Vuzix may not be a name you’re familiar with, but they’ve created perhaps the most incredible piece of visual hardware you can wear.
The Wrap 1200 looks like a pair of sunglasses, but they give you what is effectively a 16:9 aspect ratio 75-inch screen as viewed from ten feet away. Even better, the glasses support both 2D and 3D content!
Paul Travers, the CEO of Vuzix, boasts that his company spent over a year developing the Wrap 1200, making sure “it is one of the most advanced, feature-rich video eyewear ever produced.” Combining what has become the standard 16:9 aspect ratio with their AccuTilt disply angle technology “provides our customers with an unmatched mobile viewing experience.”
So, what’s AccuTilt? It’s a mechanism that lets users adjust the Wrap 1200 up or down by fifteen degrees, giving the best viewing angle for each individual person. In addition to AccuTilt, the hardware allows positioning the displays to match Interpuplillary Distance. For those of us not in the optometry industry, that means it can adjust to your individual eye separation, in much the same way binoculars do. The Wrap 1200 also allows you to adjust the focus of each eye independently. It can also be worn over most prescription glasses, features a hypoallergenic nosepiece, and has detachable noise-isolating stereo earphones to let you really get into the action. It also has an on-screen display, allowing you to adjust brightness, contrast, hue and color saturation. This will come in handy as it has both composite and component video connections, with optional VGA connectivity.
The hardware comes with two rechargable AA batteries and a charger that should give you about 3 hours of use. If that’s not long enough, say you’re going to be on a plane all day, you can substitute the rechargables with lithium ion batteries for up to 7 hours.
The Vuzix Wrap 1200is available now and retails for $499.99. It’s a steep price, but that’s a good looking piece of hardware. I really like that I’d be able to use it, even while wearing glasses. That’s a big plus for me. With all the connectivity options, imagine being able to play just about any video game you want on effectively a 75-inch screen anywhere you go. It makes me giddy thinking about playing Resistance 3 or Gears 3 with these.
