back to article Lenovo launches face-mounted monitor

Lenovo has launched a face-mounted wearable monitor. The “Lenovo T1 wearable display” offers a pair of OLED 1920 X 1080 displays – one for each eye – in the form of a pair of glasses. Speakers are included. Here it is! Lenovo t1 wearable display The Lenovo T1 wearable display Click to enlarge Lenovo says the device is “ …

  1. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    "get the feel of a larger screen"

    I'm pretty sure my laptop already has a better resolution than that.

    Besides, I need reading glasses now, so this gadget will be completely useless for me.

    But hey, it's nice to see that all those VR headsets have been practically kneecapped by this new toy.

    1. Norman Nescio

      Re: "get the feel of a larger screen"

      I've not tried these systems, but I'd hope they have some way of accommodating (ho ho) people with short or long sight, but I'm not sure if there is any cheap, general way of making the necessary adjustments to compensate for astigmatism.

      I'm sure someone could come up with a head-mounted system that projected an image through a user's existing spectacles, making use of the corrections provided by them, but I suspect it would be bulky, not cheap, and almost certainly not cool.

    2. Little Mouse

      Re: "get the feel of a larger screen"

      "Besides, I need reading glasses now"

      For something mounted this close to the eyes, there surely has to be a lens between the eye & the display, so there's the potential for accommodating different levels of near/far sightedness.

      If you don't need glasses for certain distances and the focal plane could be set at that distance, then you'd be sorted. That might result in a screen that appears to be several meters away of course, but hey, at least you'd have the illusion of a VERY large screen!

      1. AVee

        Re: "get the feel of a larger screen"

        According to LaptopMag they "support custom prescription lenses via an in-box attachable frame".

        The picture they have indeed shows a lens between the eye and the display. Getting your own lens fitted will make it more expensive, but at least the option seems to be there.

    3. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. elsergiovolador Silver badge

        Re: "get the feel of a larger screen"

        I'd give it a Go. That could be a Perl in my tool chest.

    4. Roland6 Silver badge

      Re: "get the feel of a larger screen"

      Surely for this to be the case, the “screen” needs to be say 8k and the glasses provide a view window onto that display. Move the head and area of screen in focus and in view changes.

  2. Sampler

    How long until..

    There's a news article of some sod jacking it on public transport wearing these?

    1. UCAP Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: How long until..

      My guess - about 30 minutes from the point that they become widely available.

      1. GreggS

        Re: How long until..

        Good luck to him if he's managed to keep going for 30 minutes.

    2. An_Old_Dog Silver badge

      Re: How long until..

      There was an episode in the old "Ghost in the Shell" anime series where some underworld thug was watching porn on his computer-connected eyeglass display, though he wasn't doing the five-knuckle shuffle.

  3. Mr Dogshit

    April fool!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      It's been over 10 years since Google announced their take on these, April 2012, and after an entire decade no one found a useful enough purpose for these... April Fool's indeed.

      BTW, it's kind of crazy that it has been an entire decade since the announcement :-/. Over 9 years since all the news of data points people wearing these and walking around violating other people's privacy.

  4. PhilipN Silver badge

    Can't wait

    I like bumping into things

    having deep grooves on the bridge of my nose

    lots of dangly wires around my face

    splitting headache ...

  5. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Gimp

    Will they be like Googleglass?

    You watch the screens.

    Screen watches you, and everyone around you as well.

    Hopewfully not, but....

    1. doublelayer Silver badge

      Re: Will they be like Googleglass?

      It doesn't look like there's a camera in this, so no. Unless they've hidden it well and plan to announce that with the rest of the details when they start selling it, it doesn't have the same privacy concerns as AR glasses with cameras.

  6. Ozan

    Didn't someone already did it?

  7. Howard Sway Silver badge

    a face-mounted wearable monitor

    Apple version imminent : The iStrain.

  8. Hull
    Go

    I'd like to try it

    Maybe it benefits my back and neck, not constraining me to always orient myself towards a fixed monitor?

    I was also interested in the DJI Goggles 2 (NOT the DJI FPV Goggles v2) for that purpose.

    Does anyone know if the DLNA support in the DJI Goggles means that you can stream video TO or FROM a desktop?

    1. Neil Barnes Silver badge

      Re: I'd like to try it

      Added advantage: boss can't tell if you're working or sleeping.

      Though with work from home that's less of an issue than it used to be...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: I'd like to try it

        paint eyes on the front and no one can tell... add googly eyes, or eyes on springs, for April 1

  9. An_Old_Dog Silver badge

    The best headmounted display

    ... would allow you to see through it, with the computer data semi-transparently overlaid. I don't want to walk around with blinders on.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The best headmounted display

      One this is probably magic leap style vaporware, but fingers crossed we can finally get 1080p per eye at any kind of refresh rate. I expect this will, like so many other products turn out to be 480i upscaled to fake 1080i in 3 bit color, 11fps, and with 1990 era projector/vr goggle interpixel dead space.

      happy to be wrong on those points. If you get a decent display working the other part is easy with a couple pinhole cameras in the frames. You just overlay a monochome version of the camera feed onto the input signal. HTC was doing this a while ago. You get a ghost view of your surroundings so you are less likely to kick your dog or TV by accident.

      Hard to tell by the pictures, but it's also possible they used an LCD shutter in the outward facing surface of the glasses. That would let you black the lenses out electronically, or make them clear if you drank too many cappuccinos.

      This does not look like the version of this idea I have been waiting for, but it may get within striking distance for someone else to. I fear apples device is going to be more functional and less elegant and will disappoint those that look at this and think the two devices do the same thing. It's pretty clear they won't. That is the Magic Leap lesson, the product has to do something first and look cool second, not the other way round.

    2. jvf

      Re: The best headmounted display

      Can’t wait to try it and see if it works ‘good enough’ for me. I design, build and troubleshoot (not my designs, of course) control systems for machinery. So, I frequently wind up in the field whether literally outside or in a cramped room somewhere. It’s a total PITA to try and tape up a drawing in the wind or try to prop up a laptop somewhere with a PDF blown up to 200% scrolling around trying to locate wires and components. I’ve often longed for some kind of heads up display where I could see the drawings in front of me. Even if I would have to lift the glasses up or hang them from my neck to see the actual work and go back and forth I’d bet it would be better than what I’m doing now.

  10. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

    Click-bait

    Lenovo launches face-mounted monitor

    I was expecting some sort of monitor hanging/mounting contraption.

    Alternatively, one could carry it...

    https://radiofidelity.com/the-story-of-the-ghetto-blaster

  11. Munchausen's proxy
    Pint

    I think I like it, but ...

    Probably dumb question, but how do you see the keyboard to type, if you're using a laptop? Presumably you could make it semi-transparent for an on-screen keyboard in a touch environment, but I'm not certain you want that much transparency for general use.

    Nice to see this old idea implemented, though, and I'll be interested to see if it works out.

  12. Phil Veale

    Nreal Air already exists

    This new Lenovo product looks exactly the same as the already available Nreal Air:

    https://www.nreal.ai/air/

    https://shop.ee.co.uk/accessories/pay-monthly/atp-nreal-air-smart-glasses/details

  13. MrCanoehead

    I'm a simple soul

    All I want is a set of affordable semitransparent AR glasses so I can read while I go for a walk or do the dishes. Audiobooks are all well and good, but some of us prefer reading to listening.

    Of course, I'd have to be able to operate them when my hands are wet and soapy...

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