Consider an e-book reader; likelihood is you should have visions of a Kindle or possibly a Kobo system. No matter system you end up affiliated with, it’s nearly unanimous that every one of them are hand-held, no matter measurement or form. However what about an e-book reader within the type of a stereoscopic 3D digital actuality headset you’ll be able to put on for studying books? Regardless of how outrageous that may sound, it’s SolReader, which guarantees to supply essentially the most intimate studying expertise you’ll be able to ever have. However what does all of it really feel like in the true world? Let’s discover that out on this evaluate.
Type and Construct
At first sight, you would possibly discover it a bit laborious to consider this factor is an e-reader system. It would look elaborate and ponderous, although thankfully, it ideas the scales at simply 106 grams. That makes it gentle sufficient to have it round your eyes with out inflicting considerable discomfort, even when worn for lengthy hours. The headset is accompanied by a related Bluetooth distant unit, which supplies the controls wanted to function the pinnacle unit. That is obligatory because the glasses themselves don’t have any navigational buttons. In the meantime, open the temples, and the dual shows will activate mechanically. So simple as that.
Construct high quality is exemplary. The delicate plastics are prime quality and really feel nice to carry and function. Every lens will get particular person focus dials, letting customers modify the main focus in line with their imaginative and prescient on every eye. There may be additionally a rotary management on the prime between the 2 lenses, permitting you to alter the nostril bridge to have essentially the most snug spot to position the headset. The bottom slightly below the left hinge is the place the USB-C port and the standing indicator gentle are positioned. Aside from this, the Sol Reader design has been stored easy but elegant.
For the uninitiated, stereoscopic 3D is achieved when two screens, one per eye, are located at completely different distances from one another. This provides you a depth of subject the place sure issues are nearer and farther away. That is stereoscopic 3D. It’s not marketed or proven in any of their materials, but it surely most undoubtedly happens whereas sporting the glasses.
The tech specs are thrilling. It options two 1.3” E INK shows with a decision of 256×256. Instantly in entrance of your eyeballs, with a design that helps block distractions, serving to you concentrate on the textual content. Due to the side-lit with heat glow LEDs (3000K), you’ll be able to learn in the course of the day or night time and have a light-weight sensor to regulate for surrounding circumstances mechanically. The Sol Reader is powered by a dual-core 240MHz processor, 8MB RAM, and 64MB storage. Its 470mAh battery ought to present 25 hours of studying.
Sol App
The Sol app can be very important to the whole Sol Reader ecosystem. From right here, you’ll be able to browse the out there books, purchase them, and switch them to the Sol Reader. On the backside of the app lies the Residence, Retailer, Library, and the Sol Reader.
House is the place you’ll land upon getting launched the app. You may be proven the books you learn together with Integration and Classics.
The Retailer is the place you’ll supply your studying materials. There may be a variety of books out there which you could learn upon getting synced these with the Reader.
The Library shops all of your content material. You’ll be able to click on on a selected title and have it synced to the Sol Reader. Solely after you’ve gotten executed this can you be capable to begin studying on the Reader. The Library, in the meantime, additionally contains Latest and Conceal tabs.
Lastly, clicking on Sol Reader provides you with full details about the Reader. It can present whether or not it’s in a paired state and has been turned on or off. Different controls on this part embrace Distant, Distant information, Readerboard, Join Pocket, Add One other Reader, Assist, and Delete My Account.
Clicking on every choice will allow you to configure it. What’s attention-grabbing is which you could add a number of Sol Reader units to a single app. This may be good if all of them belong to a single group or are in a household and don’t thoughts being related to a single app as a substitute of getting their very own particular person app.
Total, very like the {hardware}, the Sol app has been stored easy and tidy. It seems good, and you may simply have what you need. The black background makes issues look very composed.
Placing the system on
That is the place the enjoyable begins. As soon as you place the Reader on, you will notice the 3D e-paper show wields its magic. You will note the hyperlink to the Predominant Menu on the highest left of the show. Subsequent on the physique of the show lies completely different choices. These embrace On and Off choices alongside the precise together with the next:
- Books
- Articles
- Bible
- Sync content material on shut
- Morning content material sync
- Night content material sync
- Sol reader
- Sync content material now
The time can be proven on the backside, and the battery information bar can be on the precise. It’s essential to choose the choice you want by way of the distant supplied.
Within the Books part are the three tabs on the highest – Books, Articles, and Settings.
