Itching to get your hands on Google Glass? Well, it will be a little while longer until it’s ready for its consumer debut, but that doesn’t mean you have to forego all hi-tech spectacles while you wait.
Inventio has a set of super-secret spy glasses that can give you all the HD video and audio recording your face can handle. Although slightly chunky, they still look like everyday sunglasses, which is good news if you were hesitant about looking like a cyborg. The frames have a hidden camera integrated at the bridge of the nose, to capture 720p (1280×720) HD video from the wearer’s point of view, as well as a rechargeable battery (for 2 to 3 hours of power) and 8GB storage that can hold about 2 hours of video capture.
Quality seems pretty good, though the constant adjustments to white balance and color, et al., are noticeable in the recorded footage, here taken by ChipChick. Still, considering how small the embedded camera and its lens are, it’s quite impressive.
It does have video stabilization, but there are still some jittery “shakes” could leave some viewers a little queasy. As for the audio, it’s 16-bit captured via a single microphone. Putting dual mics in there would’ve been better, but likely would’ve jacked up the price.
It may not be perfect, but given what it does, it’s affordable at $129.95. That includes the product, a charging/sync cable, AV cables (for TV output), and two carrying cases (one soft and one hard). We could see lifebloggers, sports junkies and others finding this useful — particularly since it’s less expensive and more discrete than head- or helmet-mounting squarish GoPro cameras. And unlike Google Glass, they’re available now.
