A new variant of the Google Glass augmented-reality headset has been spotted in New York — one with prescription lenses, which should be welcome news to nearsighted gadget-lovers around the world.
The device (in Google muted red) was photographed at a restaurant in New York by an anonymous tipster, who then sent the picture in to the blog Road to Virtual Reality. The now-familiar shape of the Glass prototype, with battery pack behind the ear and visor arm in front, adorns a pair of ordinary metal-framed prescription glasses.
It may come as no surprise that Google, a company with so many four-eyed nerds (like us!), should make their tech compatible with them, but it's not always possible. Some methods of presenting 3-D or augmented reality simply don't work when paired with glasses, whether for optical or ergonomic reasons. That means that millions don't get the opportunity to see movies in 3-D or try out the latest display technologies.
But luckily for the glasses-wearing public, Google's highly anticipated headset appears to work well enough to take on the road, although there may still be limitations relating to other visual conditions, like astigmatism.
Google Glass isn't yet available for the public, but a $1,500 "Explorer Edition" developer kit is set to ship early in 2013, at which point it should be slightly more common to see the devices in the wild.
Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBCNews Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.
