SteelSeries and Gunnar Optics Introduce SteelSeries DESMO Gaming Eyewear

[btarunr]

Today, SteelSeries and GUNNAR Optiks introduced a new style of eyewear designed for competitive gamers, the SteelSeries Desmo. Featuring GUNNAR's i-AMP lens technology, the new co-branded eyewear improves visual efficiency, endurance, and recovery during gaming sessions. To minimize peripheral distractions, the unique design is semi-rimless and provides an exceedingly broad visual field that allows the user to completely focus on the screen. The sleek frame features flexible twin-rail temples combined with adjustable nose pads to provide a lightweight, stable fit. As an added benefit for gamers, the ultra-slim temples rest comfortably beneath a gaming headset. The new style will be available in two color options - the Desmo Onyx and Desmo Snow (limited edition).



"We've been collaborating with the GUNNAR Optiks team in marketing and events for more than two years now, including the launch of our first co-branded eyewear model, the SteelSeries Scope," said Bruce Hawver, SteelSeries CEO. "When we started on this new design, it was important that it was more than just lightweight and comfortable, but that the lens shape, frame style and temples were chosen and perfected in order to impact and improve the way players saw their game. We believe we've achieved that goal with the Desmo and are excited for players to try it out."

"SteelSeries is a fantastic partner," said Rob Aarnes, president of GUNNAR. "They've pushed us to the next level in our joint design of the SteelSeries Desmo and we are proud to put the eyewear into our Advanced Gaming Eyewear Collection. We expect it to be an immediate success as we roll it out to the market."

Together with the lightweight, durable design of the frames and comfort of the temples, the SteelSeries Desmo lenses are optimized to enhance a user's visual performance. GUNNAR eyewear enhances optical performance to give users an immediate, noticeable visual advantage using i-AMP lens technology. This optical lens innovation includes the following components:

• Tint: Specially formulated tint conditions and shifts the color spectrum to provide superior contrast, detail and resolution.
• Wrap/Shape: Features a highly wrapped, curved lens shape limiting air flow and maintaining moisture near the eyes, while providing a slight focusing power to help ease eye fatigue and enhancing detail for sharper, clearer vision.
• Material: A proprietary lens material that is optically pure, insuring the clearest image by eliminating distortion, impurities and haze.
• Coatings: An anti-reflective coating that reduces glare and other distractions caused by reflective light.
• 20/20 or Rx: Out of the box ready for 20/20 vision or used with corrective contact lenses, and also prescription compatible in partnership with Carl Zeiss Vision with optional coverage by VSP Insurance. Visit www.gunnars.com/rx/ for more information.

Whether you're touring the competitive gaming circuit, playing MMO's for hours or switching between work and play on your PC or MAC, the SteelSeries Desmo provides a premium visual experience while delivering both style and comfort. The SteelSeries Desmo Onyx is $99.99/ €99.99 MSRP and will be available online at both the SteelSeries and GUNNAR Web Shops. The Desmo Snow (limited edition) is also $99.99/ €99.99 MSRP, but will be exclusively sold at SteelSeries.com.

For more information, visit the product page.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[hanzi]

wow looking cool while gaming eh next up will be a one piece suit

I'm not sure but I think I already saw gaming eyewear when CRT is still the monitor most people used.

 

[AndreiD]

These glasses improve your skill by 78%.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Or you can just go out there and buy a cheap unbranded or lesser branded pair of driving glasses with the same yellow tint for $20-30 and call it a day.

Hell. if you feel like an X-man then you could go for the red tint if you want for the same price and spend the rest of the money on changing your name legally to Scott Summers

 

[sunil]

Here you go http://shop.steelseries.com/us/accessories/steelseries-desmo.html

 

[Black Haru]

the fact that you can get them with prescription lenses is cool, but other than that... gimmick.

 

[Sasqui]

If I wear these at work, will they make me 78% more productive?

...I say spend that extra $100 on a better monitor.

 

[devguy]

I actually use a pair of i-AMP prescription lenses. Gonna improve your skill? No. Make you look cooler? Not really (weird even). But what they do well, is ease eyestrain after prolonged sitting in front of computer monitors. I've had these for about a year now, and before them, I'd always have itchy, dry eyes after a 9 hour day in front of my LCDs. With these, that has all disappeared.

Be careful, though, as the Gunnar branded lenses actually introduce a tiny amount of magnification. I specifically asked not to receive that add-on. Do not drive with these lenses if they have that magnification.

 

[CharlO]

Great, no more cheetos to my eyes!

Anyway, I cannot believe these don't offer Linux support.

 

[happita]

I actually contemplated on getting a pair of Gunnars. But then I thought to myself, why the hell should I pay $100+ on something that I can get for free? I mean, why should I use glasses to ease the eyestrain when I can take a break every 15 minutes on the hour I am on a PC? You know, that recommendation that your optometrist suggests but nobody really listens to. Yep.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I actually contemplated on getting a pair of Gunnars. But then I thought to myself, why the hell should I pay $100+ on something that I can get for free? I mean, why should I use glasses to ease the eyestrain when I can take a break every 15 minutes on the hour I am on a PC? You know, that recommendation that your optometrist suggests but nobody really listens to. Yep.

IMO - these are not primarily targeted for use the office or everyday home use (the fact that you can doesnt make it any different)

Its more for LAN tournaments where players win big prize money for the most frags in the space of 8hrs and they need to be at the top of their game. (my god im sounding more like Fata1ity Wendell already and im not even a pro gamer)

So.....you can pwn noobs and look pro at the same time.


