Google I/O attendees can preorder Project Glass for $1,500

Matthew DeCarlo

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During its developer conference in San Francisco today, Google opened preorders for an early "Explorer Edition" of its Project Glass head-mounted display. Attendees will be able to purchase the glasses for $1,500 with an expected arrival date of early next year, though units will reportedly only ship in the US because of regulatory issues. It's unclear when a polished mass market device will be offered.

Google first unveiled Project Glass in April as a heads-up display that provides access to smartphone-like connectivity and features. In a video released earlier this year, Google offered various examples of how Project Glass would fit into someone's everyday life, including instant hands-free access to information such as your schedule and the weather, as well as social abilities like voice messages.

Other examples included the ability to access map data for the inside of a store, to send and receive location data from friends you're meeting with, to stream content such as music, as well as take, send and receive pictures and videos. All of that will likely be possible with later versions of Project Glass, but the Explorer Edition sounds less polished -- again, it's meant for developers to tinker with.

Relatively few details were shared about the device. It's said to be pretty light (more so than some sunglasses, according to Google), especially for the hardware it's packing, which includes a "powerful processor," "lots of memory," an accelerometer, a gyproscope, wireless radios for data transmission, a speaker, a mic for voice commands, and a camera that can be controlled by a touchpad on the side of the unit.

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this gonna not work for so many people because a lot of people are already wearing a glass so Google glass can not provide for those who are weak eyes , no body want to use contact lens always as well so this glass would only good for those who are good eyes
 
LOL...how many people in THIS economy have an extra 1500 laying around, just so they can say "look at me".
Maybe in a few years, but I'd pass unless they came down about 1000 in price.
Plus, they would have to make one that clips onto a pair of prescription glasses.
 
LOL...how many people in THIS economy have an extra 1500 laying around, just so they can say "look at me".
Probably the the same number of people who keep other status orientated brands viable...From Sub Zero refrigerators and La Cornue ranges, to more hi-vis brands like Rolex, Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, Breitling, AMG, Hamann etc etc. Ever figure that some soccer mom getting the groceries in her Audi Q7 might not have the same frame of reference regarding finances that you have?...I know a few that don't balk at expending $US400-500 for a phone for each of their kids fully expecting to have to replace it in a matter of months.

Just as a side note...there are many manufacturers already making eyeglasses exceeding $1500 that do nothing more than give the wearer some sort of satisfaction, with the secondary advantage of offering UV protection.
 
this is going to be terrible for peoples eyes. Its GOT to be unhealthy to be looking at things that close to your eyes somehow, especially lights.
 
this gonna not work for so many people because a lot of people are already wearing a glass so Google glass can not provide for those who are weak eyes , no body want to use contact lens always as well so this glass would only good for those who are good eyes

I'm pretty sure people who are going to get these are not going to have a problem wearing contact lenses in order to do so.
 
I think it's cool, but I would hate to have to explain what it is to each and every person I run into throughout the day. If it ever catches on to the point where everyone knows what it is, then I'd consider it. Also by that time, I imagine it would be a lot more affordable.
 
I know that some research suggests that all these electromagnetic waves in our atmosphere aren't that great for us, also making calls from a mobile phone all the time.. so I wonder what the health implications of having something like this strapped to your skull for extended periods of time are?

Aside from that boring point, I'd be interested to see if this really is going to be useful enough to catch on or just a bit of a gimic for now.
 
Cars, telephones, tvs, fax machines, computers, cell phones, smart phones, computers, iPads etc etc all were viewed as useless gadgets at one time. Imagine the possibilities for these in industry!
 
welcome to the augmented reality age, soon there will be plenty of HUDs and indicators on your eyes
 
Another problem with this is quite obvious - how stupid will you feel at first, when it hasn't yet kicked off?
And that problem could mean it never does kick off...
 
Cars, telephones, tvs, fax machines, computers, cell phones, smart phones, computers, iPads etc etc all were viewed as useless gadgets at one time. Imagine the possibilities for these in industry!
computers and cellphones were never viewed as useless gadgets by the general public.
 
this gonna not work for so many people because a lot of people are already wearing a glass so Google glass can not provide for those who are weak eyes , no body want to use contact lens always as well so this glass would only good for those who are good eyes

u are totally right.. and I will never do an operation to my eyes to see without my own glasses and replace them with Google Glass.. Google should do something about this issue..
 
I seriously doubt they'll launch publicly for $1500. They're only that price because they're still in beta (if not alpha). I think once you start producing at scale, these will definitely sell for under $1000, if not $500. It all depends on what the unit costs are.
 
I know alot of elderly people who think cellphones are one of the biggest conveniences of the last 50-100 years.
 
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