These Are The Only Smart Glasses I Would Actually Wear
Seriously, forget about Google Glass. It makes you look like a cyborg, and it's way too expensive (for now, at least).
ION Glasses, a startup currently raising $60,000 on IndieGogo, sounds like the perfect smart eyewear.
Just like Google Glass, ION Glasses interacts with your smartphone and tablet.
A light will gently flash when you receive a text message, Facebook notification, email, or what have you. Unlike Google Glass, the text does not appear on any sort of display. It's simply a gentle notification that someone is trying to get in touch with you - it's not forcing you to consume that information at that exact moment.
ION Glasses comes in three models: regular, prescription, and sunglasses at a starting price of $99. The glasses feature buttons to control music volume, change, play music, control Powerpoint and KeyNote, and activate the camera on your smartphone. It also has a pretty cool radar function that will notify you if you start to move too far away from your smartphone.
What really differentiates ION Glasses from Google Glass is the design. And it doesn't hurt that Ambit has Mac Funamizu, a world-class designer and futurist, on board.
But New York-based startup Warby Parker is currently hailed as the king of hip, well-designed eyewear. That's why Ambit sees Warby Parker as a bigger competitor than Google Glass. Though, it's worth noting that Google and Warby Parker were reportedly in talks earlier this year to work on the prescription version of Google Glass together.
ION Glasses plans to officially launch in February. The ultimate goal, ION Glasses co-founder Santiago Ambit tells Business Insider, is to sell these glasses both online and in retail stores. Ambit currently has his eyes set on the Apple Store in Europe and Best Buy.
With 16 days left in its Indiegogo campaign, ION Glasses has raised $46,357 of $60,000.
Check out some images below.
ION GlassesThey kind of resemble a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses
ION GlassesYou can configure the ION logo changes colors.
ION Glasses frame from santiagoambit on Sketchfab.