Google Glass Competitor Icis Aims for Elegance, Seeks Funding Through Indiegogo

With a just-launched Indiegogo campaign, the Google Glass competitor rollout continues. This time around, it's "Icis" in the hotseat, aiming to right Glass' wrongs - and, compared to other solutions I've seen in recent months, I am swaying towards the belief that this is one project worth watching.

Icis is dubbed "Fashion Friendly Smart Glasses", with aesthetics being focused-on as much as the software and features. After all, no one wants to stand out of a crowd because of their odd-looking eyewear. Instead, they want to blend in, and perhaps even enhance their look.

The current iteration of what Icis should look like at launch is seen above, although I'm doubtful that black would ultimately be the lone option (it'd seem a little uncool to wear the same specs as everyone else, after all). I think it could even be called... "hipster"? But I'm sure few would call Google's solution a better-looking one (though it should be said that Google hasn't "finalized" its design at this point).

As mentioned above, looks might be a major focus here, but so is the software and feature-set. An example UI is seen below, which looks fantastic, and is hopefully easy-to-use. Plus, it's customizable, with various services being able to be plugged-in. Take the maps system, for example, which can use Google, Apple, or Here as its backend.

If you're not quite sold on Icis yet, perhaps the promotional video might help change that:

As listed on the Indiegogo page, Icis will run on a variant of Linux and will be powered by a Texas Instruments Sitara processor (at 1GHz). It'll also include 512MB of RAM (or 1GB on the "Bold" model). NFC and Bluetooth 4.0 will be considered default, while the smaller model will have a resolution of 640x480, versus the Bold's 800x600. Also unique on the Bold is a camera that can record to 720p, and snap photos at 5 megapixel.

Icis' Indiegogo project runs for 30 days, with most of the perks resulting in a pair being included. If you're looking to grab a pair, prepare to part with $420, and then kick back - estimated delivery is December.