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Avegant tests Glyph wearable display prototype, on track for CES debut
We weren't expecting to see the final Glyph prototype materialize until just before CES, but Avegant is ready to show off the latest consumer design in the flesh, presented above (and again after the break) for your viewing pleasure. The high-res retinal display projects an image directly into your eyes, enabling a much sharper picture than what you'd experience by looking at a traditional panel. According to Avegant reps, this alpha prototype currently undergoing testing has smaller optics and improved adjustments compared to the demo unit we tried out in October, and it's far more attractive, to boot. The company plans to launch a Kickstarter campaign on January 22nd, with a beta version of Glyph shipping to pre-order customers for $499 by the end of 2014.
Glyph is a high-res wearable display headed to Kickstarter for $499
We were sold on Avegant's retinal head-mounted display even when it looked like this, but the company's latest reveal has us throwing balls of cash at the screen. The consumer version will be branded as Glyph, and it's set to debut January 22nd on Kickstarter with a pre-order price of $499. Avegant had its previous-gen prototype on hand last month at Engadget Expand, and the refreshed version (pictured above) will be on display at CES -- it looks quite nice in the render, but this is a product you'll really need to see to believe. The device will sport integrated noise-canceling headphones with a flip-down display, enabling the unit to double as a standard set of cans when you're not in the mood to consume super-sharp video content projected from the built-in virtual retinal display. We spent a few minutes with the final headphone design this week, and audio sounded great, but you'll have to hang tight until CES for a full hands-on with the refreshed version. For now, click through for our hands-on demo with the previous prototype, narrated by Avegant CEO Ed Tang.
Weekly Roundup: Apple iMac review, BlackBerry Z30 review, Samsung's Galaxy Round and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Daily Roundup: HP Chromebook 11 review, Samsung's Galaxy Round, a gold HTC One and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Avegant's head-mounted virtual retinal display offers brilliant definition, we go hands-on (video)
We've never seen a product quite like this, and for Avegant, that's very good news. The startup's prototype virtual retinal display (VRD) delivers insanely sharp definition and a realistic image even with low-resolution sources by projecting directly into each eye using an array of two million micromirrors. There's no screen inside, though your brain interprets the signal as an 80-inch panel viewed from eight feet away. The effect isn't entirely dissimilar to what you'll find with other products, such as Vuzix's Wrap glasses or Sony's HMZ, though the quality -- and the overall experience -- blows everything else out of the water. We've heard a bit about Avegant's prototype, but without an opportunity to test it out, we were skeptical. This technology is impossible to demonstrate through any other medium, which will present some marketing challenges for the six-person team. For the firm's current round of tech demos, that's no problem, but a consumer model is coming very soon, and when it hits, you're definitely going to want to try it out. The production model, which is slated to ship sometime in Q1 2014, will be a far cry from the prototype we tested this week. It's expected to weigh significantly less, with a much more manageable footprint, integrated sound and a battery pack for power on the go. It'll be just as powerful, however, despite the design tweaks. The HMD, which can handle 240Hz content (and beyond), will connect to a variety of sources -- DVD players, laptops, smartphones and game consoles -- and regardless of the quality of the stream, footage should look sharp and realistic. It'll serve as a head-tracking VR device during game play, a bit like the Oculus Rift, but it'll be just as appropriate for consuming movies and TV shows, or even browsing the web. We watched a few minutes of Life of Pi in 720p 3D, played a bit of Call of Duty and poked around a 360-degree video filmed at a traffic circle in Italy. It all looked great, and that latter clip, which was streaming from a smartphone, was a mere 360 x 180 pixels. The HMD is designed to make everyday media look great, but the developers we met, CTO Alan Evans and CEO Edward Tang, also envision a variety of content created specifically for the display. Imagine moving your head to look around a football stadium during a broadcast NFL game, or exploring distant cities in much the same way. We don't have any pricing info to share, but consumer prototypes are expected at CES and the device should make its way to a crowdfunding site within the next few months. We can't wait to watch a handful of movies on the to-be-named Avegant HMD during a flight to Asia or spend half a day shooting zombies with some shockingly immersive gameplay. In the meantime, there's a prototype hands-on to tide you over, embedded after the break.
