14 DAY TRIAL // Google may have moved before most others and introduced the idea of a wearable display, an augmented reality headset that could become the smartphone of tomorrow, but it can't do anything about competitors like, in this case, Samsung. That's right, Samsung is preparing an augmented reality headset of its own, although it would be more accurate to say that it is putting all necessary affairs in order to make it possible.
The company has filed a patent for wearable computer glasses, as discovered by the folks at The Wall Street Journal.
And it is in that filing that one notices the distinct differences between Samsung's ideas and Google's.
Google chose to make its Glass headset self-reliant, complete with Android OS and wireless support, for tethering to a phone for mobile data and phone calls.
Like a smartwatch, Glass can work on its own too, and eventually, it might replace smartphones altogether.
Samsung isn't making as big a leap. It's not even making the glasses wireless. Instead, it means for them to be linked to phones via micro-USB connection.
This gives it an advantage over Glass, though, in that the physical cable can pull energy from the phone battery, meaning that there is no longer a need for an integrated battery in the headset itself.
Thus, even if Samsung's eyewear does end up with “lenses” over both eyes, it might be less bulky than Google Glass. A tall order, given how compact the latter is already.
Samsung's spectacles, or whatever they'll be called, have integrated earbuds in the frame of the glasses, for listening to music (which, apparently, Google Glass can't do).
On the flip side, Samsung is labeling its idea as “sports glasses,” so they aren't meant to be worn all the time. Only for entertainment during workouts.
Given that the schematics are reminiscent of sun glasses, that makes sense. It's not like your boss is likely not to comment on you wearing them indoors.
