What is Google Glass?

What is Google Glass?

Something we’ve heard for a few days now, since the announcement of the big single day release of Google Glass to the public, “What is Google Glass, and why in the world would I want or need it?” Short answer, you don’t need it. But you are going to want it, you just don’t know it yet.

We start off saying you don’t need it, because honestly, it’s a new fancy way to use the thing that’s in your pocket or purse, or probably even in your hand while reading this. If you have a smart phone, you can do everything Google Glass does already. Glass just makes it all readily available in a smart little compact screen that’s right there by your right eye all the time. It works off of gestures made by your right index finger, or by motions of the head and voice commands. It uses the phrase “ok, glass.” the same way you’d use the home button on your iPhone or Android phone; to prepare Glass to do whatever you can imagine…as long as there’s as app for that.

The reason you want Google Glass is simple. Who hasn’t wanted to take a note and thought, well who keeps a note pad anymore? Have you ever wanted to capture a song you heard and wanted to know who the artist was so you could download it later? Ever thought that song would be the perfect soundtrack to your life right now and wanted to listen to it right away? How about pull up a recipe from the internet while already in the kitchen ready to cook? Heck, write down that recipe of what you just cooked, because what you just made should be in a book, but you know by tomorrow you won’t remember what you put in it or how much. Have you ever seen something written in another language and wished you could translate it? Or wished you knew what that thing is on the menu of your favorite restaurant, but were always afraid to ask out loud? Ever been to a new town and had to use your GPS but didn’t want to get so glued to your phone screen that you couldn’t see where you were going? Or missed your turn because you just weren’t paying enough attention to the phone or GPS? Wished you could have taken a picture of that perfect moment, but your phone was in your pocket, or you needed both hands, or you just couldn’t get it unlocked in time? Well, if you thought to yourself, yeah… that’s something I’d love to do or even be able to do, then yeah you want Google Glass.

So… now that you want Google Glass, how might you go about getting it? Well Google Glass has actually been available through Google’s Explorer Program since 2012, but only to those Google deemed to be proper “explorers” could get their hands on them. Google Explorers were mostly developers or people of influence that Google felt could truly test and broadcast publicly the awesomeness of possibilities available with this new technology. That program changed with the announcement of the April 15th, 2014 sale date, for on that day only, Google chose to open sales for a limited time to the general public. At a hefty cost of $1,500.00, you too could become one of Google’s next explorers. This comes with the Google Glass hardware, which can be worn on it’s own, and an optional accessory sunglasses or prescription ready frame to which they attach. If you weren’t already at your keyboard at 9 a.m. ET ready to order your Google Glass, you’d already missed out. But don’t worry, the point of this release was to test the demand of the general public for something they aren’t really sure how to market to a wide audience yet. Glass is still in a form of beta testing, working out the bugs, and seeing what ordinary, non-developers are planning on doing with the device.

Google has already struck deals with big companies like Oakley and Ray-Ban to bring Glass into the larger market. That means that other companies will soon be buying in to the fact that Google Glass is the next step in wearable tech, and it will only get more fashionable and affordable as it becomes more common place. Most of those considering Glass have already tried out some form of wrist tech, whether it be a Pebble watch or a Fitbit armband, or even a Garmin or Nike Sport watch. It’s only natural to want to do more with the technology we surround ourselves with to make our lives easier, and ultimately become the cool kid on the block with the new toys. So don’t worry, Google Glass is coming, it’s just going through the steps to become an even better, more seamlessly integral part of your daily life. To get more information, or to sign up for news of the next release, go to https://www.google.com/glass/start .