This is fast becoming a trend, all this anti-Glass talk. Robert Scoble has taken to Google+ to voice his opinions about Glass, again damning the product to a fiery death. Pointing out his connections with investors and entrepreneurs, Scoble now wonders if Glass will be dropped by Google altogether. It sounds incendiary, but is he right?
We’ll first take issue with Scoble’s main point, which is that Google CEO Larry Page isn’t wearing Glass at TED this week. Page wasn’t there to discuss Glass, and really doesn’t wear the headset much anyway. Page was on stage to talk things like making our medical records more accessible to the right people, and NSA hacking. Wearing Glass would have invariable derailed the commentary toward the headgear, which isn’t the point.
Scoble also says various, unnamed entrepreneurs are informing him that Google is still battling internally about what Glass should be. A game and augmented reality device? Enterprise solution? According to his sources, Google still doesn’t know. Nearly one year into Glass, and it’s still not got a clear direction — according to Scoble.
This leads Scoble to think Google will simply drop support for Glass altogether. There is no store to speak of, and we’ve still not been told of a release timeframe for retail. Frustrating, but perhaps the internal bickering is why we’re not seeing much in the way of Glass making strong headway into retail.
Wading through the comments on the post, you’ll find Scoble telling us that many Googlers with Glass have also stopped wearing theirs, privately telling him they’re frustrated with the program. I had the same feedback at I/O last year from some Googlers; they were just frustrated with the way it was going down, and shelved it for a better day. The same can be said for many others.
Does this mean Glass is doomed, or that Google will drop it? What a PR nightmare that would be! Imagine a scenario where Google, who has championed this program from the jump, suddenly pulls an about-face and lets Glass wither on the vine. Sorry, Developers, we suddenly don’t care to back this, so on to the next thing. Sorry Pioneers and Explorers who shelled out six months of car payments for goofy headwear — we’re done, here. Glass team, go do something else… we hear Andy Rubin needs help in robotics.
Glass may not survive (as-is) in retail, but it’s also not going away. Google never gave a timeframe for anything Glass, and while it might be frustrating for those who have the headwear — like Scoble — to not see things like an app store, or experience and suffer the limited functionality of Glass, it doesn’t mean the project is dead. What it means is that Google doesn’t care what he or anyone else thinks, and will go their own pace. It’s also exactly what they all signed up for, all these Glass Explorers. Nobody promised them anything, and there was never a rollout schedule for anything Glass.
We want to know what you think, though. Are you still excited about Glass, or are you over it at this point? Does walking around with headwear appeal to you, or do you get all you need via a smartphone? Sound off in the comments section below.
When Google Glass morphs into eyeglass lens then the transition and the acceptance will be without concern or question.
The world may not appreciate people wandering around in public wearing Glass, but there are certainly professional applications and opportunities.
seems like the thing would be a whole lot less controversial if you just ditched the camera.
Hell i still want one
I think the glass is a small cog in a big machine.
For example:
You have your hub in the cloud, all your data is there.
Your phone is responsible for pushing the data, like a mobile CPU, and can also view it (like it does now).
Glass can be used for navigation, recording and talking (it now has a headphone jack, right?)
Smart watches will tell you your appointments, the time and will generally work as a notification center.
This all may also tie into your home (nest) and car (driverless car).
i’m still excited – perhaps more so now than 6 months ago.
The term GLASSHOLES is gaining momentum.
Get used to it I guess.