Google will sell Google Glass to a lucky few who can convince Google that they will use the device in interesting ways. According to the Google Glass webpage on Feb.20, the Google Glass device is a large eye shield. Voice commands are used to call up visual information, communicate, take pictures and do much more on a hands free basis.
The latest Google Glass campaign works through Twitter and Google Plus. Real users, not techies, can apply for early ownership at either social network with the hashtag, #ifihadglass.
Applicants must go through Google Plus or Twitter, include the hashtag and use 50 words or less to tell Google how they will use the device.
Now for the bad news. The lucky ones who are accepted will have to pay the $1500 retail price before they can start their hands-on experience.
According to a Feb. 20 Techcrunch article, the actual device has a user interface that is much more subdued than previously shown. The visual information is more translucent, easing fears that vision would be completely blocked by the visual results.The information page will be fixed in the upper right of the field of vision. In earlier demonstrations, the information danced around the field of vision.
Of course Google Glass is not going to be widely available for a while. The paying beta testers will help to work out any existing bugs before Google Glass is ready for prime time distribution. Meanwhile, developers will face a whole new world of applications development to make Glass functional on its own terms, not as a copy of a handheld device screen.
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