What began as a science fiction concept has long since become a reality as Google Glass has moved from the early editions to the current incarnation of the a nifty device.
Basically Google Glass feeds information directly to your line of sight enabling you to perform whatever tasks you need and have information hands-free. A computer that doesn’t require your hands, but rather your eyes and voice. There are a number of features that the glasses perform pretty well. You will find some of if not everything quite useful.
Features
Glass is feature-rich with hands-free web surfing, voice recognition and an automatic camera that makes taking pictures a snap. You kind of feel like Cyclops when you touch them at the temples to take a photo. Hold on to the button and you record a video. Speak a few commands and you can email the material to anyone. One of the cooler features is that you can share a live-feed in real-time.
One thing about these glasses is that while the are a very cool utility, they are a little disconcerting to some if not a lot of folks. My best guess is no one really knows what you’ve got going on there. They are quite distracting and draw attention even in tech-savvy circles. From all accounts however, it seems as if the future is indeed now, and more and more people will brave the stares and awkwardness for the unmistakeable usefulness.
The Experience
No matter the huge divide between normal people and those selected to wear these specs, Glass is simply an experience all it’s own. You can’t wear them everywhere, but you notice that you are just capable of more. The display which is very tiny, still gives you something that is not to be had anywhere else. Third-party app support for this device is still in it’s infancy, and basically it’s just too much of a distraction in most cases. Anything more than news alerts are not welcome to the line of vision of most people.
However the native Google apps are pretty good. You can shoot off emails very quickly and navigation is done first-class. You know how with your smartphone Google knows where you are and what you are doing and makes all kinds of suggestions and whatnot? Well, Glass puts this information right there in front of you, searches, information relevant to what you are doing, appointments and so forth.
Of course the real innovation is to come and after a while these smart glasses feels a bit limited. You are kind of aware that more is possible, but the third-party app support is just not there yet. There are apps for cooking and cycling and translations tools as well. While it’s in a good place, the future looks even better.
In Summary
Glass features Wi-Fi but it needs to be tethered to a smartphone when you don’t have a wlan in the area. Connecting it to iOS is not as smooth as when it’s connected to an Android device. One thing you notice however is how much we are dependent on our smartphones. Google Glass frees us from constantly checking and button-pushing and doing stuff, and you see how much phones really hold us back somehow. On the one hand the way that phones distract us because we are LOOKING at them. Of course Glass will eventually do all the things phones do (and more) and we will be able to at least face each other. Still will it just be another kind of distraction?
In summary, wearable tech is not for everyone today. Google will improve the experience by integrating better information based on your search history and other data. Third-party developers will come up with some breathtaking ways to augment your reality. Good but not great. Yet.
