May 28
Sep 20
Sony ‘Prototype-SR’ spotted at TGS 2012: the HMZ-T2 tacks on a camera, plays with user perception (video)
Posted in: Today's Chili 
Remember the Sony HMZ-T2 3D head-mounted display that we tried on back at IFA? Well, it’s being prominently featured here at TGS, too. Tucked away at a smaller, much more modest booth around the corner, however, is something a smidge more interesting. Kept behind glass and a safe distance away from our grubby mitts and sweaty foreheads resides the “Prototype-SR” (Substitutional Reality) that was outed on YouTube last week. Essentially, the unit appears to be the HMZ-T2 with a front-mounted camera for head tracking and camera functionality — the sort of thing that will provide what’s being called a 360-degree immersive entertainment experience. From what we can tell from the booth monitors, the unit displays 3D video overlaid in real space for the person wearing the device. Details are scarce and extremely limited demos were available in an apparent lottery (no luck here). You can rest assured that if we’re able to snag one, though, we’ll be sure to offer up some impressions. For now, take a look at the camera-wielding set of hi-tech goggles in the gallery below and the aforementioned video awaits just past the break.
Gallery: Sony Prototype-SR at TGS 2012
Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals
Sony ‘Prototype-SR’ spotted at TGS 2012: the HMZ-T2 tacks on a camera, plays with user perception (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 20 Sep 2012 06:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Sep 12
It’s about time someone got the chance to test-drive Google’s $1,500 smart-glasses independently, without any rose-colored lenses getting in the way. The Wall Street Journal‘s Spencer E. Ante just became that lucky person — he played with prototype specs for 10 minutes and described them as a “wearable smartphone” that weighs just “a few ounces” and is smoothly controlled by voice commands. Saying “OK, Glass” brought up a menu in front of his right eye that made it “easy” to record stills or video, although unfortunately the device wasn’t quite ready to show off any phone, messaging or navigation functions.
Overall, Ante acknowledged the “long-term potential” of Project Glass, but in its current form he found the HUD to be “disorienting” and “uncomfortable” — partly because he instinctively kept closing his left eye to make it all work. Clearly Google still has some work to do if the device is to make a better first impression, but no doubt there’s also room for acclimatization on the wearer’s part. If the military can get along with this type of eyewear, then hopefully so can everyone else.
Filed under: Displays, Wearables
WSJ gets early, slightly uncomfortable look at Google’s Project Glass originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 Sep 2012 03:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Aug 29
Sony almost sneaked this one by us at today’s IFA press event. In fact, it was never mentioned on stage and practically buried in the day’s flood of PR. The HMZ-T2 is the company’s next generation wearable 3D display. Aesthetically it doesn’t appear very different from last year’s T1 and, spec-wise, things seem largely the same as well. Put the head-mounted unit on and you’ll be presented with a pair of 0.7-inch OLED monitors that deliver 45 degrees of three-dimensional entertainment. There’s also the same Virtualphones tech baked in, that create the illusion of a 360-degree 5.1 surround sound system. The T2 distinguishes itself primarily through a refined design that makes it lighter and more comfortable (without resorting to shape-shifting liquid metal, either). For more, check out the PR below.
Gallery: Sony HMZ-T2 Personal 3D Viewer
Continue reading Sony quietly drops new HMZ-T2 Personal 3D viewer at IFA
Filed under: Displays, Wearables, HD
Sony quietly drops new HMZ-T2 Personal 3D viewer at IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Aug 02
An LED display, camera, microphone, speaker and accelerometer all packaged into a t-shirt and controlled via your smartphone? That’s the concept behind tshirtOS, a wearable platform for “self-expression” that currently only exists as a prototype. It can show off tweets, play music videos, capture belly-height photos and send them off to Instagram, and pretty much do anything except play percussion. CuteCircuit, which came up with the idea in cahoots (inexplicably) with Ballantine’s whisky, says it’s about to conduct product tests and will mass produce the smart-shirts if enough folks register interest. There’s no Kickstarter page, definite specs or pricing for any of this, but based on CuteCircuit’s history and the video after the break we’re inclined to believe TshirtOS is more than just viral marketing stunt for the sake of a dram — click onwards and judge for yourself.
Continue reading TshirtOS is web-connected, programmable, 100 percent cotton (video)
Filed under: Wearables
TshirtOS is web-connected, programmable, 100 percent cotton (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 05:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Jul 06
When Google first announced that they were about to work on Project Glass, you could hear jaws drop. After all, this is deemed to be a natural progression in the area of personal consumer electronics – and who does not want to look cool anyways? Seeing how Project Glass was demonstrated at the recently concluded Google I/O Conference in San Francisco, you could say that this is a niche product, and those who can afford it will most probably fork out the money. To be able to record what I see as well as snap photos without having to pull a digital camera from my pocket is definitely something new, and this novelty also extends the fact that it does not end up in the way of my vision.
Other companies are said to have bitten onto the Project Glass bug, and most recently, we have heard whispers on the grapevine that even Apple is looking into some sort of Glass alternative. Well, today, we have Olympus and their Olympus Meg 4.0 wearable display prototype which is meant to see action in everyday life. Sounds familiar? Let us take a closer look at the nitty gritty right after the jump.
For starters, the Olympus Meg 4.0 wearable display prototype will come with Bluetooth connectivity so that it can “talk” to similarly equipped smartphones, in addition to another obvious benefit, which would be wireless connectivity and easy controls. Apart from that, the Bluetooth chipset within does not really add to the overall bulk, allowing Olympus to achieve a compact, lightweight, low power consumption device that can be used for a long time.
The Olympus Meg 4.0 wearable display prototype also follows in the footsteps of Project Glass, as this particular prototype does not get in the way of your normal sight, so it does not obstruct your everyday view. Not only that, you can also increase the utilization efficiency of light of the display panel in order to achieve a higher level of brightness without sipping too much power. Other hardware capabilities include a built-in acceleration sensor and gyroscope that will, in the long run, I suspect enable you to do far more than just snap photos and record videos. No idea on when a consumer class version is ready, but we do hope sooner rather than later at a sweet price point!
[ Olympus Meg 4.0 wearable display prototype copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Jul 05
While Google may have grabbed headlines for its recent wearable tech stunt, Olympus is doggedly forging ahead with its own similar prototypes, seven years on. Unlike Project Glass, the MEG4.0 isn’t a standalone structure and needs a glasses frame to hang on, although the sub-30g unit shouldn’t tax it too much. The QVGA (320 x 240) display can connect to devices through Bluetooth 2.1, with Olympus pointing to a smartphone hook-up to provide both the processing power and internet connectivity — which sounds different to what we’re expecting from Google’s effort. The current prototype can squeeze out eight hours of intermittent use, or two hours of non-stop projection. While the device is being pitched at everyday users, Olympus isn’t offering any suggestions of launch dates or pricing, but you can check on what the company is willing to share in the (Google-translated) press release below.
Continue reading Olympus announces MEG4.0 wearable display prototype, skips the skydive
Olympus announces MEG4.0 wearable display prototype, skips the skydive originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jul 2012 08:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Akihabara News | 
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Jul 04
Olympus have been working on wearable displays since the past year and have shown several prototypes already, however, the company today announce yet a new concept/prototype with the MEG4.0 a tiny wearable display that can be fitted on most glasses.
The MEG4.0 comes with QVGA resolution (320×240) with a 10cd/m2 – 2,000 cd/m2 brightness, an accelerometer and Bluetooth connection to be used with a smartphone with GPS. The MEG4.0 weight around 30g and has up to 8h of battery life in …
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