Hate to say we told you so, but the virtual reality race produced a prospective device which looks like a pair of sunglasses, sorta. The big question is, can it deliver on all the promises?
The team at Dlodlo, pronounced “dodo,” (Yep—it’s a Chinese company, give em a break.) claims their VR glasses will begin shipping in October of this year. Forget the fact that Wareable announced last year that they would ship in May.
These are the sexiest thing in VR right now. We’re only hopeful that they ship on time, delivering all they claim.
They call their glasses V1. The Dlodlo V1 promises not only the lightest form factor in virtual reality leveraging their unique technology but delivering a quality experience you’ll never put down.
Form Factor
Since the Wareable announcement last year, some changes went down. Namely, the field of view dropped from 110 to 105 degrees. No biggie, but the refresh rate also dropped from 120 to 90 Hz.
Considering Oculus Rift (VR gold standard) is 90 Hz, this is also no biggie.
On a lighter note, the weight also dropped from 120 grams to 88, a whole 32 grams or 26% of the previous heft. Most important, the proposed $699 price tag dropped to $559.
The refreshed prototype retains the HD display and the dueling 9-axis accelerometers, so on balance, the newer prototype is leaner and meaner.
The overall style of the glasses also improved, IMHO. The old metal prototype was an aviator, swimming goggles mash up. The new carbon fiber model is more aviator with a splash of goggles mixed in.
Unique Technology
(Source: dlodlo.com)
The current options for VR are portable and wired. The experiences are worlds apart. In portable versions, wearers use their smartphone screen as the view screen, but also as the processor.
In the wired versions, they connect to a powerful console, utilizing that computer’s processor. You can imagine with intense graphics how having a faster processor would be beneficial.
Since the V1 comes with its own screen, you won’t need your phone to view images, but you won’t need your desktop either.
The Dlodlo system includes an iPoddy looking device, called the H1, which is the processor and guts for the aviators.
Their site displays two versions, a portable and home edition, but we were unable to discern if the HI would still be necessary in the home version. If they’ve crammed all the heavy components in the H1, then presumably yes.
Quality Experience
(Source: dlodlo.com)
Without a hands on, our color commentary will be limited. Claims on the Dlodlo site are for a true HD experience, in 880 ppi. It is, of course, 3D capable with a 2400 by 1200 resolution.
Reports online from wearing the prototype, unfortunately, are not glowing. Digital Trends reviewer cites they kept falling off his face, but the CEO insists they’ll fix this before shipping in October.
That’s a tight turnaround.
Perhaps the true final prototype wasn’t what the reviewer was able to test. In any case, buyer beware. Worst case scenario, if the slippage is the only problem, then what’s a little duct tape to the experience at that point.
Am I right??
(Source: lavoz.com)
Even if the Dlodlo, remember it’s “dodo,” doesn’t ship as expected, the idea is super cool. It’s exactly what one author on Body Hacks keeps insisting will happen sooner than we expected.
Wearable technology is going to keep moving on a logarithmic scale, progressing faster than anything before it.
Even if Dlodlo doesn’t understand marketing to Westerners, they do understand the speed of technology.