I wish people used the term HMD (head mounted display) for stuff like this. It's not VR, there is no motion tracker or interaction with a "reality" that is "virtual". It's just really small screens really close to your eyes.
this post was submitted on 13 Jun 2023
3 points (100.0% liked)
Technology
37702 readers
280 users here now
A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.
Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.
Subcommunities on Beehaw:
This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Interesting idea, but... imagine sitting at a coffee shop enjoying a book with your fancy new reading glasses and someone roofies your coffee or steals all your stuff because you blocked all distractions.
yeah the only situation I can see using this is something like on a plane with a family member or friend who would keep an eye on you, which seems pretty niche imo. maybe at home if youve got a loud family? idk I just don't see a use case for this
This doesn't appeal to me at all. I need some artifact in my hand that I'm interacting with. A disembodied page floating in my field of view doesn't seem pleasant. I'd also worry about eye strain. The Quest 2 can really wear you out after a few hours, I wonder if this would be similar?
Whats the point of this? I don't think "stopping distractions" is a good enough reason to get what's essentially kindle glasses. I think you would be better off getting AR glasses and using a kindle app or something. Most of the distractions I can think of can be solved by either changing your environment or your own behavior
i could see myself using it for digital comics/manga and books. holding up a tablet can be tiring, having a HMD sounds nicer.
I put my name on the waiting list. Sure it's gimmicky, but airplane travel is the perfect place for this. I already spent the entire flight reading, and this would let me really zone out.
This really seems like a solution in search of a problem.
Seems like it'd be kind of useful for people who like to have their cat or dog curled up into their lap while they read. Now both of your hands are totally free to stroke/scratch your pet!
For me the huge advantage of this is being able to read without holding something. I often like to read lying on the beach for example, and hate having to hold my Kindle over my head, this would potentially solve that. Not really worth $350, but still, I like the concept.
Lying on your side, a device like this still gets in your way. It's a really weird use case.
I like the idea, but $350 is way overpriced in my opinion.
not sure this is a better solution for being able to focus on reading than just like putting your phone in another room for an hour for free
Well, you'd also have to strap your ereader to your face to get the...convenience(?) of hands free reading. I'm not sure what else you'll be doing with your hands since you won't be able to see anything but your book, though.
yeah, it could be more comfortable than a normal ereader for reading lying on your back or something, but it seems really gimmicky
Might I recommend a pair of these .
You look like a dork staring at the ceiling, but you can rest your book on your chest.
Those seem great. Do they work well?
I don't think it's a bad idea in principle, but what got me suspicious is that I couldn't find the resolution anywhere on their page. From the only picture of the screen I found, it looks painfully low res:
The article says 256x256. So yeah, painfully low res
Also, a big selling point of e-ink is that it can be lit externally and match the color tone and brightness of your outside environment. If you're blocking out the outside environment, what's the point of e-ink?
Even while lit, e-ink appears different than a backlit screen. Being front lit, it does still mimic a book being lit by a light. Eye fatigue is a big talking point when considering backlit vs frontlit displays.
I feel like I'd rather just listen to an audiobook.
Audiobooks are great, but a lot slower.