Surely you remember that Solo Plus HMD that Myvu aimed at iPod owners late last year? Wait, what? You purged that from your memory as soon as you saw it? Ah well, looks like you'll be on yet another blotting mission after peeking this, as the aforesaid outfit has delivered yet another option for those looking to check out iPod clips on their own personal theater and destroy any chance at garnering friends. The Shades 301 iPod Edition, which is set to cost two Benjamins, actually looks quite different (and dare we say, a smidgen better) than the Solo Plus, and reportedly comes bundled with a pair of Ultimate Ears earbuds, detachable Dock Connector cable, remote, integrated battery and a two-piece cable manager for its neck cabling. If you're inexplicably overcome with an urge to see more, you can check out a brief hands-on by following the read link below.

Dorks we may be, but we're just not ready for head-mounted displays to hit the mainstream -- which is why this patent application for laser-based headgear from Apple makes us cringe just as hard as the MyVu product line. Apple wants to up the nerd factor immeasurably by putting all the image processing and generation hardware in a belt-clipped processing box, which will allow the glasses to shrink down and potentially be indistinguishable from regular glasses. Laser-generated images from the box are then transmitted to wedge optics in the glasses via a fiber optic cable, and hey -- you're watching The Office on your glasses with a processing box clipped to your belt. Can you say "coolest guy in school?" Yeah, didn't think so -- no amount of white plastic and brushed aluminum will ever make this okay. The application just went public today, so there's a long way to go before Apple actually gets this patent -- here's hoping we get a similarly long reprieve from ubiquitous head-mounted displays.

[Via Unwired View]

Though not the first omni-directional treadmill we've ever seen, this version crafted for the EU-funded CyberWalk Project is entirely more interesting. The 6- x 6-meter device features an active walking area of 4.5- x 4.5-meters, and later this month, individuals anxious to prance through a virtual city will be able to strap on a head-mounted display, lace up their LA Lights and indulge in escapism. Aside from giving curious persons the ability to walk through a recreated version of ancient Pompeii, the device could also be used to meander through buildings not yet created or give firefighters a way to train without placing them in harm's way. Now, if only there was an option to dissolve into pixels and teleport to locales you find particularly intriguing, we'd be sold.

[Via Slashdot]

Given that carting around an HMD with your PMP cuts down on that whole portability factor and all, but this new Linux PMP from Dreamax is notable for coming bundled with one all the same. The head-mounted Active Matrix 3DS OLED-XL microdisplay visor is being made by eMagin, known for their Z800 3D visor, and sports an 800 x 600 resolution reportedly equivalent to sitting seven feet from a 54-inch screen. The visor includes an integrated magnetic earphone station, adjustable nose clip and other "ergonomic enhancements" indicating that HMD companies might actually be aware that wearing these things is usually brutally uncomfortable. The Indicube i-800 itself is a Linux-based PMP with 12GB onboard storage plus an 8GB flash card, expandable to 32GB flash. Sizing up at 2.3 x 4.8 x 0.9-inches, the Indicube sports a USB 2.0 interface and an NTSC/PAL input that auto-detects AV from a number of sources including TVs, DVD players, iPods, PCs, other PMPs, smartphones, and game consoles. No word on price or availability for the package, but the eMagin HMD will also be sold separately starting in March.

[Via Linux Devices]

Just as expected, Lumus-Optical is all set to showcase its microdisplay-packin' spectacles at CES, and while it doesn't seem that the technology has changed since we first heard of them, we've now got a slew of photographs to go by. Apparently, the glasses will boast twin microdisplays and an ultra-thin LOE lens, which can purportedly immerse the wearer by creating the effect of viewing a 60-inch screen from ten feet away. Also of note, the company claims that unlike gaudy alternatives, these won't make you look like a complete tool, but judging by the image above, we aren't so sure that's entirely accurate.

Read - Press release [PDF]
Read - Photos

We've certainly got to hand it to Dutch retailer relaxView B.V., which is making a name for itself by bundling off-the-shelf components together with a "hygiene set" and marketing the package as a distraction kit for providers of painful services. Following the presumed success of its relaxView 5.0 Dental Pack with tooth torturers worldwide, the company is back with what appears to be the exact same set of HMD plus video discman, but being sold this time around as the 6.0 Tattoo Pack. (FYI, we have no idea why the 5.0 and 6.0 packs both incorporate the relaxView 3.0 head mounted display -- and not the relaxView 4.0, which is the self-proclaimed "Rolls-Royce in video eyewear.") If you're looking to get your favorite tattoo artist something extra special this holiday season, relaxView will part with this kit for a mere €499 ($733) until Christmas, after which the price leaps up to €569 ($836).

