Movie on the move on specs

The Japanese can watch full-length movies on subway with a tiny screen on top of eyeglasses.

Two-and-a-half decades after the Walkman personal stereo livened up commuting, the Japanese will get to watch full-length movies on the subway with a tiny screen hooked on top of eyeglasses.

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The “Teleglass,” which goes on sale in June, comes with earphones and a box that connects to a portable DVD player.

The wearer will see images as if watching a 14-inch television screen from a distance of one metre, according to an official at Scalar Corp., the microscope maker that developed the Teleglass.

People can slap the tiny screen with a 0.24-inch liquid crystal display and lens onto one side of their glasses or those with normal vision can choose to use a pair of sunglasses. People nearby have no way of knowing what film is being played on the Teleglass.

Scalar developed the Teleglass jointly with Arisawa Manufacturing Co. Ltd, a Tokyo display materials firm. The gadget is priced around $475.

The Teleglass is being introduced two months after Sony Corp.’s Walkman, first introduced in 1979, also got visual.

The new Walkman launched in March includes a camera that can create custom album covers or create slideshows to accompany the music.