Web iWear

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Judie Hughes

April 22, 2001

Product Requirements: Your nose, and a computer screen in front of it

While Julie and I were at Comdex, we saw lots of interesting products that looked like they might add quality to our existences (I say that with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek). One of the more interesting products that we found were the Web-iWear Computing Glasses.

Right now, there are two styles of glasses, and two styles of clip-ons. 

Here are the glasses:

First we have the Cyber-Style Oval:                        And then the Cyber-Style Aviator:
            

These are the Clip-on styles...

Here we have the Oval:                                                And then the Aviator style:
            

Evidently, there is a segment of the population that suffers from what is known as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). What are the symptoms? Well, they include, but are not limited to: "headaches and related general discomfort; blurred vision; incorrect and delayed focusing on the computer screen and the work-objects in front of you, but all of them being at different distances; inaccurate color perception; red, sore and dry eyes." Does this sound like something you suffer from? If so,  BCI Inc. thinks that you should try their glasses.

As we were told at Comdex, these are not sunglasses, nor are they reading glasses. They are only to use when you are sitting in front of your computer screen. 

The Web-iWear glasses have a slight magnification and an amber tint. The reason for the magnification revolves around the fact that the letters on your computer screen are slightly pixilated, and these glasses can "tighten" the letters, and make them clearer. The amber tint is to provide a "light enhancing effect", thereby reducing "straining on the eyes."

There is also an "Anti-reflective coating" on both surfaces of the lenses to help reduce glare coming from other light sources; such as overhead lighting and "various other glare-reflecting objects at your workplace."

Well, I am as skeptical as the next person - but if a product can actually help me - I am also the first to bug everybody until they try it. So I gave the Web-iWear glasses a shot...

I had Lasik corrective eye surgery in 1998, so these days I sport 20/15 vision. Although it felt slightly weird to once again put glasses on while inside, I was game.  

The amber tint seemed to make my normally bright office feel gloomy, but I was determined to concentrate on the issue at hand - my computer screen. While there is no denying that the amber cut down on the brightness (which I suppose could be called "glare") of my monitor, it also made my screen harder to read in my opinion. I could tell that there was a slight magnification, and while it did manage to make the letters on my monitor look slightly tighter, it also made them appear slightly smaller. I really didn't like that.

I wore them for several hours on several different days, figuring that perhaps they were something I needed to get "used" to, and that perhaps I was reluctant to use them because of some hidden bias against "going back" to wearing glasses. I found that on each occasion when I wore them, I was squinting, and getting a slight headache. These were exactly the symptoms that the Web-iWear were supposed to be eliminating!

Since I do occasionally get the "red, sore and dry eyes" that they mentioned, I thought that maybe the Web-iWear glasses might help me in that area. Ultimately, I found that the Tears Naturale II lubricant eye drops, that my ophthalmologist already has me using, actually did a way better job of correcting this problem. 

Fearful that it might just be "me", I gave Mike,  my father-in-law, a pair to try at work. He is a Buyer for Olio, a soap and candle manufacturer located here in San Angelo. Since he has to sit in front of a computer for much of the day, I thought maybe he might find a benefit to the Web-iWear glasses. 

Mike's first impression was that the clip-on glasses did not fit his glasses properly, however, he was game to leave them on and try them out anyway (I wish I had a picture of that!). Mike says he saw no difference in glare from his computer, other than the fact that his computer monitor definitely looked darker. He also felt that the glasses made his screen look smaller, which he did not like.

Mike loaned the aviator style glasses to Amy, another Olio employee. She said that while the Web-iWear glasses did seem take a little glare off her screen, it definitely made the screen appear darker. Amy doesn't wear glasses, so she was bothered by constantly seeing the outline of the glasses themselves. She felt that the one benefit to the glasses might be that they cut down a little bit on the glare.

Neither Mike nor Amy asked if they could keep their sample...I think that says a lot.

Julie decided to keep the oval clip-on style for herself, so I was curious to see what she thought of them. Other than the fact that they did not fit her glasses properly either, she had many of the same complaints that I did: that the screen was too dark, the words on her screen appeared too small, and that they gave her a headache.

Personally, I see no benefit whatsoever to using the Web- iWear glasses. I suppose that some people might like them; but then placebos help some people, too. 

Just for fun, I looked up CVS on the internet. It appears that this is an actual problem that people really do suffer from. I found a site called Dr. Ergo, which is tied to The Computer Eye Clinic, located in the School of Optometry at the University of California at Berkeley. This site actually offers a fun test to help you determine if perhaps you do suffer from CVS. After taking the test, I was amused to find that one of their suggestions for CVS treatment was...to use lubricated eye drops.

While I did find that there are "computer glasses" mentioned on the Dr. Ergo site, the type they are referring to are ones that an actual eye doctor would diagnose and prescribe for. Although they would definitely be more costly, I think that I would be more comfortable with that type solution.

Price: $29.99 for the glasses, $19.99 for the clip-on style

Pros:
May cut down on monitor glare

Cons:
Gave me a headache
Make computer screen appear darker and smaller
I didn't feel any benefits from wearing them
Every symptom that they mention for CVS (Computer Vision Syndrome) can be combated by taking regular breaks, and using eye drops occasionally