14 DAY TRIAL // Google is doing it, Samsung is doing it and apparently so is Lenovo. Now it appears Sony will be joining the party too. What I am talking about here? Why the Google Glass and its upcoming slew of competitors?
Yes, Sony has a pair of smart glasses up its sleeve, which according to the company is ready to go on sale as soon as March.
Some of you might remember, Sony teased their Google Glass alternative back at CES 2014, in the form of a product called the SmartEyeglass. Fast forward a few months later and we get to take a look at the wearable once again.
Sadly, the headpiece remains quite awkward-looking as you can very well see in the images below. It’s also teeming with sensors, including an accelerometer, gyroscope, electronic compass, ambient light sensor and a 3MP camera.
If the design is clumsy enough for you, I’ll add that the glasses come with a wire connecting it to the external battery pack that bundles and extra touch sensor plus microphone. Oh boy.
It doesn’t look like a product that’s ready to be released into the wild to me, but heck. To be fair, Sony does mention this is a development prototype, so by the time the device actually launches, I hope it will come with a more natural design.
Anyway, Sony is launching the software development kit for the SmartEyeglass kit today and the dev kits will be out and about as soon as March.
What's different from the Google Glass is the system utilized by Sony to convey information. The company uses a green monochrome display to overlay data.
The Glass alternative is compatible with Android phones and will also deliver notifications to the wearer’s field of view.