How did you feel about Google Glass? Did it look too funky for you? Was it just too futuristic? Well, Sony has announced that their augmented reality wearable device, the SED-E1 SmartEyeglassDeveloper Edition, will soon be available for purchase. The SmartEyeglass is kind of like a VHS while the Google Glass is a minidisc — both had their moments.
The SmartEyeglass really does echo a VHS though, it's dark and chunky looking… but it does some cool stuff (I guess) for an insanely short amount of time.
First off, the SmartEyeglass will only work for 150 minutes before the battery dies. That gets cut down to 80 minutes if you use the camera, and even more if you use Wi-Fi to connect to a certain type of smartphone, or the temperature outside isn't just right.
The glasses aren't even wireless. They need to be connected to a control unit at all time. Why? Because that's where the battery, speaker, microphone and touch sensor for navigation are.
I mean, Sony, come on — what century are you in?!
Sony says that the SmartEyeglass offers "true augmented reality", even though things are in green monochrom wit 8-bit grey scaling. The company has built these glasses in hopes of other developers taking them and building a better AR platform.
At least the glasses will support third-party apps.
SmartEyeglassDeveloper Edition will cost $840 USD and be available in March, check it out:
