Google Glass is getting ever closer to a wider release. However, that’s just talking about the US. In Europe, things are very different and the continent might have to wait a long time indeed to get their hands on the futuristic tech. The Wall Street Journal is running a piece about a meeting Google held in Brussels concerning Glass. Meeting with officials and lawmakers, Googlers gave people the chance to try out Glass for themselves.
The meeting was somewhat off the record, so the WSJ can talk about the experience but they’re not allowed to quote directly. All-in-all, the event sounds like it was Google’s chance to persuade Brussels that Glass was not a threat and certainly not something designed to be used badly. The Google reps stressed that browsing through Facebook or Google+ posts on the device wasn’t as easy as it sounds and that the device is very much intended to keep people away from their smartphones and more involved with the world around them. A concept that still sounds pretty refreshing even now.
While attitudes and laws are something Google will have to be mindful of in Europe, voice recognition is perhaps the biggest hurdle they’ll need to conquer. While the thousands of explorers in the States have no problem chatting away to their Glass, non-US accents will struggle to be recognized. As a Brit, I can safely say that Google Now gets things wrong a few times. However, my broad, Northen accent probably doesn’t help. With numerous different languages across the continent, Google certainly have their work cut out for them before Europeans will be saying “OK, Glass”.
If we’re honest, this is hardly surprising as different languages can really hold back projects like this. It’s hard enough to launch a video game worldwide these days, just imagine a sophisticated computer trying to recognize different languages and different accents.
We’d like to hear from our European readers on this one, are you looking forward to Glass, is it worth the wait?