Google Glass Will Be Available for Consumers by End of 2013, Will Cost Under $1,500

Why, it seems like only yesterday we were posting about the new Google Glass website and its beta-ish program for excited souls who wanted to test out the $1,500 specs themselves. Actually, it was two days ago, but there’s already more information available: according to The Verge and CNET, Google plans to offer Glass at retail stores by year's’ end, and they’ll cost less than the $1,500 price tag we’ve seen attached to them so far. (How far under $1,500 is anyone’s guess; if it turns out to be $1,499.99, we’ll be annoyed.)

Considering the recent news that Google is planning to open its own retail locations, one can infer that one of the premier products on those shelves will be Glass. (In fact, for a software and services company, Google has an impressive spate of hardware, including the Nexus phones and tablets, Chromebooks, and now Glass.)


Glass prototypes and associated videos are starting to proliferate, so we’re getting a sense of what the POV experience will be like, and it’s fair to see this as a major evolution in day-to-day computing. Yes, the specs are sort of silly looking and can currently only do so much, but remember that these are prototypes. The finished product that we’ll apparently get to fondle by the end of the year will be more refined both in terms of looks and features--and that’s just the first generation of Glass.

Remember, the iPhone first exploded onto the mobile market less than 6 years ago, but the original iPhone seems downright adorable compared to the iPhone 5; imagine what Google Glass will look like in 6 years, and what it will offer. This will be a landmark product.


There’s another landmark with Glass that’s worth noting, and again there’s a parallel with the iPhone: like Apple near the middle of the last decade, Google believes that people will be willing to pay an unprecedented amount of money for this hot new technology. Thanks to the iPhone, it no longer seems insane to pay $400 or $500 for a top of the line smartphone (even granting most people get deep discounts with mobile service contracts); will people be willing to pay three times that for Glass? The answer is: Most likely. In any case, we’ll find out within months.