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Top 7 Google Glass Alternatives

Google Glass may be the nigh buzzworthy wearable display at the moment, but information technology's far from existence the only device of its kind. If we learned annihilation at CES 2014, information technology's that heads-up displays are getting more polished and are offer more functionality than ever before--giving Google some tearing competition. From wearable devices that augment your reality to elementary glasses that bring notifications from your phone to your face, here are some of the most compelling Glass alternatives.

Optinvent ORA

The Optinvent ORA is like to Google Glass in many means: it displays notifications, uses a similar class factor and projects a floating display in front end of your face. However, the ORA promises a much brighter, larger and crisper display for a cheaper price. Optinvent claims the ORA's display expanse is iii times the size of Glass' transparent screen, and it too shines at 3,000 nits brilliant. That's much brighter than other wearable displays such equally the Vuzix M100, which features a 2,000-nit screen.

Optinvent's wearable display places a prism in front end of your middle similar Glass, but looks much more similar a pair of eyeglasses than Google'south solution. It'south besides important to notation that the ORA'southward display falls right in the center of your field of view, while Glass' tiny display sits just above your heart. If you don't feel like gazing at a transparent screen all the fourth dimension, you can also flip the display down below your centre to avoid lark. The developer edition is available for $950, although consumer pricing has yet to be announced.

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Vuzix M100

The Vuzix M100 claims to be the world's beginning commercially available pair of smart glasses. The $1,000 wear Android reckoner comes with a WQVGA color brandish with a 16:nine aspect ratio, 4GB of onboard storage and 1GB of RAM. It runs on a TI-OMAP 4430 processor, which is believed to exist the same chip found within Google Glass. There's a 5-MP photographic camera upwardly front, and Vuzix touts its heads-upward display every bit an optimal choice for consumers and industrial workers alike. Although Glass is Google's own product, the M100's interface looks much more than similar the familiar Android UI y'all'd find on a smartphone. We went hands-on with a prototype of the M100 before information technology was set for consumer launch, and were impressed with how clear the floating Android app screen was.

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Meta Pro

The Meta Pro is about so much more than merely bringing notifications to your face. The $3,000 smart goggles offer full-blown augmented reality (AR) while too allowing wearers to interact with the world in a new style. During our hands-on session, we drew 3D models past extending our hands and manipulating the images we saw earlier our eyes. Prepare to go on sale in June, the Intel Core i5-powered Meta Pro tin also exist used as a habiliment computer in the well-nigh literal sense. This means wearers will exist able to project a Windows overlay in forepart of their face while using a mouse and keyboard to interact. Its $3,000 cost tag is certainly steep, merely we're excited about the augmented-reality possibilities the Meta Pro offers.

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Epson Moverio BT-200

With its Moverio BT-200 spectacles, Epson is seeking to bring a mix of augmented reality and gaming to your face up. The spectacles project images and video onto the world effectually you, simply aren't meant for "always on" usage like Glass and others on this listing. The Moverio BT-200 is better suited for specific apply cases, such every bit playing a game or viewing media while traveling. Epson's AR glasses come with an accompanying touchpad that allows the wearer to interact with objects on screen. During our easily-on session we explored the world of SkyTemple,a first-person virtual reality game, by but moving our head to pan effectually the scene. Epson also tells us that it's in talks with Namco Bandai to bring a fighting-style game to the Moverio BT-200 spectacles. Players would be able to contrivance and duck confronting their opponent in existent fourth dimension.

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GlassUp

GlassUp isn't intended to broaden your reality or bring an Android experience to your face. Rather, it's designed to deliver notifications and alerts directly into your line of vision. Slated to start aircraft this summertime, the $399 GlassUp uses a monochrome display to prove text, rather than a color transparent screen like other wearables. Since it doesn't display color, GlassUp is estimated to last four to viii hours, making its battery life almost twice as long as that of Drinking glass. We had the adventure to become hands-on with a GlassUp prototype during CES 2014, and came away impressed with how articulate text looked on its monochrome transparent display.

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ChipSiP Smart Glasses

Taiwanese original design manufacturer ChipSiP's prototype may await more than similar Google Glass than whatever device we've seen yet. Like Glass, the headset resembles a pair of eyeglasses, but without the lenses. An arm extends along the side to back up the device's prism brandish, similar to Google'south wearable computer. Nevertheless, ChipSiP's solution brings a full-HD display, 1080p video capture and Android 4.2 Jelly Edible bean to your face. Running on a 1.2-GHz Rockchip dual-cadre processor with 4GB of RAM, the ChipSiP Smart Glasses are expected to hitting the U.South. market by the cease of this year, for less than $i,000. During our hands-on session at CES, we used the display's side-mounted touchpad to scroll through the Android interface. A ChipShiP rep besides told us that the final product is likely to have Google Now voice controls and a different version of Android that'due south more optimized for wearable displays.

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Atheer 1

If you think Google Glass makes you look similar a cyborg, then the Atheer One is sure to make you feel like you but walked out of a fourth dimension auto. The augmented-reality spectacles are up for preorder via Kickstarter for $350, making information technology one of the cheapest heads-up displays out at that place. The device features two XGA resolution displays — i situated in front of each heart — creating a screen that Atheer Labs claims is as large every bit a 26-inch tablet at half an arm's length. This screen is also said to be seven times the size of Google Glass. You primarily interact with the device by reaching out and manipulating the images in front of your eyes, like to the way you practise on the Meta Pro. However, the Atheer 1 doesn't function on its own like the Meta Pro does; it must be tethered to an Android smartphone. Atheer Labs tells us that the headset is uniform with Google Play store apps, and the consumer version will be wireless when it ships in the fourth quarter of this twelvemonth.

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Lisa has been reporting on all things mobile for Laptopmag.com since early 2013. When she'south non reviewing gadgets, she's unremarkably browsing patent databases or interviewing experts to track down the hottest tech trends earlier they even happen. Lisa holds a B.A. in Journalism from SUNY Buy and has contributed to The International Business Times, The New York Daily News and Guitar World Mag.