News: Deutsche Telekom Opens Early Access to Tooz Smartglasses via Dev Kit

If you're a developer working on the bleeding edge of augmented reality, or even an enthusiastic smartglasses early adopter, being first in line for new wearable hardware is a priority.

Along those lines, Europe's Deutsche Telekom has opened up an opportunity to score a pair of its Tooz smartglasses before the official consumer launch.

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The smartglasses are being framed as a subtle way to do everything from viewing messages to making calls, all while mostly keeping the optics subtle by using curved waveguides instead of planar waveguides.

"It wears like my normal prescription glasses, just a bit heavier. If you look straight ahead normally, you initially only vaguely perceive the overlay at the edge of your field of vision. Thus, the overlays do not interfere with normal-looking," said Deutsche Telekom's Lisa Neunkirchen, in a statement.

"However, if you concentrate on the field, you almost have the smartphone screen in front of your eyes 1 to 1 and can read news or see the navigation, for example," says Neunkirchen. "Calls can be accepted or ended via taps on the temple. You can use Google voice control to set reminders or write shopping lists."

The early access to the Tooz smartglasses is coming via the Tooz Dev Kit, which requires registration with Deutsche Telekom's INITIATE program. Although no price is listed on the wireless carrier's site, a look at the Chinese version of the Tooz website offering its smartglasses dev kit lists a price at around $700. The lottery to join the closed beta offering the dev kit is running until May 1.

Update, Monday, May 3, 2021: The Tooz Dev Kit is officially available to all for about $600 here.