ReconJet
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Intel has less competition against Raspberry Pi
Say goodbye to Intel's Edison, Joule and Galileo compute modules. The company has unceremoniously canceled its developer kit lineup, which were meant to give it a foothold in the burgeoning Internet of Things arena, ZDNet reports. Additionally, Intel also canceled several of its Recon Jet smart glasses products, though that's less of a surprise. With Galileo, Intel wanted to compete directly against the ARM-powered Raspberry Pi, while Edison shrunk down a full development kit to the size of an SD card. Joule, which launched last year, was its most powerful compute module yet.
Smart glasses make hands-free 'Pokémon Go' a reality
Pokémon Go has taken the world by storm. It's not uncommon to see dozens of people walking around parks and city streets with their heads buried in their phones, trying to catch cute cartoon monsters. Unfortunately, doing so means you're not keeping your eyes on the road, which has already led to a few accidents. But what if you could somehow play Pokémon Go while also paying attention to the world around you? That's exactly what Recon has attempted to do by porting the popular game over to the Jet, a pair of Android-based smart glasses the company released last year. The setup isn't perfect and it doesn't work completely just yet, but even what I've seen so far provides an exciting glimpse at the next wave of augmented reality.
Recon Jet smart glasses get the GoPro controller app they deserve
Recon Instruments makes tech-friendly snow and cyclist headwear with built-in GPS, displays and more. Recon's Jet glasses even have a camera on board -- but it's limited to a one-minute max for videos. Riders, runners and powder-fiends who own either the Snow2 or Jet can now eke out a little extra functionality, thanks to an app that'll let you control a GoPro, right from the headset's touch controls. Called "MyGoproRemote2," the app functions just like GoPro's own mobile offering, with all the same options -- preview, record, change settings and so on. Your Snow or Jet connects to the camera over WiFi, so it's likely a burden on the battery for both devices, but that's the price of not having to carry a phone or GoPro remote we guess. The app's confirmed to work with Hero3 and Hero4 cameras, and can be snapped up (for free) from Recon's Engage app store.
Recon Jet review: expensive fitness glasses with potential to be better
Recon Jet is a sports computer for long-distance runners and cyclists that's embedded into a pair of sunglasses. Take it on a long, lung-bursting trip and you'll get your speed, cadence and calories, as well as a variety of other stats -- all presented to you on a tiny display placed just below your right eye. At $699, it's priced for the hardcore athletes (and it's certainly catering to that corner of the market). Normally we might not bother with such a niche device but as it happens, the company was recently acquired by Intel for $175 million. As such, we thought it was worth a closer look to see if it heralds a fresh start for face-worn computing -- or if will suffer the same fate as Google Glass.
Flextronics brings US manufacturing to the startup set
At the end of the San Francisco Bay, in the center of the town of Milpitas, sits a nondescript office park. The Flextronics' campus is situated in the middle of this sprawl surrounded by rows of parking spaces and strips of manicured grass. It looks like any other set of buildings in any other industrial park in any other metropolitan area in the United States. But its seemingly boring location is what makes this bland row of buildings in the San Jose suburb so intriguing. Flextronics is doing something that was unheard of just a few years ago -- it built a US-based factory that's manufacturing hardware for small companies. One of those companies is Recon.
Can a head-worn fitness device work? Recon seems to think so
Long before Google had ever uttered the word glass, Recon Instruments was rising to prominence with a head-worn display designed for snow sports. You'd be forgiven for not knowing the name, since the technology was buried inside expensive sets of ski goggles like Oakley's Airwave. Then, the company announced that a new product for cyclists and runners would arrive, this time branded under its own name. Few outside the running/cycling community paid attention to the Recon Jet, since they were all distracted by Google's rival. Two years later, and Glass has been pulled from the market in the hope that Tony Fadell can turn it into a device people want to buy. As such, the road is clear for Recon's fitness-oriented wearable, but can this small Canadian company succeed where Google failed? Earlier this year, I sat down with the company's Tom Fowler and a nearly finished prototype of the final hardware to find out.
