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Sony SmartEyeglass Developer Edition is on sale in the U.K.
and Germany, and will soon go on sale in 10 other countries.
Where Google failed, Sony hopes to succeed. Its SmartEyeglass Developer Edition eyewear is available now for pre-order in the U.K. and Germany.
The SED-E1 transparent-lens headset will go on sale in eight more countries—Japan, the U.S., France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden—next month. Developers can access the official version of the SmartEyeglass SDK today.
Using holographic wavelength technology, Sony's futuristic glasses connect with compatible smartphones to superimpose information onto the wearer's field of view—"without any half mirrors that may obstruct the user's vision," the company boasted.
It also comes with a built-in 3-megapixel CMOS image sensor, accelerometer, gyro, electronic compass, and brightness sensor, behind the 3-millimeter lenses. Together with GPS location data from the attached phone, the headset provides information tailored for the current task or scenario.
A separate (but wired) circular controller that clips onto your jacket or shirt collar houses the battery, speaker, microphone, NFC, and touch sensor.
Early application concepts include a step-by-step guide on how to assemble an engine, scrolling in front of the mechanic's eyes as they work. Sony also suggested an app to share player stats while watching a sports game, or to display sightseeing information while visiting a tourist attraction.
Early developers will have access to a handful of SmartEyeglass apps—available in the Google Play store—which enable access to Twitter, Facebook, Gmail, RSS, calendar, and voice control.
The developer edition will cost $840 in the U.S., £520 in the U.K., €670 across Europe, and ¥100,000 in Japan.
Sony hopes to release its SmartEyeglass headset to consumers sometime next year.
In December, Sony released details of a clip-on wearable that turns your glasses into a smart device. The attachable Single-Lens Display Module, dubbed "SmartEyeglass Attach," promised a Google Glass-like control board, OLED microdisplay, and optical unit.
