Thoughts on Google Glass
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Thoughts on Google Glass
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Re: Thoughts on Google Glass
#2It's confusing that people at Wired found Matt Honan's Glass weird.
I also work at a news outlet (NPR), and I have a co-worker who wears Glass during the workday (not every day, but enough that I notice). I've never seen anything but polite interest.
Re: Thoughts on Google Glass
#3Mat Honan's article was a valuable critique. And interesting. Gruber's reaction on the other hand...
> It’s a cool lab demo that they’re presenting as a finished product.
Google couldn't be any more clear that it is a beta and they've never once said that the current price is what it will hit the market at (or if it will hit the market, for that matter). So that's just flat out wrong.
> It is ugly and clunky and ridiculously expensive for what it does.
Again, assuming it's a mass market product and not the experiment in wearable computing it is.
> In the meantime, to me, Google Glass is the new Tablet PC.
And there it is. Glass is Microsoft's failed foray into tablet computing. He's not even sure that this form factor will be popular, yet he compares it to a technology that took off in spite of an initially poor execution. He's convinced it will succeed, I guess, when someone other than Google does it. I wonder who he has in mind.
Re: Thoughts on Google Glass
#4Google could probably price the glass for just a few hundred dollars, but they don't. Why? Because Glass is not yet a polished consumer product with apps/features that create a compelling reason to wear them all the time. Google is releasing them intentionally to 'thought leaders' who will critique and come up with the ideas for features that will make Glass broadly compelling to consumers. By the time Glass is released as a mass market product it will already have app store loaded with apps. Seems like a simple strategy!
Re: Thoughts on Google Glass
#5It’s a cool lab demo that they’re presenting as a finished product.
They do? It seems to me that they've been looking for early adopters that can provide feedback. It'll be a finished product once it's available for order on Google Play.
Re: Thoughts on Google Glass
#6I disagree.
I own Glass. 99.9% of people who see me wearing them want to know more about them. They want to try them on and experience glass. And of course, I let them give Glass a whirl. They love it. Yes it's WAY too pricey but, it's still awesome. I don't find them that unattractive. I look at it like, "I'm at a sporting/concert event and I obviously want to take pictures, so I'm wearing this, which is more convenient." Once I explain that to people, they totally get why I'm wearing Glass.
Glass makes sense and it's a step in the right direction for wearable computing. At least for now.
My gripes:
It needs Bluetooth LE. I'm an iOS developer. I need Bluetooth LE to support notifications at least.
iOS is hamstrung until I can send iMessages. I don't see that changing.
Swiping through all the cards can be kind of a nuisance.
Battery life.
Google is a software company so, I imagine the more Apple opens up their notifications etc, the better Glass will get.
Re: Thoughts on Google Glass
#7I like gadgets and various electronics, but for some reason Glass just rubs me the wrong way.
I'm not sure if it's because of the 'creep factor' or what. I guess I'm just not ready for a society always recording everything. I can't even imagine what high school would be like. One embarrassing thing happens, and 30 people have it recorded, uploaded to the internet, and commenting on it in minutes. I guess that could already happen with phones, but at least right now not everything is being recorded at every minute by every person.
If Glass use does become widespread, I have a feeling many private companies, such as restaurants, and malls will ban its use indoors, which would make it a pain to use (especially if it's connected to your prescription glasses!).
Re: Thoughts on Google Glass
#8> It is ugly and clunky and ridiculously expensive for what it does. To me, that’s everything. Same thing with all existing smartwatches — the problem isn’t the idea, it’s the actual execution. There are no points for being first to market with a bad product.
This is just wrong. Google gains massive points in my book for putting something like Glass out there. They get points for showing the world a glimpse of what the future can be, and getting everyone else to think about it. The wearables revolution was started with Glass, and whether or not Glass ends up being the flagship product of the wearables market it doesn't matter. Google started it either way.
Re: Thoughts on Google Glass
#9It's confusing that people at Wired found Matt Honan's Glass weird. I also work at a news outlet (NPR), and I have a co-worker who wears Glass during the workday (not every day, but enough that I notice). I've never seen anything but polite interest.
I agree. I work at a small mobile dev shop. At least 10 people there own Glass. No one cares.
Re: Thoughts on Google Glass
#10I disagree. I own Glass. 99.9% of people who see me wearing them want to know more about them. They want to try them on and experience glass. And of course, I let them give Glass a whirl. They love it. Yes it's WAY too pricey but, it's still awesome. I don't find them that unattractive. I look at it like, "I'm at a sporting/concert event and I obviously want to take pictures, so I'm wearing this, which is more conven…
It needs Bluetooth LE. I'm an iOS developer. I need Bluetooth LE to support notifications at least.
Does Android even support BLE yet in a way that's accessible and standardized across hardware manufacturers? I was looking at doing some work with Bluetooth LE last year but was amazed at the lack of attention Google was putting into it. It seemed likely they were going to ignore it altogether for a while.