Google’s not the only company chasing the eyewear category, and it may be facing a lot more competition in the mid-term future.
OmniVision is a pretty well-known component company in the display and phone-camera markets; it released this week a platform for what it’s calling “the world’s smallest 720p LCOS display.” Essentially, it’s a low-power high-def liquid-crystal display for wearable electronics. OmniVision says other applications include picoprojectors — the gadget you use to send PowerPoints from your phone to the nearest wall — which is probably how the company got involved in this stuff at all.
Note that this isn’t itself a consumer product, but it’s a pretty big piece of technology that promises to lower the bar for other consumer-facing companies to get into this market. Samples are available now, with volume production expected in 2Q14. Expect to see this stuff on shelves next Christmas. No pricing mentioned.