SlashGear » Myvu

Myvu Crystal EV viewer revealed

Brenda Stokes — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:35:07 +0000

We’ve talked about the wearable media viewers offered by Myvu before but it seems the company’s latest offering, the Crystal EV will soon be available at airports in the U.S. and InMotion Entertainment stores.

The new screen size measures in at 64-inches and uses SolidOptix tech. It can be used with Nokia and Apple devices and sports stereo earphones, noise reduction and a 640 x 480 VGA resolution screen.

Other features include an inline remote, a cable bundle and more. An add on bundle includes an iPhone cable and a travel case. A release date has yet to be announced, but you can get the Crystal EV for $300 and with the add-on for $325 soon.

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DIY wearable computer with head-up display

Chris Davies — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:28:28 +0000

Augmented reality – integrating data from computer and internet sources with everyday life – is showing up more and more lately, as cellphones learn to geotag landmarks and webcams are coaxed into spotting special ID glyphs, but we’re still a way off from a true mainstream-commercial head-up display. MicroPCTalk forum member fiveseven808 decided to take matters into his own hands, and hacked together a wearable computer with the eyepiece from a Myvu Crystal, a Sony UMPC and a Motorola iDEN i425 for cheap, always-on connectivity.

The Myvu Crystal donated one of its 640 x 480 VGA resolution eyepieces, which was strapped to a custom mount on his glasses. The Sony UX380N outputs via a TV dongle, and there’s an extended battery and various Bluetooth peripherals – mouse, folding Bluetooth keyboard, etc – for different types of text and cursor control while on the move.

“I guess my original goal was to design a prototype wearable computing system that is expandable, cheap, compact, yet powerful enough to be used as an every day computer with the possibility of having augmented reality systems and other passive information systems convey useful location based information to the user at all times” fiveseven808

The search is now on for a replacement UMPC, as the UX380 involved in the project has since died. No word on how much all this cost to put together, nor how usable it is on the move, but we’re promised a full interview with fiveseven808 soon.

[via UMPCPortal]

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Myvu Crystal 701 video goggles: deceptively appealing?

Chris Davies — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 22:00:52 +0000

Let’s be blunt, you’d have to be a brave person (or entirely lacking in self-awareness) to wear these out in public. Yet after reviewing the Myvu Crystal 701 video glasses, Gear Diary’s Dan Cohen seems surprisingly impressed. Promising the effect of a 4:3 aspect display viewed from 2m at 640 x 480 VGA resolution, the 701 glasses hook up to standard AV connections or, in Dan’s case, your iPod to stop you from squinting at the relatively tiny screen.

“I don’t know what I was initially expecting, but at first I wasn’t blown away. Turns out my eyes needed to adjust to viewing video on the Crystal. Once I relaxed my eyes a bit and just sat back to enjoy, it was pretty impressive. I handed them to my wife, whose immediate response was “These are Awesome!” (she isn’t easily impressed by gadgetry.)” Dan Cohen, Gear Diary

Video quality, while not going to rival your HDTV, proves reasonable, and Myvu took the sensible option and used Ultimate Ears earphones rather than bundling some cheap ‘buds. Unfortunately you don’t appear to be able to remove them for separate use.

Dan’s been bitten by the Myvu bug – he even used the Crystal 701’s while out riding his bike – and is thinking of picking up a pair of his own. Personally, I’m not convinced that something I’d only feel comfortable enough using in the privacy of my own home is worth $299.95, but then maybe that’s my fault for not being brave.

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Myvu Crystal 701 & Shades 301 VR glasses

Chris Davies — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:28:50 +0000

Bless this woman for at least trying to look sultry while sporting a ridiculous pair of VR glasses. Fresh from Myvu, the oddly-amber frames are the new flagship Crystal 701 model, running at 640 x 480 VGA resolution and promising a 22.5 degree field-of-view; that’s 33-percent wider than previous versions. Creating the perception of a 4:3 screen 2m ahead of the wearer, they’re powered by a Li-poly battery that’s good for four hours.

Myvu have also announced the Shades 301, which look a little more clunky and have only 320 x 240 QVGA resolution. The screen appears to be 1.5m away, although battery life is a little better at 10hrs. They also weigh less than the Crystal 701 set: 75g versus 82g.

Both the sets come with Ultimate Ears Earphones, complete with three different ear-plugs. Input is via a composite video jack, compatible with NTSC and PAL video, and there are controls for tweaking brightness and contrast as well as volume. The Crystal 701 and Shades 301 are available now, priced at $299.95 and $199.95 respectively, and Myvu can also make prescription clip-in lenses for spectacle wearers. Would you wear them? Let me know in the comments.

[via Infosync]

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