Product Description

VIDEO, IP230 I-POD EYEWEAR 44" SCR

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #38013 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: VUZIX CORPORATION
• Model: 215T00011
• Dimensions: 5.00" h x 2.00" w x 7.00" l, 2.65 pounds

Features

• These "video glasses" use twin LCD displays to create the equivalent of a 44" screen viewed at 9 feet.
• A comfortable custom fit is assured by flexible headphones, adjustable nosepiece, and tilting screen unit.
• Powered directly by your iPod but uses no more power than the iPod screen.
• Wear with your prescription eyewear or use the independent focus adjustments (+2.0 to -5.0 diopters) to correct for vision without eyewear.

Customer Reviews

Vuzix iWear IP230 vs Myvu Solo plus
I actually own BOTH of these items so I can give you a point-by-point comparison.

1) Price

Today, 2/14/08 on Amazon Vuzix = $104, Myvu Solo Plus = $182

2) Comfort

Myvu Solo is lighter and slimmer. Vuzix is a little heavier and bulkier.

3) Picture

Myvu Solo and Vuzix have equal resolution, but the Vuzix picture is blown up larger so its a little fuzzier. Also the Myvu lets you adjust the brightness and contrast. So there's no doubt that although the Vuzix picture seems larger, the Myvu picture is better.

HOWEVER - the Vuzix lets you individually focus your separate eyes, while the Myvu has no focus controls at all. Focusing on the Myvu is limited to moving the glasses up and down your nose. Not at all good for people who wear glasses.


Neither one of these gives you an immersive "in your face" experience. Instead you feel like you're about ten feet away from a flat screen living room TV. With the Vuzix picture looking a little larger than the MyVu. But Myvu picture is definitely brighter and sharper.

3) Sound

Sound is about equal but the Myvu uses in your ear silicone buds while the Vuzix uses pads similar to Ipod stock pads. If your viewer is to be used among different people, you'd probably prefer the Vuzix. Also Vuzix gives you the option to use your own headphones - a big plus.

4) Battery life

The MyVu Solo has a mini USB port to recharge its "pendant" style lithium battery. The battery lasts about 4-1/2 hours.

The Vuzix has no battery at all! It runs directly off your Ipod's battery. I've found it more than sufficient to watch a full length movie before my Ipod gets drained, but different Ipods may get more or less time.

5) Convenience

The Vuzix couldn't be simpler just plug it into your Ipod and control everything from your Ipod. No proprietary cables, nothing to charge. Foolproof to use. And its semi rigid but bendable earpads are easy to adjust. It does not come with any carrying case or pouch.

The MyVu Solo, however requires a USB-to-Mini USB charging cable, and another detachable proprietary Ipod cable that plugs into the battery pendant. Its earbuds are on loose dangling wires and uses those easy-to-lose but expensive and difficult to replace silicone buds. All these wires can easily get tangled in a mess when trying to stuff the MyVu solo into its included cloth pouch.

The Myvu Pendant has controls on it for brightness and contrast. Novice users will easily confuse these for volume or rewind controls. Also the pendant has a confusing sequence of flashing colored lights to indicate charging status and signal status. You need a playbook just to interpret the lights.

6) Reliability

This one was the killer for me. MyVu is useless without its proprietary Ipod cable that plugs into the battery pendant via a flexible mini plug. The wires within that flexible miniplug shorted out in less than two weeks! This was probably due to the stress and bending incurred by stuffing the Myvu into its cloth pouch and then removing it from the pouch daily. Myvu did replace the proprietary cable gratis, but the turnaround time was more than three weeks. In the interim I bought the Vuzix and I will never look back. The Vuzix is so much easier to use, you can focus it as necessary and most importantly, it just works 100% of the time. Nothing to charge up except the Ipod itself. No controls to mess up. And signficantly cheaper than the Myvu even if the picture is a little fuzzier. Its a no-brainer. Between these two competing products, get the Vuzix until something better than both comes along.

Great value at $115
I recently purchased the Vuzix iPod230 to use while exercising and watching movies while sitting by the pool. While not as slim and light as the Myvu model the Vuzix iPod has individual eye adjustments that make for a much clearer picture if your eyes are not perfectly matched (as is the case for most of us). The Dyscern deal of $115 makes the Vuzix a great value - since the comparable Myvu is $199. Not sure either is worth the nearly $200 list price - but $115 is just what the doctor ordered.

iWear
Got quite a lot attention when I brought it to the office with my ipod video, people had different opinion about this device.

-The design was compact and not bulky at all, but I feel silly wearing it infront of people I don't know. But a few of my friends said they would wear it.
-The Picture quality was sacrificed a bit, it was not as clear as watching the movie on the ipod
-I got a little dizzy after watching for an hour, I really would not recommend using the iwear while in motion if you easily get car sick.