Items tagged with glass
Google Glass is going on hiatus and when it returns, the revamped, computerized eyewear will be a completely different animal than its predecessor. Last month, Google shut down the Glass Explorer program, which was a semi-public testing program for the prototype Glass. It appears that the plan now it to completely rebuild the Glass from scratch, using what was learned from the prototype. Image Credit: GoogleDon’t expect to see the Glass again anytime soon. Where the Google X team first released the Glass into the world very early in the development process (too early, according to some), the team is now taking more of a “it’s done when it’s done” type of approach. Tony Fadell, who made his mark...
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There are some big changes in store for Google Glass, and the first change is the demise of the Glass Explorer program. Google opened up the Explorer program in April 2014 to anyone that was willing to fork over $1,500 for the privilege to own Glass. After January 19, the only individuals that will have access to Glass will be companies involved in the Glass at Work program and app developers. Glass is also getting promoted from the Google X research lab, and will get its own independent division within Google. Current Google Glass chief Ivy Ross will still head the division, but she will now report to Nest co-founder Tony Fadell. Fadell came aboard after Google purchased Nest for $3.2...
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Google Glass debuted in 2012 and quickly became the “must have” tech item for alpha geeks. Over the past two years, the wearable device has been praised for its forward-thinking functionality, but has also come under scrutiny not only for its high price tag and its tendency to turn users into “glassholes.” Now, the company is prepping a second generation of Glass, and some big changes will take place under the hood according to The Wall Street Journal. The current generation Glass Explorer is powered by a 1.2GHz, dual-core Texas Instruments OMAP 4430 processor paired with 2GB of RAM. However, the next generation Glass will be powered by an Intel x86 processor. The Journal’s sources couldn’t...
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One of the original big features of Google's Glass was facial recognition, but after catching a ton of flack for it, the company decided last summer to purge the feature on its cutting-edge device. However, while that might be the case, the company is finding it impossible to distance itself from the fact that Glass, is in fact, great for facial recognition. Just before Google made it clear that it was getting rid of facial recognition on Glass last summer, Lambda Labs talked about its own solution, and back in February of this year, a start-up called NameTag added its name to the list. Google's made it clear that its stance on facial recognition is firm, so even if a third-party solution is...
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Many of the apps we've seen released for Google Glass have aimed to help give you find relevant information faster, or simply make whatever it is you're doing easier. But a team at Georgia Tech have taken things a step beyond, and are showcasing an app that could dramatically help those who suffer from poor hearing: On-the-fly captioning. In the YouTube video seen below, a professor and student are talking, and whenever the student speaks (into his Android phone), the professor's Glass automatically transcribes what was said into clear text. It doesn't take much imagination to understand just how useful, and perhaps even imperative, this could be. Georgia Tech made this possible by working around...
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Those hoping to Glass-and-drive might soon be in for a rude awakening: Research shows that using Google Glass while driving is just as dangerous as using a smartphone, and as it stands, 44 US states have banned the latter. The most important factor during this study was how quickly people reacted to an accident and slammed on the brakes - there simply was no difference between smartphone and Glass users. Currently, 8 states are looking to ban drivers from using Google Glass and its competitors while driving, although I'd wager that actually enforcing such laws would be difficult. As time goes on, this smart eyewear is going to become more and more fashionable, so actually detecting if someone...
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Until now, Vuzix and its M100 Smart Glasses have been little more than an intriguing potential competitor to Google Glass, but Lenovo has stepped up to back the smart glasses in a co-branding deal as part of Lenovo’s NBD (New Business Development) brand. Lenovo will do the heavy lifting on the marketing side, selling the specs in China with the ungainly official moniker "Vuzix 100 Smart Glasses powered by Lenovo NBD". Vuzix’ smart glasses have been tailored for the Chinese market, with features such as Chinese language voice recognition, mapping, and “domestic cloud services”, although the pair plan to push into other geographical markets. M100 with prescription frames...
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The Red Laser app is “a free shopping app for iPhone, Windows Phones, and Android that has been downloaded over 30 million times” according to its own description, and now Google Glass users can use the app to scan barcodes and get online price comparisons with the high-tech spectacles. That’s surely handy when trying to shop online, but you can also use the app to find a given product and where it might be sold locally--and then get directions to the store you need to go to from Glass. Voice search works in addition to the barcode scanning capabilities, but of course the key feature here is the feeling of cyborg-like powers when you scan an item or speak its name....
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Top level talent is hard to come by in the tech sector, so it's not unusual to see major players jump from one company to the next. It can sometimes be pretty cutthroat in Silicon Valley, though in other cases, engineers and other high level workers sometimes simply need a change after burying themselves in a project. We're not sure which is the case for Dr. Babak Parviz, creator of Google Glass, but he's jumping ship to go work for Amazon. Parviz hinted at the change in a status update on his Google+ page that simply said, "Status: super excited!," followed by a smiling emoticon and a picture of Amazon's logo. That in and of itself wouldn't be enough to confirm his new employment, though if...
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We were critical of Google’s recent decision to choose a high-end fashion retailer to sell Glass through a third party for the first time (which included a $300 markup), but Google is doing some good work with Glass through its “Giving Through Glass” program. The company awarded five nonprofits with a pair of Google Glass spectacles, $25,000 in the form of a grant, and--possibly most importantly--access to Glass devs and on-location help at Google. Classroom Champions The winners include Classroom Champions, which lets students see paralympic athletes train in POV; Women’s Audio Mission, a STEM training program; a group called the Hearing and Speech Agency that’s...