Underneath Books, you’ve gotten the next choices:
- Sync Content material
- Books Tutorial
Equally, underneath the Articles tab, you’ve gotten the next choices:
- Sync Content material
- Articles Tutorial
Choices underneath Settings embrace:
- Studying
- Content material
- System
- Experimental
- Settings tutorial
Studying provides the next studying settings:
- Textual content Dimension – Small, Medium, and Massive
- Brightness
- Transfer Web page in Show
- Resize Web page
- Line Spacing
- Statistics present the variety of phrases learn or how lengthy you learn.
Underneath Content material, choices you’ve gotten embrace:
- Books
- Articles
- Bible
- Sync content material on shut
- Morning content material sync
- Night content material sync
- Sol reader
- Sync content material now
Deciding on System reveals the next choices:
- About
- Authorized & Regulatory
- Firmware Replace
- First Time Setup
- Reset Statistics
- Clear All Content material
- Clear Wi-Fi Settings
- Manufacturing facility Defaults
Underneath Experimental, you’ve gotten:
- Darkish Mode
- Autopilot
- Bookmark Proper Choose
- Bookmark Heart Choose
- quick Web page Transitions
- Web page Transition Arrows
- Add Crashes on Sync
Studying Expertise
Studying expertise is par for the course. There may be nothing extraordinary right here, nor does it disappoint. With the controls supplied, you should have no points coming throughout a setting that you can be snug with. That may be the font measurement, line spacing, brightness, and many others. You should utilize the left or proper button on the distant to show pages accordingly. With the middle button pressed, it goes ahead whereas urgent the up or the down buttons reveals a menu window having the next choices:
- Predominant Menu
- Archive
- Bookmark
- Brightness
- Report web page
- Contents
Some statistics are proven after that, together with the variety of pages left and the present time. Any adjustments launched apply to each lenses equally.
It actually is considered one of its sort, doesn’t have any precedent, and is appropriate for three-dimensional e-book studying and the possibility to do it in whole privateness. That is the one system ever made in our complete trade that’s actually non-public. At any angle, there’s not one different one that can see what you’re studying.
Sadly, the attention pressure is critical, as you’ve gotten LEDs and digital screens about 1 inch out of your eye, all whereas sporting non-prescription magnification lenses that your eyes may not be suited to. Moreover, it isn’t actually immersive, as there isn’t a headset. These glasses sit in your face OUT IN FRONT OF YOU, not in your eyes like a VR headset.
There are not any audiobooks, video playback, proprietary purposes, or animations to any of the transitions, actually.
So, it simply seems like there’s a display floating in entrance of you, however your peripherals can see your keyboard mendacity in your pc desk or somebody coming within the room as these usually are not precise headsets, digital actuality immersive goggles; it’s similar to you’re sporting a pair of eyeglasses
Conclusion
The Sol Reader is the definition of a solution to a query no one requested. It’s foolish, excessive, and totally ineffective, and I find it irresistible. It’s what the trade wants proper now. In a sea of cookie-cutter 7.8-inch and 10.3-inch e-notes, that is shaking issues up somewhat bit. The decision is likely to be paltry, and the screens is likely to be small, however the thought and execution are ingenious.
On paper, the specs for the screens are fairly atypical, however truthfully, that doesn’t matter. As a result of the expertise of sporting them and viewing them via magnified lenses nearly renders the scale, decision, and different details about the display. The screens are located in order that they accomplish three dimensions by way of stereoscopic 3D.
The settings are naked bones, and there are only some methods to alter your expertise, like textual content measurement, line spacing, and the general borders of the display.
There are a number of cons, nonetheless. Innovation apart, this unit is strenuous to make use of in some ways. It’s worthwhile to join your cellphone, join the distant, cost the glasses, and change the battery on the distant. The carrying case is cumbersome and big even after you fold these up.
You’ll be able to’t doubt that this is a superb piece of expertise. It’s! It is rather well-conceived, well-built, and well-executed. It’s simply that we battle to discover a use case, after which whenever you DO use them, you might be pressured to adjust to so many different exterior parts just like the distant, your utility, inputting Wi-Fi data, sinking contents, and many others. However we’re nonetheless glad it’s right here.
Sol Reader
$399.99
Execs
- Worlds first e-reading glasses
- Privateness focuses
- App has a bookstore
- Can sideload books
- Worth is nice
Cons
- Want to attach your Cellphone
- Want Bluetooth take away for page-turns
- Battery Life is wimpy
- Battery on distant is dangerous
- Case is cumbersome
With a eager curiosity in tech, I make it some extent to maintain myself up to date on the newest developments in expertise and devices. That features smartphones or pill units however stretches to even AI and self-driven vehicles, the latter being my newest fad. Moreover writing, I like watching movies, studying, listening to music, or experimenting with completely different recipes. The movement image is one other side that pursuits me lots, and I will possible make a movie someday sooner or later.
