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Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles

wsj.com

221–230 of 342 posts

Re: Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles

#221

I think this is brilliant. Even the press details seem perfectly crafted, with one article referencing Evan's "supermodel girlfriend." Snapchat can win here based on brand alone. The hardware features are a plus, but they're going to sell a lifestyle. Think GoPro + Versace. Commenters here are caught up in the tech. It's not the tech. Get a few celebrities in these, people will buy them and barely use the recording f…

One step closer to a Black Mirror episode :)

Re: Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles

#222
post #218

I think this is brilliant. Even the press details seem perfectly crafted, with one article referencing Evan's "supermodel girlfriend." Snapchat can win here based on brand alone. The hardware features are a plus, but they're going to sell a lifestyle. Think GoPro + Versace. Commenters here are caught up in the tech. It's not the tech. Get a few celebrities in these, people will buy them and barely use the recording f…

Take a long, deep breath. Then take a few steps backwards, so you can take the scene in with a slightly broader perspective. Now hark back to how many times someone has been breathlessly been compared to Steve Jobs and how many times the person who has made that comparison has ended up looking silly. Let's give Evan a few years before we start fanboying him.

LMAO right? These are literally shitty-looking sunglasses with a ten second loop camera on them that's only usable with Snapchat. These will be handed out at fancy NYC/LA/SF parties where people will play with them for a minute or so before putting them back down and going on their phones.

Re: Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles

#223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't tell whether your comment is satire or serious, I should quit the internet today ;) Also, that 'thing' looks even more ridiculous then Google Glass.

Dead serious. "Cool" is all this product needs to be successful. People buy sunglasses. People like Snapchat. At $129 this is a no-brainer. Don't underestimate the power of social signaling.

> Don't underestimate the power of social signaling.

You mean the social signaling that is going to brand these users as "glassholes" as well?

>At $129 this is a no-brainer.

Please step out of your tech bubble. Most snapchat users are teenagers or college-age persons who absolutely do not have $129 to drop on a pair of novelty sunglasses.

Re: Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles

#224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't tell whether your comment is satire or serious, I should quit the internet today ;) Also, that 'thing' looks even more ridiculous then Google Glass.

Dead serious. "Cool" is all this product needs to be successful. People buy sunglasses. People like Snapchat. At $129 this is a no-brainer. Don't underestimate the power of social signaling.

The trendy end of fashion always looks ridiculous after it falls out of style. Snapchat still has the trendiness that Google and Facebook lost long ago. If you think otherwise, find a few 20 year olds (outside of tech) and ask them what they think of Google, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Facebook probably can still use Instagram's brand, so that is an edge over Google. If they can do it soon enough while resisting branding the hardware as "Facebook" is another matter. That also means they probably have to already be close to releasing a finished product.

The larger question to me is who will have the stamina to thrive in the post-smartphone era? Snapchat may be able to break to ice and get a lot of people to wear something weird and clunky. By generation two or three, what happens if Apple, Magic Leap, or someone else is able to produce a more refined & seamless wearable? To "win" Snapchat will have to produce an incredibly robust AR headset that no one thinks twice about wearing all day long.

Other commenters are correct, the article reads like a shameless press release.

Re: Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles

#225
post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Take a long, deep breath. Then take a few steps backwards, so you can take the scene in with a slightly broader perspective. Now hark back to how many times someone has been breathlessly been compared to Steve Jobs and how many times the person who has made that comparison has ended up looking silly. Let's give Evan a few years before we start fanboying him.

LMAO right? These are literally shitty-looking sunglasses with a ten second loop camera on them that's only usable with Snapchat. These will be handed out at fancy NYC/LA/SF parties where people will play with them for a minute or so before putting them back down and going on their phones.

Ever use the first iPhone? It could barely make PHONE calls. It was a terrible phone.

Re: Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles

#226

I think this is brilliant. Even the press details seem perfectly crafted, with one article referencing Evan's "supermodel girlfriend." Snapchat can win here based on brand alone. The hardware features are a plus, but they're going to sell a lifestyle. Think GoPro + Versace. Commenters here are caught up in the tech. It's not the tech. Get a few celebrities in these, people will buy them and barely use the recording f…

Best comment so far

Edit: Thanks for the downvote.

Re: Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles

#227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to mention, one tenth the retail cost.

One tenth the cost, one tenth the functionality. This is just a wireless camera for your smart phone. Point and shoot, that's it. It really reminds me of the cheap "Spy Sunglasses" I had as a kid. Glass had a camera but it was secondary. Glass was about AR, it was an interactive experience.

Except the market isn't ready for this. Impedance mismatch.

Re: Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles

#228

I think this is brilliant. Even the press details seem perfectly crafted, with one article referencing Evan's "supermodel girlfriend." Snapchat can win here based on brand alone. The hardware features are a plus, but they're going to sell a lifestyle. Think GoPro + Versace. Commenters here are caught up in the tech. It's not the tech. Get a few celebrities in these, people will buy them and barely use the recording f…

I can't tell whether your comment is satire or serious, I should quit the internet today ;) Also, that 'thing' looks even more ridiculous then Google Glass.

[deleted]

Re: Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles

#229

Hype and grumbles aside, I believe optimizing the "I want to record what I'm seeing right now" to a tap near your temple is pretty compelling. Fumbling to get my camera out of my pocket, or even just grab from tabletop and swipe-to-cam is often long enough to miss that precious moment with my daughter.

True, this removes a ton of useless and uber-annoying friction.

Re: Snapchat Releases First Hardware Product, Spectacles

#230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LMAO right? These are literally shitty-looking sunglasses with a ten second loop camera on them that's only usable with Snapchat. These will be handed out at fancy NYC/LA/SF parties where people will play with them for a minute or so before putting them back down and going on their phones.

Ever use the first iPhone? It could barely make PHONE calls. It was a terrible phone.

Are you seriously comparing a pair of shitty-looking sunglasses to the iPhone?

These are sunglasses that take a ten second video that is tied to Snapchat. They cost 130 bucks and immediately signal that you are a techie douchebag because that's what people still associate video-taking glasses with. It is literally a novelty toy that is using a WSJ article (native content advertising) to make it seem like a revolutionary technology / something cool. No one is going to buy these.

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