I’m huge into gadgets. Heck, If I could be Inspector Gadget I probably would. When companies produce new high tech gadgets there comes with it a certain “niche” and “gimmick” feeling to it. At least, at first. That’s not the case with my gadget toy I recently purchased. That feeling stayed long past its welcome.

I was able to get my hands on a pair of MyVu Crystal “Personal Media Viewer” glasses. These babies cost $300, so I was expecting them to give me some good quality video in my eyes. They look and feel slick and sexy. But, how well does it do in the eyes of a gadget connoisseur?

The MyVu glasses can connect to many devices like game consoles, DVD players, and other Video Out devices. The pair I got came with a connector to allow me to use it with my iPhone 3G. Inside the box, came the instructions which consisted of just a 5″x5″ piece of paper that had steps on how to connect the device together but no real helpful tips, other then the fact that they print “http://www.myvu.com/guide“. I figured I would have to go online to actually get a guide.

I’m not complaining about saving paper, but come on. This is a gadget, a revolutionary type of gadget that can REALLY use a guide – I’ll be the first to admit I don’t really read guides but that’s because I want to feel empowered by the fact of knowing the company THOUGHT I needed to read a guide on the product. I can’t do or feel that if companies feel I know how to work gadgetry in the first place. Damn you MyVu and your competence in me!

Also in the box, came the glasses, the iPod/iPhone connector that attaches to the Media Controller, as well as a USB charging cable and a glasses case.

I hooked the pieces together, and jacked into my iPhone. I put the glasses on over my eyes and was prepared to be amazed. Feeling a bit like Levar Burton back in his Star Trek days, I was expecting to see time warping and lights from stars be stretched like while in hyperdrive.

Ok, so maybe if I didn’t see or feel that I would understand. But, to see this:

Was (to put it nicely) disappointing. I soon realized that the glasses would only work when the iPhone/iPod was sending a video signal out. (Like when connected to a A/V cable to watch on TV) This meant that only when watching podcasts, movies or youtube videos that my $300 pair of glasses would come in handy. Ridiculous, I want video glasses so I can be submerged into the world of whatever it is I am jacked into. I want to see my entire vision from no matter where my eyes looked to be seeing video content. I do *not* want glasses that “simulate a TV screen being 6 feet away from me”. If I wanted that I might as well put my iPhone dangling from my hat in front of me while I walk around.

Moving on to the quality of the video while watching the movies I noticed something constant throughout my viewing experience. The constant was that the quality was constantly getting worse each time. I had the glasses charged while viewing so it was not because of battery but because of the poor conductors within the iPod Connector.

If I even touched or wiggled it a bit, the video in my glasses would frizzle and get fuzzy. This does NOT happen when I connect my A/V cable to my HD TV from my iPhone.

It was at this time I decided to find my reciept and take these back to the Apple Store I purchased it from. But before I did that I wanted to have a little fun in experimenting on what “could have been”. Granted the size of the screen inside the glasses simulate a screen as if it was a few feet in front of you but how great would it be to use the glasses while playing games or surfing the web on the iPhone?

Off to cydia I went and lo-and-behold I found just what the doctor ordered.

A “TVout” app that can output whatever is on your screen on your iPhone to the device you have it connected to. I quickly installed it, and rebooted. I launched the app and had toggles for each app I wanted to “TVout”. I tested Safari, Mail, Photo app, Tweetie, Labyrinth 3D, SNES Emulator, and the Blocked game.

The Tweetie app in action on the MyVu glasses [photoshopped to simulate what I saw]

The Safari app surfing Digg.com in the MyVu glasses [photoshopped to simulate what I saw]

To my surprise, the majority of them worked! I was able to see a Twitter client IN my glasses. I could check my email while walking around the house never looking down at my iPhone. And I was even able to surf the internet while driving to work! (ok, so I didnt really do that last part but I was surfing the net in my glasses) Now that, is the future right there (or at least a taste of it) [Some of the apps did not work well, like the ones that used OpenGL engine for graphics, and the SNES emulator app but that was to be expected since its not supported in the first place]

But see my point here? Apple and MyVu have a chance to really take a leap and be at the forefront of the next big thing but they chose to use the glasses for video only. Ultimately, this is why I am returning them and will wait perhaps a few years til’ my dream of having glasses that have a HUD while looking through them come true.