On Wed, Mar 30, 2011 at 12:28:28PM -0500, Yaron wrote:
>  On Wed, 30 Mar 2011, tclug1 at whitleymott.net wrote:
>> are there any handheld devices available yet whose focal point is 
>> beyond the device?
>
> As an enthusiast photographer, I have NO IDEA what that means.

Some years ago, I seem to recall seeing various head-mounted displays
for sale which advertised focal distances of 6 feet or whatever,
referring to the effective distance your eyes would focus at rather than
making them work to focus directly on something an inch in front of
them.  I suspect this is roughly what OP was intending to ask about.

However, this mechanic is only relevant to stereoscopic or other 3D
displays, not to the plain LED/LCD displays used by the vast majority of
handheld devices.  Also, putting the focal point "beyond" the device
implies, at least to me, that the device uses a transparent display
plate and projects an image onto the display which appears to exist in
the space behind the device; I am not aware of any handheld devices with
such a display, even just as a flat HUD.

-- 
Dave Sherohman