Vuzix, a company devoted to augmented reality devices, introduced its M100 Smart Glasses last year. The company now puts its alternative to Google Glass on sale, even before Glass is available on the market.
The head-mounted Vuzix M100 Smart Glasses sport a WQVGA full-color display with 16:9 aspect ratio, simulating how the user sees a 4-inch smartphone screen placed 14 inches away. This gadget can be placed on either side of the head, unlike the Google Glass where the screen is mounted on the user’s right side. It comes with a 5-megapixel camera, 1080p video recording function, an unspecified 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 4GB internal storage, and a slot for your microSD card.
The Android-powered device is equipped with a three-axis gyro, accelerometer, and an integrated compass that would enable these smart glasses to track head movements, while the ear speaker and noise-canceling microphone makes it convenient for voice calls.
The Vuzix M100 can be paired with an Android phone or even an iPhone using Bluetooth 4.0 or WiFi connections. The glasses can be used together with the apps running on the smartphone, or even duplicate what is displayed on the smartphone. It can even run pre-installed and side-loaded Android apps.
The only issue here is its 600mAh battery, which only yields up to two hours of usage with the display turned on. It does have an optional 3,000mAh external battery pack that can boost its staying power by up to six times.
The Vuzix M100 Smart Glasses is now available for $1,000, about $500 cheaper than the Explorer edition of Google Glass. Buyers can choose between white and gray.
Source: Electronista
