If there is one thing about the design of Google Glass is that it is very obvious that what you are wearing is definitely not your regular pair of glasses. This will probably lead to very odd looks from the public, and possibly even rejections to service you at restaurants, bars, or other establishments which might not appreciate you having a camera on your face at all times. Well if you’re looking for a more discreet alternative, perhaps Icis might be of interest to you. Icis is the efforts of Laforge Optical and the goal is to create a device similar to Google Glass that looks better.
Granted Google Glass has yet to become commercial, and for all we know the final design could be very different from what we’ve seen, Laforge Optical’s CEO and Founder, Corey Mack, told the folks at CNET, “Our biggest competition is Google Glass but our approach is different, because we focused on creating a device that people don’t mind being seen in.” Mack later adds, “Style is a subjective thing and currently the bar is set pretty low.” Icis will offer somewhat similar functions as Google Glass, but in reality is is a Bluetooth accessory for your smartphone. An app is currently being developed that will determine what sort of apps will appear in the user display, although full-screen apps will be blocked for safety reasons.
As it stands, Icis is seeking funding via Indiegogo and they are selling a beta kit for those interested in taking the device for a test spin. The beta is priced at $820 which is pretty expensive, although it is still cheaper than Google Glass, with the final product to be sold at $320. The specs of Icis does not appear to be too powerful either, with a Texas Instruments Sitara CPU clocked at 1GHz and accompanied by 512MB of RAM. Either way we have to say that Icis does look pretty good but how it holds up to Google Glass remains to be seen, but if you’d like to learn more or pledge your support, hit up its Indiegogo page for the details.