Sony releases software development kit for its Google Glass competitor as concerns mount about its turnaround plan

Sony releases software development kit for its Google Glass competitor as concerns mount about its turnaround plan

Sony has revealed its competitor to Google Glass, releasing a software development kit amidst mounting concerns about its smartphone-led turnaround plans.

As with Google Glass, Sony’s SmartEyeglass connects to a compatible smartphone (running Android 4.1 or later) in order to project information into a user’s field of vision, with the software development kit available through Sony Developer World.

Sony claims it has used a “hologram optics technology to develop a lens that achieves high transparency of 85% and thickness of just 3.0 mm”, with the device also embedding a camera, microphone, accelerometer, gyroscope and touch sensor.

News of the proposed device comes after reports from the Wall Street Journal the company expects to posta loss of $US2.15 billion ($A2.4 billion) due to writedowns from its mobile phone business, with the company now focusing solely on the high-end of the market.

The writedown, in turn, comes just weeks after the tech giant announced a major overhaul of its product line at the IFA trade show in Berlin, including new smartphones, tablets, and its first Android Wear smartwatch.

In April 2012, the company unveiled a new strategy called One Sony following record annual losses of $US6.4 billion, with the company spinning off its TV and PC businesses in February in order to focus on its imaging, games and mobile phone businesses.

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