Google Sells Out Of Glass Explorer Spots At $1500 A Pop
It's been said that you can't truly boast about "selling out" if on one ever knew how many units you had to begin with, but make no mistake: there's demand for Google Glass. While Google has made recent efforts to quell the "Glasshole" mentality and make it more appealing to the mass market, pundits have suggested that it's mostly doing so to combat low re-use rates and dipping interest. Glass certainly isn't "novel" in the truest sense any longer, as the Explorer Edition has been kicking around for over a year.
On April 15th, Google allowed anyone in the United States to exchange $1500 for an Explorer Headset. It was viewed as some as a way to get more units into more households, and others as a stunt. Either way, Google sold out of its April 15th allotment, and has now stated that it will be "trying new ways to expand the Explorer program in the future."
It's a delicate balance -- the company is trying to secure more testers, but it also doesn't want to inundate itself with feedback that it lacks the manpower to adequately address. Google's clearly onto something with Glass, but as the wearable world turns, it's running out of time to make it a runaway hit. And that $1500 price point may work for early adopters on a one-day fling, but it has to come down before the masses will take notice.
On April 15th, Google allowed anyone in the United States to exchange $1500 for an Explorer Headset. It was viewed as some as a way to get more units into more households, and others as a stunt. Either way, Google sold out of its April 15th allotment, and has now stated that it will be "trying new ways to expand the Explorer program in the future."
It's a delicate balance -- the company is trying to secure more testers, but it also doesn't want to inundate itself with feedback that it lacks the manpower to adequately address. Google's clearly onto something with Glass, but as the wearable world turns, it's running out of time to make it a runaway hit. And that $1500 price point may work for early adopters on a one-day fling, but it has to come down before the masses will take notice.
