headmounteddisplays
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Toshiba's smart glasses are powered by mini Windows PCs
Toshiba is stepping into the world of wearable computing with its new Windows-powered smart glasses. You can think of them as a slightly more powerful pair of Google Glasses -- except, instead of being purely standalone, they're attached to one of Toshiba's dynaEdge Mini PCs. Those systems are basically Windows laptops shrunken down into handheld, battery powered bricks. Portable computers are popular with industrial field users who need powerful computers on the go, but find laptops to be too cumbersome. With its new AR100 Head Mounted Display, Toshiba is aiming to make those systems a lot more useful.
The PhoneStation uses your smartphone as a head-mounted display
You'll find plenty of knockoff wearables at a trade show like Computex, but there are always a few gems mixed in among the boring copycats. Exhibit A: View Phone Technology, a little-known Taiwanese company, is showing off a head-mounted 3D display that puts content from your phone directly before your eyes. The aptly named PhoneStation converts video to 3D, letting you use any handset to stream movies and TV shows directly from YouTube.
SiME Google Glass knock-off is held together with Scotch Tape
It's not exactly a good sign when your product's being held together with Scotch Tape. But that's actually one of the main points of distinction between the SiME Smart Glass and Google's version of the wearable -- that and a much lower price point, of course. Taiwanese company ChipSip hopes to sell its Google Glass knock-off for $500, and though that seems palatable compared to $1,500, it's still not cheap. That price is even harder to swallow when you see just how complicated it is to use, as we discovered on the Computex show floor.
RelaxView is back to distract tattoo customers
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).
