Google reportedly prepping heads-up display Android eyeglasses for 2012 launch

Posted:
in AAPL Investors edited January 2014


A new report claims Google is readying Android-based smart glasses with a heads-up display for release later this year.



The New York Times cited on Tuesday Google employees familiar with the project as saying that the glasses will cost "around the price of current smartphones," which report author Nick Bilton took to mean between $250-600.



Sources said the eyewear would include a small screen intended to sit just a few inches from the user's eyes. The device will reportedly sport a cellular data connection and a range of sensors including motion and GPS.



The report went on to note that a low-resolution built-in camera would provide an augmented reality view of the world by overlaying information. Privacy, however, is believed to be a concern for Google, as the company is looking to provide a way for others to know if they are being recorded by a user wearing the glasses.



Insiders indicated that the glasses would not be designed for constant use, though some power users would likely choose to wear them a lot.



The project is said to have arisen out of Google's futuristic X lab. The Times reported last year that the Mountain View, Calif., company operated a secret research facility for highly speculative projects. Google Latitude creator Steve Lee is rumored to be one of the major players in the smart glasses project, as well as company co-founder Sergey Brin. A report from the San Jose Mercury News last week claimed Google is outfitting a lab for a mysterious "Project X" that involves "precision optical technology."



The glasses are expected to tap into Google's software products, such as Latitude, Goggles and Maps, to create a unique experience. “You will be able to check in to locations with your friends through the glasses,” tipsters said.



Rather than implementing a new business model for the project, Google is said to be approaching the glasses as an open experiment. If consumers like the device, then the company would investigate money-making options.



A separate report from the Times late last year claimed Apple is also working on wearable devices. For instance, one prototype developed by the company is said to be a "curved-glass iPod that would wrap around the wrist." Users would control the device via voice command, similar to the Siri functionality on the iPhone 4S. However, only a very small number of employees are believed to be at work on wearable electronics projects at Apple.



Apple's iPod lineup has been "wearable" for years, as the company has designed its smaller iPods with clips used to attach the devices to clothing. The current generation of iPod nano also features several clock face options so that the device can be coupled with third-party wristband cases to serve as a watch.









[ View article on AppleInsider ]

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 97
    Spectacular. Now I can have ads thrown right into my eyes regardless of the direction I face!



    This is WAY too good to be true.
  • Reply 2 of 97
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Rather than implementing a new business model for the project, Google is said to be approaching the glasses as an open experiment. If consumers like the device, then the company would investigate money-making options.



    So, they don't really know if it is cool enough to spark consumer interests so they will just throw it out there. It seems they haven't copied everything about Apple. Well, maybe Apple TV, but I think Apple was wrongly certain Apple TV would be a huge hit when they first released it.



    Google glasses sound like something Steve Jobs would kick back to the lab. Another geek toy.
  • Reply 3 of 97
    Quote:

    Privacy, hover, is believed to be a concern for Google



    Stop it! You're killing me!



    Are you kidding? They'll probably turn us into spies for Google Streetview. Also, it'll track the location of the wearer.
  • Reply 4 of 97
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Icelus View Post


    So, they don't really know if it is cool enough to spark consumer interests so they will just throw it out there. It seems they haven't copied everything about Apple. Well, maybe Apple TV, but I think Apple was wrongly certain Apple TV would be a huge hit when they first released it.



    Google glasses sound like something Steve Jobs would kick back to the lab. Another geek toy.



    The point isn't to get something ground breaking or useful on the market, the point is to get some basic concept in the air so that when Apple shows them how to do it correctly they can just follow suit and then say that it was either obvious all along or that they started it first.
  • Reply 5 of 97
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Icelus View Post


    ?I think Apple was wrongly certain Apple TV would be a huge hit when they first released it?



    It has always been noting more than a hobby to Apple.
  • Reply 6 of 97
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    The point isn't to get something ground breaking or useful on the market, the point is to get some basic concept in the air so that when Apple shows them how to do it correctly they can just follow suit and then say that it was either obvious all along or that they started it first.



