Totoo ba ito? Low-res?
Last week, Mark Rollins covered Vuzix’s widescreen head mounted display. I recently got a chance to play with the AV310, their widescreen portable viewer.
What’s Cool:
Picture this: you are on a train or an airplane and you don’t want to talk to that stranger sitting next to you. You have noticed headphones no longer guarantee privacy. That is where the Vuzix AV310 comes into play. Putting the Vuzix AV310 on is like putting a big “Do Not Disturb†sign on your face.
Should you choose to look around, you don’t even have to take them off. The viewer does not block your vision entirely. Also, the Vuzix comes with earbuds, but they are removable, so you can go ahead and use your own.
What’s Not:
When you are watching a video on this product there is a screen door effect because it has a low resolution. The 16:9 display has a 428x240 resolution, which is not great (that is sub-VGA). If you are an obsessive type, you may have difficulty looking past the screen-door effect.
Thoughts:
I would have liked a higher resolution screen. When I asked Vuzix why the AV310 has such a low resolution, they told me that a higher resolution screen would make this product too expensive for their intended audience. The Vuzix AV310 costs just under $250.
Overall, it seems like a cool product that could be very useful on long trips. The Vuzix solves a common problem and allows for hands-free viewing. You don’t have to balance your laptop on your knee to watch a video.
