Google expands sales of Internet-connected glasses

[Night_Hawk]

Google expands sales of Internet-connected glasses

(AP) / 29 October 2013

Google is relying on a little social networking to put its Internet-connected glasses on the heads of more people.

The expanded sales of the device known as Google Glass will come as part of an invitation-only program announced on Monday.

The roughly 10,000 Glass owners who began testing the device earlier this year will each be allowed to invite up to three people to buy the device. The early Glass users are primarily computer programmers and winners of an online contest conducted earlier this year.
The recipients of the invitations will have to pay $1,500 apiece for Glass, which works like a smart phone except that its worn on the head like a pair of spectacles. The device includes a speaker, a hand-free camera and a thumbnail-sized display screen attached to the frame above the right eye.
Google Inc. still plans to release a less-expensive model of Glass next year. The precise pricing and timing of the mass-market version still hasnt been determined.
Relying on the early users of a test product to gradually widen the audience is a familiar strategy for Google. The Mountain View, California, company did something similar in 2004 after it released Gmail, its free email service.
Glass already has generated concerns among critics who worry that its hidden camera could invade the privacy of people who dont realize that video or pictures are being taken of them. Others are concerned that Glass will thrust more technological distractions into society by making it even easier for people to be online at all times.
Google says it believes Glass will promote more meaningful interaction by giving people less reason to glance down at a smart phone screen every few minutes.
As part of Glass expansion, Google is giving the early testers the option to exchange their current device for an improved version. The updated model includes an ear bud for better acoustics and will work on prescription frames.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-arti...hnology/2013/October/technology_October40.xml

 

[Google.]

Google is watching you ;)

 

[m.saari]

Google Glasses

Google glasses has been changed from the hardware side to increase the mass production in the market. Google has posted this update on Google plus that now google will add optional mono ear bud which connects to the Glass micro USB port.

 

[lurker]

I am in Pakistan. I don't have $1500 USD to blow on this sort of tech. :(

 

[Night_Hawk]

[h=1]Driver cited for wearing Google Glass expects to fight ticket[/h] Published November 01, 2013Associated Press

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LOS ANGELES – An early adopter of Google's Internet-connected eyeglasses plans to fight a citation for wearing the device while driving in San Diego, saying the technology makes navigation easier than smartphones and GPS devices.
Driver Cecilia Abadie was pulled over for speeding Tuesday evening, when a California Highway Patrol officer noticed she was wearing Google Glass and tacked on a citation usually given to drivers who may be distracted by a video or TV screen.
A challenge to what may be a first-of-its-kind citation could force authorities to re-examine laws and consider how best to regulate evolving gadgetry that will one day become mainstream.
The lightweight eyeglasses, which are not yet widely available to the public, feature a hidden computer and a thumbnail-size transparent display screen above the right eye. Users can scan maps for directions -- as well as receive web search results, read email and engage in video chats -- without reaching for a phone.
About 10,000 have been distributed so far in the United States to "explorers" like Abadie, and this week Google announced another 30,000 would be available for $1,500 apiece. Abadie, a software developer, got what she describes as the life-changing technology in May.
In an interview Thursday, she said she was not using her Google Glass when she was pulled over for allegedly going about 80 mph in a 65 mph zone on the drive home to Temecula after visiting a friend.
"The Glass was on, but I wasn't actively using it" to conserve the battery, she said. The device becomes inactive if it's not asked to perform a task.
Abadie expressed surprise that wearing the glasses while driving would be illegal and said she's "pretty sure" she will fight the ticket. First, she said, she needs to seek legal counsel. In the flurry of online commentary her traffic stop has generated, several people saying they are attorneys offered their services.
"The law is not clear, the laws are very outdated," Abadie said, suggesting that navigating with the device could be less distracting than with a GPS unit or phone because drivers don't have to glance down.
"Maybe Glass is more a solution to the cellphone problem than a problem," she said.
It's unclear whether a citation for Google Glass has been issued before. The CHP said it is not sure whether an officer within its own ranks has written one, and an agency spokesman pointed out hundreds of law enforcement agencies in California alone can write traffic tickets.
What is clear, CHP Officer Marc Hale said, is that drivers should not use Google Glass.
"Anything that takes your attention away from the motoring public in front of you is a distraction," Hale said.
Though Google Glass users can continue looking ahead, by glancing at the screen they still divert attention from the roadway and that can make the headgear dangerous, according to David Strayer, director of the University of Utah's Center for the Prevention of Distracted Driving.
"Your eyes aren't looking where they need to look," said Strayer, who has tried Google Glass (though not behind the wheel). Like Abadie, he noted that the law lags far behind the technology.
Legislators in at least three states -- Delaware, New Jersey and West Virginia -- have introduced bills that would specifically ban driving with Google Glass.
A spokesman for Google did not reply to a request for comment. On its website, Google says this about using the headgear while driving: "Read up and follow the law. Above all, even when you're following the law, don't hurt yourself or others by failing to pay attention to the road."
http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/11...wearing-google-glass-expects-to-fight-ticket/