Now you only have to barely move your hand to control your smart glasses
One main obstacle to making smart glasses mainstream is their awkward control methods, but that may change courtesy of Thalmic Labs, the maker of the $149 Myo muscle-sensing armband due in this fall. With the help of several enterprise partners, the startup has managed to integrate its futuristic wearable with Google Glass, Epson Moverio and Recon Jet, thus allowing users to quickly flick through documents, contacts and apps with subtle hand plus finger gestures, as opposed to fiddling with a tiny trackpad. In the videos after the break, it seems that there's great potential for the Myo in the medical space, heavy industries plus outdoor sports, albeit at the risk of making the users look a little silly.
Recon's 'Google Glass' for sports gets a finalized design ahead of September launch
No, the Recon Jet still isn't out yet, but its manufacturer has a few bits of news to share. For starters, the sports-minded heads up display's brain box is now angled slightly upward, which supposedly improves the display's viewing angle and camera orientation. This tweak apparently boosts the HUD's ergonomics and makes it fit a bit better, too. The Jet is also now rated to IP65 standard, which means it'll be able to withstand dust and torrential rainstorms. Don't think that it'll work on your next swim, though, because submerging the unit is apparently out of the question. The outfit (thankfully) doesn't mention any changes to its September 25th release date, either, but it is spending the next month working on testing the Jet. Oh, and there's a protective case in the works too -- all the better to keep your $700 investment safe and sound. How protected to the Jet remains while it's on your face, however, well, that's up to you.
Recon Instruments' Jet sporting sunglasses get delayed (again)
When we first saw Recon Instruments' Jet at Google I/O last year, we expected to be using it to monitor our heart rate and speed on the track by fall. But alas, it wasn't to be. In November the company delayed the launch of the extreme sporting sunglasses by "a few months," and today it broke our hearts a little more -- postponing the first shipments until September 25. Adding insult to injury, if you want to snag a pair of the high-tech glasses you're also going to have to shell out a little more cash. Starting this summer the device will be priced at $699, up $100 from its original $599 price tag.
Recon Jet HUD now available for pre-order in $499 Pilot Edition
Want to embrace Recon Instruments' sunglasses-based vision of the future before it officially reaches store shelves? You can: the company has just started pre-orders for its Jet heads-up display in a $499 Pilot Edition. The inaugural eyewear will come with apps for both cyclists and triathletes, and it should beat the production model to market by several months. There's even a financial incentive for that impatience, as the pricing goes up to $599 on July 21st. If you don't mind a potentially rough experience while tracking your mid-race performance, the Pilot Edition is waiting at the source link.
Recon Instruments Jet heads-up display debuts at Google I/O, we go hands-on (video)
Google Glass is a lot of things, but it's hardly a superstar when it comes to the world of sports. Though we've seen proof it is at least water resistant, it doesn't feel particularly durable and isn't entirely well-suited to wearing while, say, sweating profusely during a lengthy climb on a road bike. Recon Instruments has what it thinks is a solution: the Jet. It's a pair of sporting sunglasses with an integrated, Android-powered display that could make things like running and cycling far more exciting -- or at least far more information-packed. Join us after the break for our impressions.%Gallery-188531%
Recon Instruments reveals Recon Jet, a sports HUD so bright it needs shades (video)
We know Glass comes with some snap-on shades, which is no doubt great when casually vlogging in the sun. If you're heading down a mountain, though, you're going to need something a little more like Recon Jet. You may know Recon Instruments from its line of technolicious HUD ski goggles, but Jet sees the firm leap into more casual (yet no less useful) eyewear. Inside you'll find a dual-core processor, WiFi, GPS, Ant+, Bluetooth and an HD camera, plus all the sensors you could want (altimeter, thermometer, accelerometer etc). Recon Jet comes with its own open platform (which typically has been based on Android), and will have some existing native apps (video streaming, Facebook integration, etc.) on display at Google I/O this week. Comparison with Mountain View's own product will be inevitable, but we're guessing that Recon hopes you'll leave Glass on your desk, while popping Jet on for the weekend.
