[Although books don’t provide the direct sensory stimuli generally associated with presence experiences, they certainly can evoke a strong sense of “being there” with characters in a story world. A new product called the Sol Reader is designed to increase the potential for such experiences. It’s described in the very brief story below from DesignTAXI as well as in stories from New Atlas (“Sol Reader puts bookworms right inside their ebooks“) and Men’s Gear (“Make reading more immersive with the Sol Reader.” For more information see a 4:45 minute January 2023 review from Brad Lynch on YouTube and visit the Sol Reader website. –Matthew]

Reading Headset Immerses You In World Of Books Like ‘Noise-Canceling For Eyes’

By Alexa Heah
July 6, 2023

Ever thought of getting started on the next chapter of a novel but ended up getting distracted by the numerous social media applications on your mobile phone? Here’s a new gadget that promises to remove all distractions during reading time.

Dubbed the Sol Reader, the device looks similar to a virtual-reality headset, but once it’s been put on, the user won’t be thrust into a foreign world of gaming. Rather, e-books will be streamed directly from one’s phone to their eyes, which the product’s site aptly describes as “noise-canceling for your eyes.”

Much like reading a book without having to pick one up, the text will be displayed in dual-sided e-ink screens—one for each eye—that allows users to literally immerse themselves in the book while retaining sight of their surroundings through peripheral vision.

So it’s not too glaring to the eyes, the creators have designed the warm-white LED lights to be adjustable, with the option of using an external light sensor to automatically switch up the brightness of the device depending on surrounding ambient lighting.

Impressively, short-sighted readers may not even need to don glasses when using the Sol Reader, given that the diopter range for each eyepiece can be individually tweaked. The gadget also comes with an adjustable nosepiece and wireless handheld remote to scroll and flip pages.

One charge (two hours) can allow readers an estimated 25 hours of reading time. Head here for more information on the Sol Reader, which can be preordered for US$350.