Vuzix Begins Shipments of New Smart Glasses

By Jennifer Flory, Senior Staff Writer, Financial Press Media Group, Inc.

ROCHESTER, NY, July 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - As interest in augmented and virtual reality continues to grow, Vuzix Corp. (NASDAQ: VUZI) has begun shipments of its newest innovation, the M300 Smart Glasses for hands free mobile computing.  The latest product in the AR industry has been anticipated since Vuzix started taking pre-orders for the M300 Smart Glasses in February.  In preparation for the launch, Vuzix in March released an app development kit for the M300 glasses, allowing programmers to create unique applications that can be run on the M300 platform to meet a user's specific needs.

During an earnings call in May, Vuzix founder and CEO Paul Travers said that an initial production run was underway and a limited number of M300 Smart Glasses would be available "shortly."  According to the company, more than 150 companies asked to receive early units, with 35 VIP partners at the top of the list to receive the new product as production allows.

On Thursday, Vuzix said that the first VIP partners to receive the new eyewear are Nippon Steel subsidiary NS Solutions Corp., a Japanese provider of information technology solutions, and NTT DOCOMO, INC., Japan's biggest mobile communications company.  With the initial run completed, volume production is expected to begin this quarter.

The M300 Smart Glasses are based on a common core platform using the Atom processor of Vuzix partner Intel.  In January 2015, Intel became a significant partner to Vuzix with an investment of $24.8 million.  The glasses, which come with preloaded apps, use an Android-based wearable computer that is compatible with both Android and iOS platforms.  It's enhanced with a monocular display and onboard processor, head tracking, GPS, expandable memory, high-definition recording and playback features and wireless connectivity capabilities to link to other devices or WiFi.

Vuzix is employing new waveguide technology in the glasses.  This means that images appear in the glass lens itself, rather than being projected into the user's eye from the outside as done with conventional smart glasses.

Vuzix is looking to capture additional share in a global augmented reality market that Digi-Capital estimates will reach $90 billion in revenue by 2020. The industry advisory company further breaks down their projections into hardware accounting for $36 billion of AR market revenue by 2020. 

"As an industry, we're nearing the tipping point that has been years of dedicated work in the making," commented Paul Travers, founder and CEO of Vuzix, in a phone conversation.  "We are still only beginning to tap the potential, while drivers for greater adoption of AV and VR abound for their countless meaningful benefits, including usage in automotive, information display, manufacturing, marketing and entertainment applications, to name just a few."

Interested parties can learn more about Vuzix by visiting the company's website and reading the complete press release at https://www.vuzix.com/Content/Upload/PDFs/2016_06_30_Vuzix_Ships_First_M300_Smart_Glasses_to_Select_1482.pdf.

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SOURCE Vuzix Corporation