Even though Google Glass enjoys its fair share of airtime in the world of tech, the search giant’s head-mounted gizmo isn’t alone in vying for a share of this potentially lucrative field. In fact, a number of companies – from start-ups to the likes of Lenovo – have indulged over the past couple of years, but while the more recent Motorola-owner’s prototype looked a bit of a Glass rip-off, the product in the works through emerging outfit Atheer Labs is very intriguing and dare we say more exciting than even Glass.

Google Glass may be generating an increasing amount of interest within tech circles, but before everybody gets carried away with what remains an exciting development, it’s worth pointing out that Google is not the only company trying to make an impression in the smart glasses market. Vuzix has already completed the development process on the M100, its own forthcoming effort to get us wearing tech on our faces, and not only is the product ready to ship from Tuesday, but at $1000, it’s a great deal cheaper than the current Explorer Edition of Google Glass.

With E3 just around the corner, the rumor mill on the technology front is in sixth gear, with much speculation (often conflicting), trying to surmise just what we – as consumers and lovers of all things gadgety – can expect to be revealed once the event commences.