Google glasses may be available this year
He told of the inspiration behind Google Glass eyewear during an appearance at a TED conference in Long Beach, California, known for an inspiring mix of influential big thinkers and “ideas worth spreading”.
He playfully demonstrated his point by ignoring a theatre audience to stare down at his smartphone, saying he was intent on a message from a Nigerian prince in need of $10m (€7.65m).
“I like to pay attention because that is how we originally funded the company,” Brin quipped about a well-known scam.
“Seriously, in addition to potentially socially isolating yourself when you are out and about using your phone, I feel it is kind of emasculating,” he said.
Brin described Glass as the first form factor to deliver on a vision he had from Google’s inception that one day search queries would be outmoded and information from the internet would come to people when they need it.
Glass frees the eyes as well as the hands when it comes to connecting to the internet on the go, said Brin.
“That is why we put the display up high, out of the line of sight,” Brin said, wearing the Glass eyewear he is rarely seen without.
“If I wore a ball cap, the display would be on the brim and not where you are looking,” he continued. “And sound goes through bones in the cranium, which is a little freaky at first, but you get used to it.”
Glass wearers can speak commands to the eyewear, and built-in camera technology allows pictures or video to be captured from first- person perspectives while people take part in what is happening.
“Lastly, I realised I also have a nervous tic,” Brin said. “The cell phone is a nervous habit. If I smoked, I’d probably smoke instead.”
He observed that smartphones sometimes become props used by people as distractions or to appear busy, saying Glass strips away excuses not to be sociable or to not be honest about simply wanting to take a break.
“It really opened my eyes to how much of my life I spent secluded away in email, social posts or what- not,” Brin said. “There is nothing bad about that, but with this thing I don’t have to be checking them all the time.”
Brin said Glass eyewear will be available later this year at prices lower than the $1,500 charged to software developers and early adopters during a restricted test phase.
He was speaking on the last day for “explorers” with creative vision and $1,500 to spare to vie to be part of a select group who get to experiment with Glass.
Google has been speaking with eyeglass frame firms about ideas for a consumer version of the glasses, which he expected would cost “significantly” less than the Explorer prototypes.
US adults interested in the program had to say what they would do if they had Glass eyewear and then post the messages at Twitter or Google+ social networks with hashtag #ifihadglass.
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- Apple boss Tim Cook promised “great stuff” on the way as he sought to reassure shareholders worried about the company’s sagging stock price.
“The company is working as hard as ever, and we have some great stuff coming,” the chief executive told shareholders before taking questions during the technology giant’s annual meeting at its Cupertino, California, headquarters.
True to Apple’s secretive nature, Cook did not provide any further product details, although at one point he said the company was considering entering other categories besides its popular line of digital music players, smartphones and tablet computers.
There has been speculation that Apple is working on an internet-connected swatch or TV that will be introduced later this year.
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