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Beyond Google Glass: Smart glasses of today and tomorrow (pictures)

Google isn't the only company ready to outfit you in an augmented reality wearable for your face, but it's certainly the best known and most well-funded of the bunch.

Jessica Dolcourt
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
Jessica Dolcourt
Google Glass
1 of 10 Sarah Tew/CNET

It all started with Google Glass

When Google makes a product, people pay attention. There's no debate that its $1,500 Google Glass prototype for developers got the smart glasses ball rolling, not to mention inspired a new phrase. When tech-lovers aren't discriminating against Glass' early adopters, they're straining an eye for commercial versions of Glass that will do meaningful things with headup data -- and look cool enough to actually wear in public without fear or shame. We're counting on Google's annual I/O conference for something big to happen.

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2 of 10 Josh Miller/CNET

GlassUp

Sportier than geeky Google Glass, the Italian-based Indiegogo project GlassUp concerns itself more with augmented reality than grabbing photos and video. The company envisions scenarios like cyclists getting directions and museum-goers learning more about a work of art. Backers should receive the basic model of the $500 frames sometime this summer.

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3 of 10 Josh Miller/CNET

Lumus DK40

Ironically, the best-made pairs of smart glasses we've seen this year weren't made by a hardware player at all. The Lumus DK40 may just be a prototype to interest the optics-maker's potential customers, but Glass rivals have a lot to learn from these sturdy, slightly more stylish frames.

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4 of 10 Josh Miller/CNET

Ora-S AR Eyewear

I won't blame you for sneering at the spectacularly bulktastic Ora-S AR smart glasses. Seen in uber-early development at CES, these smart specs care only about one thing right now: getting the best augmented reality experience. The style, they figure, will follow.

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5 of 10 CNET/CBS Interactive

Epson Moverio BT-200 Smart Glasses

Epson isn't a name you'd usually associate with wearables, but its Moverio BT-200 Smart Glasses are actually the second in its smart glasses line. These much slimmer frames target augmented reality like the rest, but at this point keep their crosshairs mostly trained on gaming.

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6 of 10 Josh Miller/CNET

Pivothead Smart Colfax

Google, schmoogle. Pivothead has been making camera eyewear for years, and its Pivothead Smart Colfax frames that I slipped on at CES 2014 just refine its lineup. What's unique is its modular approach to features. Slip a small unit over the earpiece, and voila, you've got triple the battery life. The basic frames, minus modules, will cost about $400.

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7 of 10 CNET/CBS Interactive

Vuzix M100 Smart Glasses

A metal headband and separate HD camera attachment you can wear over either eye are two of what makes Vuzix's M100 Smart Glasses stand out. At $1,000, it isn't cheap, but it is available.

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8 of 10 Sarah Tew/CNET

Weon Glasses

They may look like a pair of mild-mannered frames, but the Weon Glasses are more than they appear. An LED beams out multicolored light when you get an alert, and a companion app helps you find your frames when they go missing. Sure, they aren't the geniuses of the smart specs world, but they'll cost under $200, versus $1,500.

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9 of 10 Meta

Meta 3D SpaceGlasses

Meta calls them SpaceGlasses, but before the Silicon Valley startup took on Google Glass with its full 3D display, we knew them simply as Meta 3D glasses. Promising a 40-degree field of view and the power to mirror your desktop and phone, on paper, Meta's technology sounds like the largest threat, technologically, for Google to beat -- or buy.

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10 of 10 EmoPulse

NanoGlass

What would you say about making your own pair of frames into a message notifier for just $25? The startup NanoGlass is a simple contraption consisting of a slim fiber optic strip fused with a Bluetooth module. Although it was an Indiegogo project, the page no longer exists; however, you can still learn about the glasses add-on at the company's website.

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