Google Glass Explorer Edition, as they are called and were announced at Google I/O today, are already available for pre-order at a cost of $1,500 only for US-based developers actually at the event. While details have been a bit scarce, many wondering if the augmented reality glasses were actually legit in the first place, more details have emerged from the woodwork.
The guys over at Engadget spoke with various Google employees and were able to confirm some information that had been floating around. Regarding how the glasses will connect to the Internet, a very crucial part of the overall technology, 3G or 4G capability could end up in the finished product, or they will rely off of Wifi and public Wifi networks to latch onto, or of course being able to connect to the Internet via your phone.
Prototypes currently shown don’t have WWAN connectivity of any sort. Controlling the Google Glasses will work by both voice commands as well as a touch sensitive pad on the right hand side that can respond to gestures. You think talking into a bluetooth headset made people look weird, just wait until they have these suckers on. It’s also possible that the glasses could be controlled by your phone, but the whole goal is to be able to control using the methods just mentioned.
They also have a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope which will enable users to tell it what to do through shaking or nodding their head for example. The internal battery sits right behind the person’s right ear. As far as battery life, that hasn’t yet been mentioned. You’ll be able to record video straight to the glasses themselves, though the main idea is to be able to stream things live which could get quite interesting and definitely a tie-in there with Google+ and Hangouts On Air.
With Google Glass Explorer Edition shipping out early next year to developers, it’s a ways away from being available to consumers, though with the progress that’s being made thus far, it wouldn’t be jumping ahead to say that a finished consumer product could be out in 2014.