just a gimmick?
When Google Glass was unveiled,
the tech world instantly fell into
two camps. Camp one was
excited: we're living in the sci-fi
future! Camp two, though, wasn't
so happy. It's vapourware! some
said, while others worried that
Google just wanted to plaster ads
on the entire world. Is either camp
correct? Let's find out.
What is Google's Project Glass?
Google Glass is the attempt to
make wearable computing
mainstream, and it's effectively a
smart pair of glasses with an
integrated heads-up display and
a battery hidden inside the frame.
Wearable computing is not a new
idea, but Google's enormous bank
account and can-do attitude
means that Project Glass could
well be the first product to do
significant numbers.
When will
it be
released?
Originally
Project
Glass was
mooted for
a public
release in
2014 at
the earliest but the latest news on
the Google Glass release date
suggest it's beginning to look like
we could see consumer units by
the end of 2013 .
That's because the prototype
Explorer units are becoming an
increasingly common site around San Francisco - and Google is
even allowing competition
'winners' to pay $1,500 to get
these early offerings.
What does Google Glass do?
The core of Google Glass is its
tiny prism display which sits not
in your eyeline, but a little above
it. You can see what is on the
display by glancing up. The
glasses also have an embedded
camera, microphone, GPS and,
reportedly, use bone induction to
give you sound.
Voice control is used to control
the device; you say 'ok glass' to
get a range of options including
taking pictures, videos, send
messages using speech to text,
'hang out' with people or get
directions to somewhere. You
access these options by saying
them out loud.
Most of this functionality is self
explanatory; hang out is Google's
video conferencing technology and
allows you to talk to a people
over web cam, and stream them
what you are seeing and the
directions use Google Maps and
the inbuilt GPS to help you find
your way.
The results are displayed on the
prism - essentially putting data
into your view like a head up
display (HUD). It's potentially
incredibly handy. Also rather nifty
is the potential for automatic
voice and speech recognition -
and Google has given its Glass
project a big boost by snapping
up specialists DNNresearch.
People are already developing
some rather cool/scary apps for
Google Glass - including one that
allows you to identify your friends
in a crowd , and another that
allows you to dictate an email.
What are the Google Glass
specifications?
An FCC filing in the US revealed
many potential details, suggesting
that Wi-Fi and Bluetooth would
be used to send pictures to the
screen, whilst bone-induction may
be used for sound, vibrating your
skull to communicate the sound
into your inner ear. It's not a new
technology, but certainly does
have critics who suggest that it
falls short of traditional
headphones.
We don't have a lot of the final
details on specs just yet - but
expect Google Glass to run
modified Android, to sport a
decent resolution camera with a
decent lens and we'd be fairly
certain that the microphone needs
to be a good quality.
There will be a GPS chip, and the
lightweight and flexible glasses
design will come in five colours -
Charcoal, Tangerine, Shale,
Cotton, Sky. That's black, orange,
grey, white and blue for anyone
that prefers plain English over
marketing speak.
I already wear glasses. Will Google
Glasses work for me?
Yes. Google is experimenting with
designs that will fit over existing
glasses so you don't have to wear
two lots of specs.
In fact, you should be able to get
them before 2013 ends , according
to Google.
What is the Project Glass price?
The NYT again: according to
"several Google employees
familiar with the project who
asked not to be named," the
glasses are expected "to cost
around the price of current
smartphones." So that's around
$750/£500, then, possibly with
the help of a hefty Google
subsidy.
The latest hints definitely suggest
a price that will make them
attractive to technophiles.
The developer versions -
traditionally more expensive that
the final consumer units - were
made available for pre-order for
$1,500 (c£966).
As to WHERE you can buy the
specs; online will be a certainty,
but don't rule out Glass making a
debut in a all-new Google Store,
with the search giant apparently
considering actual shops to
showcase the tech to those who
haven't been following every
development.
Who is providing the competition?
Of course, with something as high
profile as Google Glass, every
major company has been linked
with building a competitor.
Apple and Microsoft are Google's
most obvious rivals - and both
are rumoured to be working on
their own equivalents, and Sony
has gone as far as to patent a
Glass-alike offering.
Is Project Glass evil?
It could be. Google's business is
about making money from
advertising, and some people
worry that Google Glass is its
attempt to monetise your eyeballs
by blasting you with ads whenever
you look at something.
If you think pop-ups are annoying
in a web browser, imagine them in
front of your face. The ADmented
Reality spoof is one of very many
parodies that made us laugh.
Some of the parodies actually
make a good point by showing
people bumping into stuff: heads-
up displays can be distracting,
and there may be safety issues
too. Until Google ships its self-
driving car, the thought of drivers
being distracted by their glasses
is fairly terrifying.
There are privacy implications
too. Never mind your web history:
Google Glass might record
everything you see and do.
There is a red recording light, but
the tech certainly raises some key
debates that will become more
relevant as this kind of technology
surfaces. What are the
repercussions from having
everything you say potentially
taped, turned into text and
searchable? What are the
repercussions for free speech.
All radically new tech brings new
potential for evil. But you have to
weigh that against the capacity
for good and the progress it
brings
Google Glass pre-order customers
will get regular updates
Those people who paid Google
$1,500 for the privilege of pre-
ordering some Project Glass specs
will be receiving " private updates "
through Google+.
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