    Wow! Now that's a hefty lack of logic topped off with some serious fanboy trolling.



    Anyway... Nice to see companies exploring other avenues in the mobile market.
  • Reply 7 of 97
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    It has always been noting more than a hobby to Apple.



    Yes... It's been 'noted' several times that Apple TV is regarded by Apple as little more than a 'hobby', though part of that claim is likely driven by the marginal sales of the first iteration of the system.
  • Reply 8 of 97
    I'm waiting for Apple's iGlasses with Retina Display 2.0
  • Reply 9 of 97
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Icelus View Post


    I think Apple was wrongly certain Apple TV would be a huge hit when they first released it.



    The real reason Apple released the Apple TV when they did was not because they believed they had a blockbuster product on their hands, rather it was to make it harder for competitors to gain a critical mass. Releasing it when they did bought Apple time to get the business model worked out.
  • Reply 10 of 97
    [insult removed]
  • Reply 11 of 97
    Seriously, can we say distracted driving?



    I personally don't need to be bombarded right in the face.
  • Reply 12 of 97
    jd_in_sbjd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member
    When geeks run out of their Girl-B-Gone female repellent, they can now use Android glasses as backup.
  • Reply 13 of 97
    apple ][apple ][ Posts: 9,233member
    Most of us naturally already have built in, super hi-res resolution in our eyes.



    So, somebody is going to buy some expensive glasses to put on their head and view the world through a lo-res camera? And yes, I do admit that I am extremely suspicious as to what will be shown in that augmented reality world and what the purpose of it will be. Android? Google? Great, now I will be bombarded by ads to my left and ads to my right. Malware will never be further away than 2 fucking inches from my face.



    Aside from my initial reservations about this product, I will reserve final judgement until I actually see what this thing looks like and what it can do.
  • Reply 14 of 97
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by DaHarder View Post


    Yes... It's been 'noted' several times that Apple TV is regarded by Apple as little more than a 'hobby', though part of that claim is likely driven by the marginal sales of the first iteration of the system.



    So, Android tablets are Google's hobby?
  • Reply 15 of 97
    gtrgtr Posts: 3,231member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Most of us naturally already have built in, super hi-res resolution in our eyes.



    So, somebody is going to buy some expensive glasses to put on their head and view the world through a lo-res camera? And yes, I do admit that I am extremely suspicious as to what will be shown in that augmented reality world and what the purpose of it will be. Android? Google? Great, now I will be bombarded by ads to my left and ads to my right. Malware will never be further away than 2 fucking inches from my face.



    Aside from my initial reservations about this product, I will reserve final judgement until I actually see what this thing looks like and what it can do.



    Snow Crash inches towards reality...
  • Reply 16 of 97
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,226member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post


    Stop it! You're killing me!



    Are you kidding? They'll probably turn us into spies for Google Streetview.



    Are you kidding? Spies for Google in Apple's labs--which are so secret, they don't have a name. Of course the terms and conditions for use will absolve Google of any fault.
  • Reply 17 of 97
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by GTR View Post


    So, Android tablets are Google's hobby?



    Given that 'Google' does not even manufacture a tablet device... No!



    ... at you, not with you.
  • Reply 18 of 97
    Privacy is a fallacy btw. I love how the article is mostly about google glasses, and then there's like 20 pictures of nano clock faces...
  • Reply 19 of 97
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    A new report claims Google is readying Android-based smart glasses with a heads-up display for release later this year. ...



    Classic!



    This is the perfect illustration of where Google is today and why they are failing so badly.



    That they could sink all that money into such a moronic project that no one but an engineer or a hard core geek would even be interested in just boggles the mind.
  • Reply 20 of 97
    Some of you guys need to get your nerd on. Augmented reality is fraking awesome.



    Sure this is an enthusiast product now, but when they get to something like this these things are going to be everywhere.
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