Sony looks at unpopular Google Glass, shouts 'ME TOO!' Sony has unveiled a headset display that snaps on to a pair of glasses a la Google Glass. The entertainment giant said its Single-Lens Display Module projects images and information into the wearer's vision on one side of the specs. The hardware will sport a 640 x 400-pixel color display with a 10,000:1 contrast ratio, and …
While i can't say that it is definitely not a camera it could be a cover for a light sensor - allowing the device to avoid blinding you in dark areas / get brighter when (if) the sun ever comes out?
on the other hand - it could be an NSA / GCHQ spy device, who knows anymore?
Let's wait for release and then see what it actually is?
"Unlike Google Glass, which required users to purchase the full headset, the Sony unit clips on to a user's own sunglasses, sport goggles or fashion glasses (the company did not say whether the display will work with prescription lenses at this point.)"
So the product has intentionally been designed for the Fashionista crowd. I've yet to see someone wearing Google Glass so I don't imagine that these are really going to make much of an impact either.
Is there really a mass market for these wearables, I can think of specific niches, but I just don't see these as being a "herdable" product.
ps : That's the 1st time I have seen "herdable" in an article.....makes a change from sheeple.
@Khaptain
"Is there really a mass market for these wearables[?]"
For this one? Quite possible. Or, at least for this style. The idea of a clip-on device that mounts to normal glasses has a lot of potential.
They need to do approach this two ways. First, have a standalone device - preferably an entry-level and professional model. Second, work with existing glasses manufacturers to have the product bundled with them in a customised housing that looks sleeker.
Good options would be sports glasses - say Nike or Oakley - with marketing aimed at sports like golf and cycling where the amateurs are generally very passionate and willing to spend quite a bit of money on new parts or gadgets to improve their performance.
You could also have a specific 'sports' model that had better tracking.
This is not to say that Google Glass could not also fill this kind of niche but I think Sony are more on the right track here, as the removable nature of it says that it is a product aimed at specific situations, whereas I feel that one issue, at least in peoples' minds, with Google Glass is that it appears to be designed as something you keep on all the time and so it can be difficult to see a clear use-case.
A product that 'does it all is great' but clear goals and focussed marketing is often better.
@dan1980
Exactly what I was thinking. The problem with Google glass is that it assumes that everyone will want to walk around wearing glasses all the time for no good reason. While the technology involve has plenty of potential use, marketing it as essentially a fashion choice for people to wear all the time in their day-to-day life just doesn't make sense. Very few people are interested in that for exactly the same reasons you don't see people wandering around town with GoPros strapped to their heads.
A small, self-contained unit that can be attached to equipment you're already using, on the other hand, has plenty of very obvious use cases. Cycle computers, for example, have been incredibly popular for decades (the first one, obviously a mechanical one, was made in 1895). Having a readout on your glasses rather than having to look at something strapped to your handlebars would definitely sell well. Plenty of other sports that don't currently have somewhere handy like handlebars to attach a screen would see obvious benefits as well. Running would be an obvious example, and you can get rather expensive ski goggles that already do exactly this, but are currently a very niche product for largely the same reasons as Google glass.
So the product has intentionally been designed for the Fashionista crowd.
Slap an Apple logo on it and instant hit.
That's the 1st time I have seen "herdable" in an article.....makes a change from sheeple.
I'm sure a certain someone will be along to set us all straight on which word should be used....
In that case, you'd want something a little stouter. And for hazardous environments in general, you want it to be able to be prescription and not a clip on over regular eyeglasses. I don't doubt that this and Google's product would be great for that, but they do appear to be rather fragile.
Prescription is already built into GoogleGlass so I can't imagine Sony would not take that same tack. And these don't look fragile at all to me, rather think they are still too ungainly for a contraption that is to mount discreetly to one's eyewear. Talk about making a spectacle of yourself!
At this point the technology involved is becoming commonplace. I can see these being marketed for the same price as an "entry level" Apple Watch, for instance, at about $350 USD. Whatever, because in no time there will be cheap Chinese alternatives flooding the market. They'll look like crap and be less than reliable, but will offer a gazillion extra features that may or may not work in conjunction with one's smart phone. :P
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