The Facebook F8 conference has Oculus present an interesting take on the VR headset-- the "Half Dome," promising users a wider range of view and means to make virtual objects look better up close.

The Half Dome increases field of view from the 110-degree offered by the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive to 140-degrees. Thus, users can view more of the virtual world, even as the prototype retains the same dimensions as the existing Rift headset. Oculus says such a development comes through "continued advances in displays," something it will continue to work on before shifting focus on shrinking the headset.

Snap has not given up on wearable devices as it announces a sequel to 2016's Spectacles-- one offering slimmer frames, lighter lenses and the ability to take either photos or short videos.

The first Spectacles launched to a somewhat dim reception, as limited functionality, confusing software and privacy concerns lead to sales reaching just 220000 units. Snap claims to do better with the V2, with a more subtle design and the ability to put prescription lenses in the frames, as well as two mirrored lens options. Further improvements include a lighter internal processor, longer battery life (Snap says one can record and transfer 70 videos over a week on a single charge), an extra microphone and a waterproof design allowing use on the beach.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation celebrates "Pi Day" (14 March) with the launch of the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+, an update of the micro-PC promising more power and better wireless connectivity.

The Model B+ runs on a Broadcom BCM2837B0 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU-- the same processor as the regular Model B, only clocked at a faster 1.4GHz. It also promises "power integrity optimisations and a heat spreader" allowing customers to either overclock the little machine or run it at lower voltages to reduce power consumption. Interestingly the maker says the B+ consumes "substantially more power than its predecessor," and recommends the use of a high-quality 2.5A power supply.

Toshiba presents a wearable computing solution-- the dynaEdge AR Smart Glasses, a combination of the dynaEdge Mini PC with an AR100 Head Mounted Display, making a Windows 10 machine with a headset display.

Aimed mainly at enterprise customers, the dynaEdge AR Smart Glasses looks cumbersome compared to the likes of Google Glass. The AR100 is not technically a headset, since it actually is a single arm customers can attach to glasses, safety googles or a hard hat. It features an integrated 640 x 360 quarter-inch display, GPS, head-tracking accelerometer, 5MP camera, touchpad, dual noise-cancelling microphones and an ear speakers, and provides a custom control interface for Windows 10.

Intel confirms rumours from the likes of Bloomberg with the announcement it is, in fact, working on smart glasses able to provide users with simple notifications by literally beaming images in their eyeballs with a laser.

Developed by the Intel New Devices Group (NDG) and first revealed by The Verge, the glasses are dubbed Vaunt and look like regular glasses. They lack cameras, speakers, microphones, display or any computing hardware as such. In terms of technology, the frames carry an electronics suite inside the right stem powering a low-powered laser (a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser, to be specific).

The laser able to beam a red image on a holographic reflector on the right lens, which in turn is reflect right on the retina. The actual image is small (around 400 x 150 resolution) and consists of simple text, such as a notification pushed from a smartphone. The Verge says the image appears on the lower right side of the visual field, and disappears whenever one is not looking in that direction. According to Intel such an effect is intentional, since it did not want notifications to appear directly in the line of sight.

Customers can buy the the E1, the first smart toothbrush from dental hygiene specialist Colgate, from one brick-and-mortar retail chain-- Apple Stores, together with the Apple online store.

The E1 is a connected toothbrush able to provide real-time brushing feedback, map the mouth and remove plaque using "sonic vibrations." The head carries a variety of sensors to map the mouth across 16 brushing zones, while the handle stores data before pushing it to Colgate Connect, a companion iDevice app.

Nintendo remains on a quirky streak as it announces Labo-- a range of "experiences designed to inspire creative minds and playful hearts alike" customers build out of cardboard.

As seen in the announcement video, Labo sets consists of sheets of perforated cardboard. Customers pop out the different shapes and fold them according to on-screen instructions to create objects such as a piano, fishing rod, bike or even a robot suit. Nintendo calls these results "Toy-Cons," and they spring to life when the users slot the Switch controllers or tablet into place.

Thus the cardboard piano becomes a playable instrument, with the IR sensor in the right Joy-Con detecting which key is being pressed before the console plays it through the built-in speakers. Other Toy-Cons use the combination of controller and console to create drivable motorbikes, fishing games and what looks like an interactive house.

HTC presents an update of the Vive headset at CES 2018-- the Vive Pro, a VR offering featuring higher resolution 2880 x 1600 (1400 x 1600 per eye) dual-OLED displays, a 78% increase over the original Vive.

According to the company, the Vive Pro is aimed at "VR enthusiasts and enterprise users who want the best display and audio for their VR experiences." As such, the headset also features improved audio through integrated headphones with built-in amplifiers promising "overall richer sound." Further additions include dual microphones complete with active noise cancellation and dual front-facing cameras.

On the ergonomic side the headset should be more comfortable to wear, thanks to a redesigned headstrap, decreased weight on the front of the headset and a redesigned face cushion. The nose pad is also improved to block off more light.