO 3D (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_EVO_3D https://en.wik

Contrary to what the headline implies, dual-lens smartphones came a long time ago. I had an HTC EVO 3D (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_EVO_3D https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTC_EVO_3D) for more than a year. It came with two lenses, which allowed it to take 3D stills and video. It also came with a special articulated screen that allowed you to view those 3D images/movies right on your smartphone. Sounds great, right? Well, I used the dual lenses to take a 3D still or video maybe, oh, half a dozen times. Why? One reason was that the screen hurt my eyes when in 3D mode. Another reason was that unless someone else had a 3D screen, I wouldn't be able to share the files with them. And another reason was that except for some gimmicky action effects in the movies, 3D isn't really all that spectacular. But it sounds like what's going on here, with the different focal lens stuff, is a lot different than just a 3D gimmick, and I'm interested to see what can be made of it. Actually, one thing mentioned in the article -- depth analysis, to generate blurred backgrounds -- would, in principle, work on the HTC EVO 3D. Actually, I'm kind of bummed now that I didn't look into whether any existing software could do it. I would have liked to have been able to generate 2D stills that have an algorithmically generated shallow depth of field, sort of like what the Lytro (https://www.lytro.com https://www.lytro.com) light field camera does. BTW, in case anyone's interested, I broke the EVO 3D about a month ago and got a Samsung Galaxy S4 Zoom (http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxycamera/s4zoom/ http://www.samsung.com/global/microsite/galaxycamera/s4zoom/) to replace it. The camera on this thing is amazing! It's got a 10x optical zoom and a Xenon flash, just like a regular point-and-shoot. Of course, when I'm talking on it in public, I end up looking like a dorkwad, because it appears as if I'm talking into a camera, not a cellphone, but it's totally worth it.