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Google may be whiffing badly in terms of marketing for Google Glass, but at least there are plenty of solid updates coming out, both in terms of the actual hardware and available apps. Google noted in a Google+ post that it’s already improved battery life by 20% and increased voice search speed by 10% along with new frames, shades, and support for prescription lenses, but it’s also improving both the hardware and the user experience. There are more Google Now cards, and they added a little onscreen frame for the viewfinder to help you take better pictures. Perhaps most notably, new Glass devices will ship with 2GB of RAM. There’s also new Glassware--12 new apps, to be exact....
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Google, listen: You already have a serious image problem as it pertains to Google Glass. Granted, it’s undeserved, but far too many people view Glass as either a silly, expensive gadget for the snobbiest of techies or a googah for those with too much money to throw around. (Or both.) People are getting physically accosted just because they’re walking down the wrong street or drinking in the wrong bar wearing Glass. Letting a luxury designer put out Glass editions of its spectacles will only make things worse. $1800. Really? You need to work hard to position Glass as something that no one can live without but can also afford to buy. It should be so compelling and packed with so many...
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Google has needed to change its tactics with respect to getting Google Glass into people’s hands. There’s a curious societal backlash against Google Glass that is causing the search giant’s pet project to flounder with the general public, and so the company is working to bring Glass into the workplace. Google announced its “Glass at Work” program that will bring the tech spectacles to the enterprise and also allow for co-branding opportunities with Glass Certified Partners. “We’ve been searching for developers who are creating Glassware to help businesses reach their goals,” reads an official Google+ post. “We heard from hundreds of enterprise...
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Where would the world be without some much needed satire to put things into perspective? Thankfully that's not a question we have to worry about, not when there are shows like The Daily Show with Jon Stewart that are willing to take on tough subjects -- you know, like the current discrimination against Google's Explorers. You can see where this is going. In a five minute clip called "Glass Half Empty," faux coorespondant Jason Jones examines Glass and hosts a discussion with a panel of Explorers what it's like to wear the device in public. It doesn't take long for the complaints to start rolling in about being denied service in bars and name-calling. "The best uses of Glass today are apps where...
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Add the Alamo Drafthouse chain of movie theaters to the list of locations where you're not allowed to wear Google Glass. According to reports, Alamo Drafthouse CEO Tim League made it the company's official policy to ban the wearable device once the lights go down and the previews begin to ensure that no illegal recording is taking place. The ban comes before Glass graduates from a prototype device to a consumer product, though that's really splitting hairs. Even though the Glass design isn't completely finalized, Google has been making the wearable device more widely available to consumers lately. In addition, Google's been working with trendy eyewear companies to offer customized versions of...
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One of the things Back to the Future II got right was that we'd eventually be wearing glasses with embedded electronics by 2015. Here we are a year ahead of schedule and though it's not JVC supplying the wearables, Google has stepped in with Glass. To Google's credit, Glass looks far less dorky than the JVC specs Marty McFly, Jr. wore at the dinner table, but there's still room for improvement in the fashion department, hence the new DVF | Made for Glass collection. The Google Glass team announced the chic eyewear on its Google+ page. Google has teamed with fashion designer Dianve von Furstenberg to bring trendy Glass designs to the Glass Explorer Program, which will sit alongside the existing...
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If you know anything about Google's history, you'll know that the company loves beta products. Gmail was in beta for years, and even after it left that phase of its life, Google allowed users to retain the "beta" graphic -- yes, that many people just couldn't let go of what was. Now, Google Glass is finally breaking into its most daunting beta phase yet, as Google has announced that anyone in the United States can purchase a Google Glass Explorer headset for $1500 (roughly 10x what it costs to physically build one, as it turns out). Previously, the headsets were limited to those who were invited to purchase one, while a one-day all-access sale a few weeks ago saw brisk movement and a quick "Sold...
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Your chance to snag a pair of Google Glass came and went earlier this week when Google opened up its Explorer (beta tester) program to the general public for one day only. However, Google's been expanding the availability of Glass little by little -- the question is, are you willing to spend $1,500 on a pair? Apparently many people are, as Google sold out of Glass Explorer spots during its open availability. If you're intrigued by Glass but ultimately unsure if the available frames fit your style or desired comfort level, it looks as though Google will let you try out a non-functioning unit before committing to a purchase. According to a letter received by a Reddit user, Google is offering the...
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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...
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Hot on the heels of Google rolling-out a limited batch of Google Glass to the public, Samsung has applied for a patent involving a competing product that it's calling "Earphone". That name highlights the biggest difference between Glass and this, however; rather than act as pair of glasses, Earphone's HUD extends out from an earpiece. Given this, it would seem that the HUD would be a bit lower than it is on Glass, but if I'm looking at the diagrams correctly, it looks like everything would be adjustable. One thing to set Earphone apart is that it has a built-in earbud to transmit sound to the user. This could allow Samsung the ability to provide clearer audio to the user versus Google's bone...
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Entirely new product categories generally take time to take off. Even the smartphone took years before penetration rose above 50% in advanced markets such as the United States. But it certainly feels as if there's something different at play when it comes to wearables. While there's plenty of buzz about every new watch, fitness tracker, and head-worn device, the retention rate is low. Used (and cheap) Galaxy Gear smartwatches are strewn across secondhand sites such as eBay, and research from Endeavour Partners has found that "one-third of American consumers who have owned a wearable product stopped using it within six months. What's more, while one in 10 American adults own some form of activity...
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As soon as Google announced its Glass digital eyewear, the world went nuts with speculation; pros and cons simply flooded the Web. Since then, a lot of people have been left without a solid conclusion, no doubt thanks to the number of walls Glass has hit. We've learned of bars that have banned the device from being worn, and Google even once famously refused to allow people to wear it at a shareholder meeting. It's no surprise, then, that Google's been less-than-enthusiastic about all of this uncertainty its prospective users have, or the way they've been mislead. So, the company's taken to Google+ to clear up 10 myths, and even if you think you might know everything there is to know about Glass,...
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