Would You Wear Video Glasses? 239
Roland Piquepaille writes "According to EE Times, an Israeli company has developed a personal video display device that looks like a simple pair of glasses. You can use these glasses with various sources, such as a portable media player or your cell phone. This technology promises to eliminate the dizziness phenomenon usually associated with this kind of display. And with these glasses weighing only about 40 grams, you'll feel that you're viewing a 40-inch screen from a distance of 7 feet." Video screens embedded into eyewear isn't that new, but the footprint of these is smaller than what I've seen before, making them cooler to wear on the subway.
Re:Wear them on the subway? (Score:1, Interesting)
and it'll probably bee cheaper than embedding it into the window
I'd use them (Score:3, Interesting)
Certainly never on a subway or any other public place where you should be alert to your surroundings. They'd be ideal for taking on a trip to use on a plane or in a hotel room.
HD version of this would be nice. (Score:5, Interesting)
I've used the Sony version that you plugged into a TV, and that version was very low res, about 400px in height. I'm not sure you can make "affordable" wearable displays with any good resolution. Even though Mirage, the makers of this device, are using a single OLED/LCD it still going to cost a lot to produce enough pixels to satisfy the eye.
And I can't figure out how my glasses are going to fit in there.
Maybe ... (Score:2, Interesting)
First of all - they're hideous. Few types of (sun)glasses look good on people (depends on the facial shape amongst other things), so a one design fits all is out the window if you expect people to use them in public.
If I can get some that fit outside my own glasses, that'd be nice. Even better if you could adjust each screen to somehow present an image that apears sharp to whatever's wrong with your eyes. Not sure you can do that though
40 grams is also a bit on the heavy side. My own glasses weigh 22 grams, and they can be a bit bothersome in the long run. Of course, these probably aren't meant to be worn 16 hours a day anyway, so maybe it's not a problem. Hard to say without trying.
Since they're obviously meant to improve your sense of "being there" in whatever you're watching (movie, tv, game), you'd think it'd be logical to use Dolby Surround head phones with them. However most ear covering headphones are uncomfortable to wear through a movie when you're wearing glasses, as the "legs" (no clue what they're actually called) tend to get mushed between the ear and the skull, which is rather annoying over the course of more than maybe 45 minutes in my case.
I suppose my answer to the question in the title is a big fat maybe
they tried too hard.. (Score:4, Interesting)
They got the something light right, but until they can actually make these look like fashion wear, they shouldn't even try. It's like trying to make the ipod look like an earing. It would be big clunky, and ugly, but just trying to make the ipod look like an ipod has created a fashion trend in and of itself.
So far the only piece of wearable technology that can actually add cool points is something that's centuries old - The Wrist Watch [wikipedia.org]
40 Inches at Seven Feet? (Score:3, Interesting)
Forty inches at seven feet is equivalent to approximately one inch (.81 inches, to be precise) at one foot, which isn't that big. It'll fill most of field of vision, though (hold a ruler one inch from your eye and compare).
Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
Think of the possibilities! (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm sure the military would be interested in some applications too.
hm (Score:2, Interesting)
Issue in the past with such devices: eye injury (Score:2, Interesting)