“Google Inc is getting into the eyewear business with a pair of thin wraparound shades that puts the company’s Web services in your face,” Alexei Oreskovic reports for Reuters.
“The experimental ‘augmented reality’ glasses – from the same team that is developing self-driven cars – can snap photos, initiate videochats and display directions at the sound of a user’s voice,” Oreskovic reports. “The prototype digital glasses, unveiled on the company’s Google+ social network on Wednesday, are still being tweaked and tested, and are not available in stores yet.”
Oreskovic reports, “The glasses could provide a way for Google to more closely entwine its advertising-supported online services, including Web searches, maps and email, into people’s daily lives. The glasses also could help Google match some of the buzz that rival Apple Inc has generated with its latest iPhone and the built-in Siri digital assistant, which takes spoken commands to do such tasks as schedule calendar appointments and get weather forecasts.”
Read more in the full article here.
The problem is this:
No one believes it will work this well if/when it is actually released to the public. Those who are familiar with Google’s business also know that the amount of data they’d be able to collect is all kinds of scary.
When Apple shows something off, they show the finished product. People have faith that what is shown is exactly what they’ll get. In a society highly skeptical of marketing, Apple is the only company I know of where this is true.
Hmm, seems like something is missing from that promotional video…
Oh that’s right! Endless creepy ads. This can only get better. Thanks, Google!
Exactly! Man, and some of us were here thinking Google couldn’t get more intrusive…
Videos of three interpretations of how Google Goggles will really work. All are annoying.
http://kottke.org/12/04/the-real-google-glasses
I was waiting for the glasses to comment on the egg sandwich.
“Sure you want to eat that? Myocardial Infarction probability just went up four percent.”
+10!!!
Real artists ship.
They don’t show prototypes, conceptualizations or mockups.
Exactly!
But this is how Google works: the company doesn’t have enough faith in their own vision, they need to seek out confirmation that it’s cool via the general public. Apple would develop this in secret and release it finished.
And this is lame compared to what Apple would do anyway. Notice how he had to tell the music to stop before initiating the video call? Apple’s been automatically fading away music when a voice call comes in since the original iPhone. That shows the kind of thought that goes into Apple products — Google wouldn’t have done that until version 9 or something.
Our lady of perpetual beta…
Actually, during the Sculley years, Apple used to produce “concept” videos just to get people thinking. Without Steve’s way of thinking, that was about as far as they could go – Steve basically came back and said, “If we can dream it, we can do it. Get to work.”
They did.
googlefied (adj.): (1) developed 60-70% of the way, yet thought of as complete; (2) left in perpetual beta, with neither support nor development resources spent on it; (3) something upon which incredible amounts of money are spent before it is, or was, cancelled.
In the real world, few people are going to wear special glasses like these on a regular basis while they do normal work. The glasses – voice interface and heads-up display – is an intriguing device, but most business and otherwise busy people won’t bother to wear/use this product in their everyday routine. It’s a gimmick, fringe product.
On the contrary, I enjoy looking like a freakshow. I still wear my headgear, even though my braces were removed 30 years ago.
Useless PR concept; it is decades away from being competitive against normal mobile devices.
Do we really need shit flashing in front of you all day long. Probably mostly advertising too. Get ready for a rash of idiots run down by stepping into traffic while distracted.
Gives new meaning to “google-eyed.” Cookie Monster will be suing for trademark infringement.
More candidates for the Darwin Awards
…ADVERTS BEAMED INTO MY EYES
Why would I want adverts beamed into my eyeballs, popups in my field of vision … and Google tracking everything I look at as well as where I go.
Yeah, after getting directions to the bathroom in the bookstore you’ll be served Charmin ads for the rest of your life.
I’ll wait for Apple to put a display on my contact lens with thought recognition.