So what are the M100 Smart Glasses that Lenovo will soon begin selling in China through a new partnership with New York-based Vuzix?

Here are some details:

  • First, cost: $999
  • Availability: Already sold in the U.S. through New York-based Vuzix
  • Recognition: The Consumer Electronics Show picked Vuzix for the 2013 Design and Engineering Award
  • Coming soon, the company says: Will handle your eyeglass prescription 

Some Reviews:

  • TechRadar: “Like the Google Glass, the Vuzix M100 presents users with a heads up display just a few inches away from their eyeball. The key difference here being instead of projecting information onto a clear eyepiece, Vuzix uses a miniature 428 x 240 color-LCD.

“On paper, looking at the M100’s miniature screen is akin to looking at a 4-inch mobile device from 14-inches away. In actual practice, the screen pops into the corner of our eye wrapped in a thin black frame that still lets us see plenty of our peripheral vision.”

(Read more online.)

  • Cnet: “What will these Google Glass competitors be used for? Voice search, perhaps, or for hands-free video recording and unidirectional video chat (you can only show what’s in front of you, not your own face). Or, perhaps, true augmented-reality navigation apps. The floating-screen effect worked surprisingly well, but I’d think that using these in any mission-critical space (or, a space where moving vehicles could collide with you) would be a dangerous endeavor.”

(Read more online.)

What is the M100 exactly?

From the Vuzix website:

“The Vuzix M100 Smart Glasses is an Android-based wearable computer, enhanced with a wearable monocular display and computer, recording features and wireless connectivity capabilities designed for commercial, professional, and prosumer users. Its pre-installed apps can be used to record and playback still pictures and video, track timed events, manage your calendar, link to your phone and more. The M100 is compatible with thousands of existing Android apps and easy access to developer resources enables the creation of custom apps to suit virtually any need.”

What are the capabilities?

From Vuzix:

“Vuzix M100 provides the features and capabilities of a modern smartphone, without a cellular radio, in a hands-free wearable device. It includes a HD camera for still picture and video capture and enables the user to store their content in expandable onboard memory or stream it live. Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity makes it easy to pair with another Android device or connect wirelessly with Wi-Fi to the Internet. An integrated head tracking and GPS system can not only provide apps with your location but even the direction and angle of your current view for unprecedented situational awareness.”

“Hands free access to data, direct and remote video capabilities, direct onboard processing of video capture for lag-free Augmented Reality (AR) and more.”

Read more at the Vuzix website.