These futuristic glasses feature a projector on the right lens that displays an image equivalent to a 30-inch screen viewed from 7 feet away. Clever engineers at the company designed and patented Glance Detection technology that sends the screen to sleep when you’re not looking at it, minimizing power draw and peripheral vision distractions. Of course, when you choose to use it, the live viewfinder allows you to take pictures or video so you can document whatever catches your eye.
Designed for athletes, the Jet comes power packed with all the hardcore data you’ll need to track your performance. Essentially a computer for your face, they’re packed with processors and sensors, including a 1GHz dual-core ARM Cortex A9 processor, 8GB of flash memory, a 3D accelerometer, a gyroscope and magnetometer, pressure and infrared sensors, dual microphones, and an integrated speaker. All that tech runs on ReconOS 4.1, the operating system the company first used in its Snow2 snowboarding smart goggles, now streamlined for the Jet.
If you already have a heart rate monitor, power meter, bike computer (or smart bike), the Jet may enhance their use. With ANT+ and Bluetooth, the Recon glasses can talk to the sensors you’re familiar with.
The Jet’s data is exportable in most popular formats so you can aggregate the metrics, though the folks at Recon are working on making the Jet and its web platform, called Engage, compatible with the top services and gadgets available. So if you use Strava or MapMyRide, there’s hope.
Phone calls, texts, and photos show up on the intelligent display and are all accessible via a simple swipe on the glove-sensitive touchpad or two-button rocker. Because it was intended for outdoor sport use in conditions that may cause wind-noise to overwhelm voice commands, the Jet doesn’t use them, though some third-party apps may. Real estate is tight on these smart glasses; the touchpad and rocker sit under the display module that is affixed to the right lens. The Jet glasses even added a twist on GPS — the arrow turns as you turn your head and the map shows other Jet users nearby.
That’s just a part of the “friend tracking” feature of the Recon Engage system. Via Engage, you can see your friends’ locations and metrics for comparison. Whether that will make you jealous or inspire you depends on the individual, but it should definitely prove helpful for tracking team improvement or sharing stats with a trainer.
To differentiate yourself from your team, there are a two frame colors and several lens shades available. And if your workout runs longer than 4 hours, you can easily swap out the battery or charge it up via USB.
As for continued technical improvements, the Jet’s ReconOS has an open door policy with third-party apps on their app forum, and the SDK is available for download. For $699, the Recon Jet smart glasses can be yours.
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