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My two-week review of Google Glass: it all depends on the price

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Re: My two-week review of Google Glass: it all depends on the price

#31

Post by drivebyacct2 »

buro9 wrote: post #12
hkmurakami wrote: post #3

The success of this totally depends on price. Each audience I asked at the end of my presentations "who would buy this?" As the price got down to $200 literally every hand went up. At $500 a few hands went up. This was consistent, whether talking with students, or more mainstream, older audiences. $500 standalone and $200 with some kind of carrier contract? (or is glass meant to be an accessory to a phone? maybe the…

It's an accessory to a phone. It uses bluetooth primarily, but additionally can use WiFi for network communication. It does not have 3g/4g nor require a SIM or contract. Think of it is a bluetooth headset that happens to have a camera and display, and additionally WiFi (for helping to upload those larger files).

Uhm, is it? The screenshots I've seen are full screen Android and 16GB storage? Or do they still ultimately rely on... a BT connection?

Re: My two-week review of Google Glass: it all depends on the price

#32

Post by saulrh »

threeseed wrote: post #27
onedev wrote: post #10

Some observations: From what he wrote it seems to me like he only gauged the reactions of technically-oriented people. Of course tech people are going to be pretty excited about this, more-so than the average Joe. He also seems to feel very very strongly about this. I don't think many people feel the same strength of opinion towards Glass. He's right about the price. If they could cut it down to subsidized-smartphone…

I don't think it'll be too different from pulling out your phone from a politeness standpoint. This is the point a lot of Glass proponents don't seem to get. They assume that not paying attention to you whilst looking at your face is somehow more polite than looking at your phone. It's not. I suspect that over time Glass will become like Bluetooth earpieces. Perfect for use alone but a faux pas around other people.

A couple of differences.

First, vision is much higher bandwidth. You can glance at a notification and immediately know that you have a message, who sent the message, and how you received it. Takes half a second. Bluetooth earpieces are only suitable for sustained conversation. They are social faux pas because you are having a sustained conversation with someone else. This is not the case with HMDs - someone using a tool like Glass is actually more focused on their task and less distracted overall because they spend less time switching contexts. Citation: http://dmrussell.net/CHI2010/docs/p1695.pdf

Second, glancing at an HMD is fundamentally different from pulling out a cell phone because you're not looking away from the other person. It is difficult to emphasize how important this is to people who have not done work in this field. It is looking away that breaks conversations, not doing something else. Conversation continues to work as long as the other person thinks you're looking at them. And having an HMD on is close enough that people don't react to you jumping away into glass-land to look something up or jot down a note. This one doesn't have a citation, but I have spent several years taking classes from the guy who now runs the Google Glass project, and I can tell you this from direct experience.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: please, please try these things before you dismiss them. Social interaction is sufficiently complicated that experimentation is the only way to predict how people will react to something. And the experiments show that Glass works.

Re: My two-week review of Google Glass: it all depends on the price

#33

Post by enginous »

PanMan wrote: post #24

Isn't it clear that, as with any electronics product, price will go down over time? So even if they launch at $500, in a few years there will be a version for $200. So the question might be more how strongly they want to boost adoption at launch. And this could be a product that actually needs a slower adoption, to get people used to it.

Yes, and even if they had resources and interest to distribute it rapidly, I'd venture to guess that $200 would be underpricing it.

People might say they're prepared to pay less for it now than when it's reached some adoption and they start feeling the social pressure of "everybody has it; I must get one." For now it's probably more of a futuristic toy to them.

Re: My two-week review of Google Glass: it all depends on the price

#34

Post by davidw »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #30
davidw wrote: post #16

Hrm. I find that wearing things that aren't strictly necessary irritates me. I don't even like watches, let alone some thing attached to my face. When I raced bikes, I ended up dumping the annoying heart rate monitor too as I did not like having this thing strapped to me. Phones work pretty well as they're just along for the ride, like a wallet or keys, and don't constrain me.

I wear glasses and despise contacts. I guess I could get laser surgery, but I'm used enough to glasses that I would never bother with the cost or risk. I don't see how this is very different from wearing glasses.

For someone who wears glasses, it isn't, as far as I can tell. I don't, though.

Re: My two-week review of Google Glass: it all depends on the price

#36

Post by threeseed »

saulrh wrote: post #32
threeseed wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it'll be too different from pulling out your phone from a politeness standpoint. This is the point a lot of Glass proponents don't seem to get. They assume that not paying attention to you whilst looking at your face is somehow more polite than looking at your phone. It's not. I suspect that over time Glass will become like Bluetooth earpieces. Perfect for use alone but a faux pas around other people.

A couple of differences. First, vision is much higher bandwidth. You can glance at a notification and immediately know that you have a message, who sent the message, and how you received it. Takes half a second. Bluetooth earpieces are only suitable for sustained conversation. They are social faux pas because you are having a sustained conversation with someone else. This is not the case with HMDs - someone using a t…

   It is looking away that breaks conversations, not doing something else.
You ARE looking away. And depending on how many messages you receive it could be just as irritating to the person(s) you're with as constantly checking your phone. Least of all the constant doubt about whether your conversation is being recorded or not.

I am not disputing their unquestionable usefulness I just have doubts they will be acceptable in most social situations.

Re: My two-week review of Google Glass: it all depends on the price

#37

Post by colept »

I wonder what will happen when Google Glass goes consumer for Explorer upgrades. When Google released the Nexus One, I hopped on board and was satisfied until I went through two recovery requests on the power button. Google Glass is quite a chunk of change. I understand the value in their utility and scarcity, but come time when Google releases the Glasses at a consumer prices, I hope not to be disappointed by the same feeling of getting left behind.

Does anybody know if and what upgrade options will be available for Google Explorers when they release the consumer version?

Re: My two-week review of Google Glass: it all depends on the price

#38

Post by peeplaja »

magic_haze wrote: post #4

Interesting he feels so strongly about that... but then again, he always kinda does. Not sure what to make of it. I used to follow Scoble's blog back when he was evangelizing for Microsoft, but he's abandoned his mediums so often and so vociferously that I sort of lost track. Is Google Plus his latest platform now? Personally, I'm consciously trying _not_ to get stuck with a single company's ecosystem, so a lot of th…

He used to evangelize Microsoft because he worked for them. Now he's paid by Rackspace - so his enthusiasm is not bought here.

Re: My two-week review of Google Glass: it all depends on the price

#40

Post by eloisant »

colept wrote: post #37

I wonder what will happen when Google Glass goes consumer for Explorer upgrades. When Google released the Nexus One, I hopped on board and was satisfied until I went through two recovery requests on the power button. Google Glass is quite a chunk of change. I understand the value in their utility and scarcity, but come time when Google releases the Glasses at a consumer prices, I hope not to be disappointed by the sa…

I guess they'll have the opportunity to buy the consumer version like everyone else. What's wrong?
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