If you're a really avid reader, you may resent the visual distractions that keep you from becoming thoroughly immersed in a book. That's where the Sol Reader comes in, as it fills your vision with text.
Looking not unlike a set of VR goggles, the device is linked via Bluetooth to an iOS/Android app on the user's smartphone.
Third-party EPUB files (such as ebooks) are streamed from that phone to the Sol Reader, where their text is displayed in dual side-lit E Ink screens – one for each eye. It should be noted that users can still see their surroundings via their peripheral vision.
The brightness of the warm-white LEDs can be manually adjusted, although an external light sensor also automatically adjusts the brightness according to ambient lighting conditions. It's additionally possible to adjust the diopter range of each eyepiece. This means that glasses or contact lenses shouldn't be necessary for most users.
Other features include an adjustable silicone nosepiece, a wireless handheld remote which is used to scroll and flip pages, plus a claimed 25-hour runtime per two-hour battery charge.
The Sol Reader can be preordered from the Sol website – in color choices of black, silver, gold or blue – for US$350. It should ship this fall (Northern Hemisphere).
Source: Sol
