Analysis: Google's Starline shows promise and perils of 3D chats

FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outside a Google office near the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Paresh Dave

OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) - Google's Project Starline 3D videoconferencing system, unveiled last week, is well-timed for a post-pandemic world but still has a long way to go in seamlessly marrying the in-person and the virtual, three people who have used the system say.

Alphabet's Google and rivals, including Microsoft Corp, Apple Inc and Facebook Inc, all view "mixed reality," as it is sometimes known, as the next big new wave in computing - following smartphones - and all are staking out fresh ground.