In April 2012, Google released a “teaser trailer” for their upcoming project, known as Google Glass. The two and a half minute video featured a hip New Yorker going about his day, aided by his Google Glasses, which allowed him to check the weather, get directions, send and receive text messages, and search the web, all without ever having to take out his phone or use a computer.

The video has since received over sixteen million views on YouTube, and has been heralded as the next step towards “augmented reality,” where digital components are overlaid onto actions taking place in real time. The glasses themselves work like a miniature smartphone: data storage and processing equipment are stored in the frame, and a small screen is placed above the user’s eye, which creates a view where icons and alerts are superimposed on whatever the user is looking at. While Google Glass could be tremendously useful in supplying information, it also opens the chance for advertisers to flash targeted content right in user’s faces. The glasses are also equipped with a camera, which allows the user to take hands-free video.

Google Glass has received even more attention in the past week since Google announced that their Google Glass prototype will be available for the steep price of $1500 to a select group of consumers beginning in 2013. Unlike Apple, which hosts big debuts for its products when each new generation of iPhone, iPod, or iPad is ready to be put on the market, there is no set general release date for Google Glass yet, though it is projected to be available to the general public sometime in 2014.

The impending arrival of Google Glass has been met with mixed reactions. Tech geeks are overjoyed at the prospect of unlimited contact with their devices, and others see the devices as a more natural, less intrusive way to check their devices, since the users are still looking out to the world and not into their screens. Google Glass has been praised as a more intuitive way to interact with technology. For example, map displays are overlaid onto extant streets and information about landmarks and monuments can be displayed in front of their physical counterparts.

It is yet to be seen whether Google Glass will bring about the dawn of a new age of wearable computers, or whether it will be just another technologic fad. While Apple has long held the title of savviest and most market-aware gadget maker, Google’s foray into wearable electronics is a slight against the tech giant. Apple recently announced that it has acquired a patent for a similar glasses-like product, but seems to be far behind Google in terms of research and development.

Whether or not Google Glass actually takes off among consumers, our modern reliance on technology presses products towards ever-tighter integration with our everyday lives. People are already inseparable from their smart phones, and philosophers and scientists believe that a day will come when humans are outfitted with computer implants. The creation and marketing of Google Glass makes sense in today’s world, where people are reliant on technology and are always on the lookout for the next “big thing.”

Sources:
Bilton, Nick. Disruptions: Next Step for Technology Is Becoming the Background. New York Times Bits. 1 July 2012.< http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/google%E2%80%99s-project-glass-lets-technology-slip-into-the-background/>

Marshall, Gary. Project Glass: what you need to know. TechRadar.Av. 2 July 2012. <http://www.techradar.com/news/video/project-glass-what-you-need-to-know-1078114>

Manjoo, Farhad. You Will Want Google Glasses. Technology Review. July/August 2012. <http://www.technologyreview.com/review/428212/you-will-want-google-goggles/>