The eyewear already has several million dollars' worth of funding

Aug 22, 2013 08:48 GMT  ·  By

There was absolutely no way that Google would stay as the only company that has, or will have, a good augmented reality headset, not matter how many of the features and design elements it patented.

That's why the Telepathy One didn't shock us with its arrival too much, although the level of interest and support it has received did, to a certain extent.

After all, it's not every day that you find out that a potential competitor already has $5 million in its initial round of funding.

That's around €3.75 million, give or take. And since the Telepathy One has already been mostly developed, that means the money can all go into refinements and supply chain / manufacturing preparations.

The name of the company that made Telepathy One is, surprise surprise, Telepathy. You'll find its website here.

It hopes to start mass-producing and shipping the glasses to customers sometime next year (2014).

“Wearable technology will enable the next wave in social networking. The $5 million funding will enable us to enrich the user experience of Telepathy One, which we expect to bring to market in 2014,” said Telepathy Inc.’s CEO Takahito Iguchi.

So why the hype? First off, the Telepathy One has a very small screen, held in front of the right eye by the silver-colored frame.

The size is deceptive though. According to the company, it provides the virtual equivalent of a 5-inch LCD.

The Transparency One also possesses a bit more style, given the polished metal surface and the significantly slimmer profile. The device has a small camera as well.

Sadly, this won't be an alternative to Google Glass in the strictest sense. Google Glass is a smartmonocle of sorts, while Telepathy One is more of a smartphone accessory connected via Bluetooth, not something that can work on its own.

Photo Gallery (3 Images)

Telepathy One
Telepathy OneTelepathy One
Open gallery