We鈥檝e written about the Recon Jet. And on Monday, Massachusetts-based electronics company Kopin that could make smart sunglasses鈥攚hich tend to be bulky, awkward, and hideous鈥攎uch more wearable.聽
Now, Garmin鈥檚 getting into the game, too, with its , a device that clips onto bike glasses to display data from the brand鈥檚 Edge computer.聽
The one-ounce Varia Vision weighs about half of the Recon Jet and it鈥檚 much smaller, thanks to the fact that its computing horsepower is managed by the Edge. The device can clip to either the left or right temple of any pair of shades, a big advantage for Garmin, as it let buyers effectively turn whatever sunglasses they want into a heads-up display. The one-size- and one-look-fits-all approach of the Jet, and Google Glass, is a weakness of both products.聽
The Varia Vision fires off turn-by-turn navigation in your field of vision (so you鈥檙e not gazing down at a computer screen), and pairs with Garmin鈥檚 Varia rearview radar聽to warn you of incoming traffic.聽It鈥檒l also alert you of calls or texts, bounced via Bluetooth from a paired phone. All your usual cycling metrics will be visible and customizable, too. Like the Recon Jet, users control the device via a tiny touch pad on the body: swipe for menu changes and tap to select sub-menu options.聽Garmin claims Varia Vision has eight hours of battery life and is fully weatherproof.聽
The device goes on sale this spring for $400. Add in the cost of an Edge bike computer and the聽Varia radar and you鈥檙e looking at near $1,000 for the whole system, so we anticipate Garmin bundling packages to reduce costs.聽