Although you may not be familiar with YelloMosquito, chances are you're totally aware of the business that 22Moo is in. Turns out, the former is simply a division of the latter, which is busy boasting about the Qingbar Gp300. 'Course, we've known that completely wireless head-mounted displays were in the works, but YM is claiming that these unsightly things are the world's first cordless LCOS video glasses to feature a built-in media player complete with DivX support. Reportedly, users can enjoy getting mocked while watching a 50-inch virtual screen, and they can load up their files via the built-in miniSD slot. If you just can't resist the urge to relive your Virtual Boy glory days, you can pre-order the December-bound unit now for $299 -- otherwise, you'll be laying down a Benjamin more (or smartly saving a mint) when it ships en masse.

[Image courtesy of YelloMosquito]

While it's typically far too easy to bash on a new head-mounted display due to its unsightly design, we'll restrain ourselves when talking about the LV920. Vuzix, which veterans may remember as Icuiti, has introduced a new HMD that is tailored specifically for individuals with macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa and other low vision problems. Apparently, preclinical trials have shown promising results, and the firm is aiming to ship 'em out en masse sometime this quarter. Vuzix claims that the eyewear will improve vision when reading and boost color perception, but we'd be tempted to wait for a third party confirmation (or denial) before throwing down on something like this.

In a clever bit of marketing designed to play to our deepest fears of oral torture at the hands of a disgruntled hygienist, Dutch manufacturer relaxView B.V. is bundling a head-mounted display with a portable DVD player and offering it up to dentists as a way to distract their victims patients from the unbearable pain. The RelaxView 5.0 Dental Pack combines the company's relaxView 3.0 HMD (simulates a 1.5-meter VGA screen at a distance of three meters), unnamed model of Discman, and "disposable hygiene set" (read: pack of alcohol swabs) into a package that differentiates itself by promising "optimum comfort" derived from a 65-gram weight and adjustable nose support. Not too shabby: if we had the rate our options in these situations, we'd pick watching a movie just ahead of staring at the colorful exam room artwork, and just behind a heavy drugging.

For every gimmicky workout product that comes along like the push-up counter or talking grip master, there's also one such as the Nike+iPod or Entertrainer which actually seem to prove useful or motivational. Well you can add the upcoming Informance sunglasses from German lenscrafter Rodenstock to that list, which take your regular sports shades and tack on a tiny LED display that shows stopwatch or pulse data from a wirelessly-linked watch. Developed in cooperation with the UK's Cambridge Consultants, the display projects a 160 x 120 pixel image through a wedge-shaped prism, occupying 12% of the left eye's field of view in a reportedly unobtrusive manner when peering straight ahead. Look for actual products to hit the market sometime in 2009, for an estimated €700 to €1.000 ($990 to $1,400).

Just in case you were worried during "The Beat Goes On" that the new iPods wouldn't work with the current generation of head-mounted displays (which they apparently won't), myvu has come to the rescue with a new model that -- besides a shared distaste for capitalization -- also features an Apple authorization chip for guaranteed compatibility. The solo plus follows the nearly-identical solo that we saw earlier in the year, sporting a low-profile design, wired remote, and integrated, noise-canceling, earbud headphones, while playing nice with the touch, classic, and 3G nano. Also like the solo, the solo plus will retail for $200 when it hits stores in October, so start filling out those return slips if you happened to have purchased an original unit recently.

[Via iLounge]

Another day, another fancy head mounted display vying for your hard-earned dollars. This time around it's Shimadzu, and rather than hanging the pirates and cycloptic individuals in the crowd out to dry, the DataGlass 3/A is designed to only interfere utilize one eye. Interestingly, this USB-powered iteration is also dust- and water-proof in case you're desperate to view a virtual screen whilst signing in the rain, and can also be connected to your PC or handheld device via a standard VGA cable. No word on price just yet, but be sure and check out the video listed in the read link to quell your excitement.

[Via I4U]

Olympus is planning on taking head-mounted displays out of the "giant nerd" category and into the "scary dystopian future" realm with a new project to develop a completely wireless system that can also double as eyeglasses. While most other HMDs we've seen feature a cable snaking across your body to an external power pack, Olympus has expanded on its previous efforts (pictured) and is already prototyping a 3-ounce unit with an internal power source powering two side-mounted 110,000-pixel displays that project email onto the lenses. Olympus is optimistically hoping to bring the tech to market in 2012 -- looks like wannabe Terminators are going to be lugging those battery packs around for a while yet.