- Congratulations! You're one of the privileged few who've scored a pair of Google Glass, the futuristic eyewear that puts a tiny, voice-controlled, Wi-Fi-enabled computer on your face. It's the most anticipated gadget since the iPad, iPhone or iAnything, really. And the best part? You members of Google's "Explorer Program"—mostly app developers and supernerds—will be testing Glass in the wild months before the general public will get to wear it, fingers crossed, at the end of the year.
I for one am patiently waiting for my smartwatch, at which time, I'll probably start phasing out my smartphone. I have no desire to have a heads-up display. My life isn't that intense, and my need for data isn't so constant. Also, 99% of glasses look downright silly on me. There is about a 0.01% chance that Google Glass won't. I can't wait for a watch because I can stop carrying a phone in my pocket.
Man, it really does not bode well for Glass that it's fashionable to talk about how unfashionable it is (but also is really cool?) Tony Stark has Glass. Well, not Glass, but a wearable display headset camera thing and it was baller.
I think Glass is bad-ass, or at the very least has the potential to be so. But the privacy questions are going to be very interesting to see unfold. I'm as excited to see the technology as I am to see where it goes via privacy concerns. I see the SCOTUS in "Glass's" future.
I think glass is badass too. We've been talking about how great augmented reality will be for some years now and it seems like it could be the Next Big Thing after smartphones... I definitely want glass to succeed, but I can't help but feel the comparisons to bluetooth is both apt and devastating. Even if privacy turns out not to be a big deal, the media really loves privacy stories, and can further make glass not ok. Plus, the design IS a little wonky. The metal band across the forehead looks bad, especially when it's a bit off kilter. And how compelling is Google's argument that Glass reduces distraction? They seem to be doubling down that Glass is better for human interaction because we don't have to look down on our phones, but it seems more true that anything less than full focus on whoever you're talking to is insulting. And now if you buy that, then Google loses a lot of credibility.
I don't buy that Google glass will be better for human interaction because we're not looking down at our phones. I think it's the opposite, when our phones are off and in our pockets we are able to fully connect with our surroundings. When there is something wrapped around my head in my peripheral vision all the time, how could that possibly be better?