Microsoft’s HoloLens seems higher than Google Glass, but can it get away the identical fate?
by means of Stuart Thomas: Senior reporter, January 21, 2015
Microsoft pulled a quick one all over its windows 10 adventure by way of showing off a prototype of HoloLens, its personal tackle augmented fact glasses. The tool without a doubt seems extra compelling than Google Glass (even though far much less fashion-aware), however does that mean it might probably keep away from the same fate?
where Glass, at present sitting in as just about no-man’s-land as which you can get at Google, primarily aimed to be a more or less reality augmenting smartphone screen for your eyes, HoloLens seems to take things a bit additional.
rather than merely throwing knowledge up in front of your face, HoloLens will make use of holograms, something which it claims will can help you mix the bodily and virtual worlds.
It’s subsequently lots closer to virtual reality goggles reminiscent of Occulus Rift than it’s Glass. given that it comes from a company the size of Microsoft on the other hand, there will inevitably be comparisons.
earlier than making an attempt to figure out whether these comparisons are justified, it’s worth taking a more in-depth look at the HoloLens know-how.
As Engadget factors out, the technology seems to be an extension of the RoomAlive tech Microsoft’s proven off previously, albeit now not limited to gaming.
In its demo, Microsoft described HoloLens as useful for the whole lot from entertainment to collaboration and innovation. On stage in the meantime Alex Kipman described it as being like a “print preview for 3D printing”
talking of collaboration, Microsoft doesn’t exactly have the worst accomplice for this tech both. As Kipman pointed out on stage, its collaborator for HoloLens — NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory — “actually specialises in moonshots.”
It’s about more than simply the hardware
That’s a excellent begin, however the techies at Google’s personal moonshot division Google X aren’t any slouches both and nothing they or every other division did grew to become it into the best-vendor the Mountain View-based totally web giant so obviously hoped it might be.
the biggest drawback, in fact, used to be by no means the hardware. although in its very early stages, there used to be at the least enough possible for geeky early adopters to purchase it in fairly huge numbers.
No, Glass’ actual problem was an image one. despite Google’s very best efforts to make Glass seem trendy, there’s no escaping the truth that it looks dorky.
Then there were folks’s fears that glass customers were surreptitiously recording, or taking photographs of them, prompting Google to liberate a guide on how to not be a “glasshole”.
Microsoft appears to have taken those lessons onboard. simply check out the promotional video it launched for Hololens:
discover one thing? Yup, all the people using HoloLens are on their own, in private areas. It’s a excellent factor too, as a result of the true HoloLens unit appears to be like pretty rattling bulky and if any person on the road took exception and started beating you over the head with it, you’d in reality be in hassle.
still the success of corporations like Occulus shows that there’s a position for digital and augmented truth devices, but that situation may be very a lot not on the streets, or in a cafe, or on a teach for that subject. no longer yet at any price.
Overcoming a negative track document
you could forgive Google for having a bet as big because it did on Glass although. When it launched the product, there was once still a sense that it could possibly do little incorrect. And we sold the hype too, particularly when it validated Glass with an extravaganza of skydivers and motorbikers at I/O in 2012. It also had, and continues to have, a reasonably excellent document when it got here to launching physical devices. positive its Nexus gadgets have by no means been nice agents, but they’ve as a minimum knowledgeable the design of different Android devices.
unfortunately, that you can’t actually say the identical for Microsoft. At perfect its hardware launches were badly treated, at worst they’ve price the Redmond giant tons of of millions of bucks.
Even when the product, like the latest surface professional, has been progressive and lucrative, it’s always had some more or less Achilles Heel, whether or not that be value, distribution, or (dare we are saying) the operating device working on it.
So can HoloLens steer clear of the identical destiny as Google Glass? Going by using a single product demo is all the time difficult, but from what we’ve seen, the reply seems to be yes. there’s alternatively one very big caveat: Microsoft wants to go past modern launches and construct out a method that makes HoloLens appear compelling to buyers. promoting it at an affordable price and getting big-title app partners on board from the get-go would be a excellent begin.
(375)
