Vuzix Goes Widescreen with iWear AV310

They won't win any points for style, but Vuzix's new iWear AV310 personal video headset is supposed to be like watching a 52-inch TV from nine feet away.

It’s undoubtedly a great thing to carry around a portion of your video library on an iPod or a similar device…but if there’s one thing the whole “portable digital video” thing is lacking it’s the widescreen experience. For folks who can’t bear to be anything but totally immersed—and really don’t care what they might look like while immersed—Vuzix has announces a new entry in its line of personal video displays for iPods and other portable media players, the iWear AV310. And it fully supports 16:9 widescreen video.

The AV310s run off a single AA battery for about five hours, and and work off iPods and other video players that can push out an NTSC or PAL signal. They feature integrated earbuds for audio, and Vuzix says the view is equivalent to watching a 52-inch widescreen television from about nine feet away. The AV310 is the first model in Vuzix’s video headset line to support widescreen video without letterboxing, and users can adjust the nose piece and earbuds, along adjusting the focus of individual eyepieces. (The headset includes a small LCD display for each eye, and can be used while wearing glasses.) Not the kind of garb you maybe want to sport in a hip new nightspot or coffeeshop, but if you’re looking at a few hours on a bus, train, or plane—or maybe you’re all alone at a shack in the woods—the AV310s should let you keep up with your favorite movies and TV shows. The AV310’s suggested retail price: $249.95.