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by Wingman4l7 4750 days ago
A watch computer != a HUD.

A watch could never do augmented reality overlays -- heck, even a phone can do those better than a watch ever could. IMO that's like saying the iPad will go head to head with laptops -- it's an apples-to-oranges comparison.
2 comments
danellis 4750 days ago
Glass can't do AR overlays either, unless you only wanted to overlay a small area in the upper right of your vision.
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Wingman4l7 4749 days ago
It's still a step up from holding your smartphone at arms length in front of your face. You have to start somewhere =)
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bengillies 4750 days ago
And yet the iPad _is_ going head to head with laptops and seems to be destroying them, despite their obvious differences.

You're right: a watch != a HUD. However, in the current iteration, people would be using a watch for pretty much the same purpose as Glass (which can't really do full on augmented reality either) so, despite their differences, they would definitely be in direct competition with each other.

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Wingman4l7 4749 days ago
Is it? Maybe the iPad is supplanting laptops in some niches, but I'd argue that those are ones were maybe a laptop wasn't the proper device in the first place.

AIUI Glass can't do augmented reality only because the API is currently too restrictive, which is really too bad. Using a HUD as a glorified head-mounted camera seems like a huge waste of opportunity. Even if they never open up the API, a HUD can still do things that a watch is going to struggle to replicate.

This[1] is a good overview of what it takes to make an AR device, and it examines the Glass hardware in respect to that. The verdict? The hardware is there (although it's not stereoscopic) but the software is behind. You have to start somewhere, though.

[1]: http://blog.integratedrealities.com/?p=261

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