But my tastes differ so In Lan events I will most likely have steampunk goggles or something cyberpunk/goth like

 

[devguy]

IMO - these are not primarily targeted for use the office or everyday home use (the fact that you can doesnt make it any different)

Its more for LAN tournaments where players win big prize money for the most frags in the space of 8hrs and they need to be at the top of their game. (my god im sounding more like Fata1ity Wendell already and im not even a pro gamer)

So.....you can pwn noobs and look pro at the same time.


But my tastes differ so In Lan events I will most likely have steampunk goggles or something cyberpunk/goth like

I do game with my glasses as well. I can pretty much tell you that any difference you think you might see with these lenses is the placebo effect. There's no magic fraggin' potential hidden here somewhere. They claim it makes things look sharper, but if I have to struggle to tell whether or not there's a difference, that's not worth the price of these.

And I hear your argument happita, but I have to wear glasses anyway, and while these lenses are super expensive (like $600), VSP takes care of it for me.

And they don't have HDMI either, CharlO.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I do game with my glasses as well. I can pretty much tell you that any difference you think you might see with these lenses is the placebo effect. There's no magic fraggin' potential hidden here somewhere. They claim it makes things look sharper, but if I have to struggle to tell whether or not there's a difference, that's not worth the price of these.

ANY sort of glasses is more a perceptive thing. but some parts of the military also uses the same yellow tinted lenses in low light conditions when they are out in the field or in training.
some drivers also wear the same yellow tinted lenses at night.

what might not work for you might work for other people.

I wear prescription glasses anyway. all i have are reactive lenses that change colour when the sun is out. thats always been how i roll.

 

[devguy]

ANY sort of glasses is more a perceptive thing. but some parts of the military also uses the same yellow tinted lenses in low light conditions when they are out in the field or in training.
some drivers also wear the same yellow tinted lenses at night.

what might not work for you might work for other people.

I wear prescription glasses anyway. all i have are reactive lenses that change colour when the sun is out. thats always been how i roll.

I understand. When I first got these, people used to ask me if I spent a lot of time in the shooting range. The yellow tint does help to brighten things up a night (I actually prefer them for low-light driving). As for gaming in low-light conditions? I guess I haven't tried that with these (I always play with some lights on). The only time I've ever gamed in the dark was back in 2004-5 when I kept trying to scare my self shitless playing Doom 3 in the dark.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

well. my ISP throttles my connection heavily during the day, so i usually cant play any fps games until after 12am, So my main hours of gaming are between 12am and 4am with the lights off

Playing in the dark is bad for the eyes so ive heard but ive been doing it for years and never really had a problem

 

[mcloughj]

People who wear tinted lenses indoors are usually sexual deviants in my experience....

 

[Fourstaff]

Still using the same no-brand glasses for 4 years without problems. Its not the glasses, its the lens which counts. My dad uses glass lens (those old school heavy ones), and the last time he changed his glasses was more than 7 years ago.

 

[devguy]

People who wear tinted lenses indoors are usually sexual deviants in my experience....

Ok... Please don't tell us about your experiences, then. kthxbi

 

[blaznee]

After being very sceptical I ran into a few very positive reviews of Gunnars and since I had some cash to burn I bought a pair.

I must say that they did work for me.. I used to have this dried out tired sensation in my eyes when I went to bed at night, that has completely dissapeared.. I put them on now as soon as I sit down at my pc. Trying to stay more than a few minutes at my pc without them, and I can start to feel the extra strain on my eyes..

You feel stupid yes, and probably not everyone will feel a difference. I also didn't really feel like they made a difference in the beginning. I wore them for a week and concluded "gimmicky", until I sat down for a good gaming session without them and thought "holy crap, my eyes are sore!".. Worn them ever since, and seriously contemplating getting a set for work as well..

 

[FreedomEclipse]

After being very sceptical I ran into a few very positive reviews of Gunnars and since I had some cash to burn I bought a pair.

I must say that they did work for me.. I used to have this dried out tired sensation in my eyes when I went to bed at night, that has completely dissapeared.. I put them on now as soon as I sit down at my pc. Trying to stay more than a few minutes at my pc without them, and I can start to feel the extra strain on my eyes..

You feel stupid yes, and probably not everyone will feel a difference. I also didn't really feel like they made a difference in the beginning. I wore them for a week and concluded "gimmicky", until I sat down for a good gaming session without them and thought "holy crap, my eyes are sore!".. Worn them ever since, and seriously contemplating getting a set for work as well..

I wonder if I would get the same effect buying a pair of these

£12.50 is about $20.

I didnt see GUNNAR saying what so different or special about their lenses a side from its tinted yellow and it reduces eye strain.

I reckon i could the same effect from these pair of $20 sunglasses.

 

[blaznee]

Freedom I do have a pair of yellow tinted biking glasses, and even though I admit the color looks close they are not.. At least not with mine.. The biking glasses are much more yellow. The gunnars only give a yellow hue right when you put them on, but after about a minute they feel like clear glasses.

Plus, the biking glasses are only comfortable for a few hours, and are really build to not fall off .. The gunnars are comfortable the whole day, since they are light as a feather.. AND you can wear full size headphones with them on comfortably..

 

[Frizz]

It'd be cool if they could embedd the game's stats onto a custom hud with the glasses and connect it via a long USB or something lulz, or targeting system would be quite awesome as well lol.... it'd be a gimmick but it'd be a super cool one.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

It'd be cool if they could embedd the game's stats onto a custom hud with the glasses and connect it via a long USB or something lulz, or targeting system would be quite awesome as well lol.... it'd be a gimmick but it'd be a super cool one.

*cough*Bluetooth*cough*

 

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

I doubt these work as advertised.

 

[BondExtreme]

Ok I can have my opinion but those glasses are just dumb. Baha