Vuzix M100 Smart Glasses Ready for Apps

Vuzix Corporation said on Thursday that Phase 1 of its SDK is now shipping to app developers of its upcoming M100 Smart Glasses. Developers can now create and test their apps using the Android emulator configured as an M100 device.

According to Vuzix, the M100 Smart Glasses feature a built-in WQVGA color display backed by a dual-core TI OMAP4430 SoC (clocked at 1 GHz) and Android 4.0 "Ice Cream Sandwich". The screen's field of view (diagonal) is 16-degrees, equivalent to a 4-inch mobile device screen seen from 14-inches away. Other features include 1 GB of RAM, 4 GB of internal storage, a microSD card slot for an additional 8 GB of storage, and an HD 720p camera.

The specs also reveal that the headset features an integrated head tracker. This provides 3-degrees of freedom head tracking, a 3-axis gyro, a 3-axis accelerometer, and a 3-axis compass. The gadget's battery can last up to eight hours of hands-free chatter, two hours with the display also enabled, and up to one hour with both the display and camera on. Connectivity includes 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth and GPS.

"An integrated camera enables video recording, still image capture and the potential for powerful augmented reality applications," the company said on Thursday. "Interactive tracking and an integrated camera, combined with newly developed applications on the M100 and a smartphone linked to the Cloud, enable the merging of virtual information with the real world."

The product sheet reveals that Android applications can be downloaded directly into the headset whereas Android and iOS smartphone applications can be wirelessly linked to the smart glasses via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Thus by connecting to smartphone applications, users can check their email, use mapping services, watch video and more. Users can also run onboard or remote applications specifically designed or enhanced for smart glasses use, the company said.

The new M100 SDK is now offered in two versions: Silver and Gold (how festive). "They will be delivered in stages and include frequent updates, as they become available, advanced hardware when released, and access to the developer center as it expands to provide technical and developer community support," the company added.

Vuzix didn't mention a retail release date or pricing, but this gadget has been put on our list of goodies to seek out next week during CES 2013 in Las Vegas.

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