For as far as we’ve come in technological advances over the years, one thing that still hasn’t been perfected is video eyewear. I’m not exactly sure why anyone would want to have to wear something over their eyes in order to watch a movie when we have things like iPhones, iPads and portable DVD players, but Vuzix – one of the companies at the forefront of video eyewear – clearly believes it’s the future of on-the-go entertainment. But while it’s a great idea in concept, it’s hard to get over just how goofy you look wearing them. Though the latest line from Vuzix isn’t quite Virtual Boy-big – they look more like a pair of sunglasses that you’d buy at the gas station – they’re still a little clunky for something best used during travel.
Vuzix currently has three different models out on the market – the Wrap 230, 310 and 920 – and although the latter version features the biggest screen and best resolution of the bunch, it’s not worth the higher price tag. The Wrap 310 will work just fine for most users, as it offers a home theater experience akin to watching a 55-inch TV from about 10 feet away. The glasses themselves are actually pretty comfortable, but after you’ve plugged in a pair of headphones, the remote control unit, and your iPhone, it suddenly becomes very awkward to carry around. Still, Vuzix has made them as user-friendly as possible. It takes only a few minutes to set up, and the nosepiece is easily adjustable so that the unit can be shared between people of all sizes.
Where the Wrap 310 really falters, however, is in image quality. Though it supposedly boasts two “high-resolution” 428×480 LCD widescreen displays, it has a screen door effect that severely lowers the overall quality – especially when compared to watching a movie on your iPhone or PC. Unfortunately, that makes its appeal even lower, since a majority of the product’s target audience will probably be tech heads who are obsessed with image quality. That’s not to say that you can’t enjoy watching a movie on the Wrap 310 – the picture is decent enough, and you can personalize video settings like brightness, contrast and color saturation via an onscreen menu – but it doesn’t look as good as it probably should.
Playing video games while wearing the glasses is a little surreal, but it can be a bit dizzying (much like virtual reality), and ultimately isn’t worth it considering most people have big screen HDTVs in their homes these days. Sunlight also creeps through unless you’re in complete darkness, and though Vuzix sells a bulky rubber lightshield for $15, it’s something that really should have been included in the package. Of course, when you take into account that one of the main selling points of the Wrap 310 is its stylish, compact design, I can understand why they wouldn’t want to.
There are a few positives to the Wrap 310 – like offering enough room to wear glasses underneath or providing the option to manually adjust the focus for prescription-free viewing – but it’s simply not enough to warrant the suggested $249.99 price tag. Though you can find them for much cheaper on Amazon, it’s an amenity that most people just don’t need. I loved being able to lay around while watching a movie, and it would be great to have a little extra privacy on a plane trip, but until Vuzix can offer a comparable moviegoing experience, it’s probably best to wait.
Netflix streaming is just about the greatest thing around (yeah, it’s better than Hulu) for video content. The interface is clean, easy to use, and the selection is good enough for my $10 a month. Streaming has also saved Netflix a whole lot of money.
