
Google Glass Explorer Open to US - 67726e
https://glass.google.com/getglass/shop/glass
======
Zikes
Tech Specs:

Display: High resolution display is the equivalent of a 25 inch high
definition screen from eight feet away.

Battery: One day of typical use. Some features, like video calls and video
recording, are more battery intensive.

I don't think Google's Marketing department realizes what "tech specs" really
means. When I talk about displays and batteries at _bare minimum_ I want
resolution and mAh.

~~~
libria
> When I talk about displays and batteries at bare minimum I want resolution
> and mAh.

If they had just put "570 mAh", someone would have posted "We have no clue
what that translates to in terms of daily usage!"

They had reasonable numbers where it made sense.

~~~
Zikes
I understand the need for translating it into something the average consumer
could parse, but that doesn't belong under the heading "tech specs". This is a
prototype device being marketed to the earliest of early adopters, and
_actual_ technical specifications are important to that crowd.

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jxf
I've been a Glass Explorer since July. If you're debating getting one but have
questions, feel free to ping me or reply here and I'll try to answer to the
best of my ability. I've also volunteered to do Hangouts if you'd rather do
face-to-face and I've chatted with some folks already. [0]

(I'm not a Google employee or otherwise affiliated.)

[0]:
[https://twitter.com/superninjarobot/status/45610115249786060...](https://twitter.com/superninjarobot/status/456101152497860608)

~~~
drzaiusapelord
What's the experience like? My understanding is that its not AR-like, but
instead you kind of look down a tiny pixelized screen.

What do you like about it? Is there a killer app yet? Do you think there will
ever be one? Would you prefer this built into more fashionable frames?

~~~
dag11
I'm also an explorer so I'll chip in.

> you kind of look down a tiny pixelized screen

It's tiny, but it's not pixelated. It's rather high-res for its size; you
can't see the pixels.

> killer app?

For me at least, the killer functionality comes in the form of wink-to-take-a-
picture. Especially when travelling, it's amazing to be able to take many
pictures from your POV instantly without even having to really do anything.
This leaves you with a huge amount of both significant and insignificant
pictures that together tell a story.

~~~
deveac
How has the voice recognition in public spaces suited you over time? Based off
my brief demo, it wasn't too great. I placed it at or just _barely_ below the
voice recognition on the Google Now & Siri app on my iPhone (neither of which
are too impressive atm).

~~~
dag11
I don't even try to use voice when it's windy outside; it'll hardly get it
right. I fault the hardware for that.

In terms of the commands, it's decent, could be better. I wish it had open-
ended commands like Siri/Google Voice Search instead of being restricted to a
list. Well, it sort-of does have open-ended commands by performing a "google"
search. For example, in the past I've been able to say "OK Glass... Google...
In five hour remind me to call Bill" and it would set a Google Now reminder.
That specific feature has appeared and disappeared over time, I think they're
still working on it.

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brodney
I think it is safe to assume, with I/O around the corner, they're selling off
the rest of v1 stock. I'm looking forward to v2 and a price drop in v1.

~~~
Nickoladze
Exactly what's holding me back. I'd love to try them out, but this is the same
thing that was sold to some people last spring. There's no way it won't be
replaced soon.

~~~
mbernstein
That's incorrect. They did a refresh late last year and offered to send
upgrades to everyone who had previously purchased it.

~~~
Nickoladze
[http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/5/5177584/google-glass-
swap-...](http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/5/5177584/google-glass-swap-free-
updated-version)

Seems you're right. It doesn't look like there was many changes so it just
flew under my radar.

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bane
So, what kind of software was developed during the original explorer program?
Outside of a head mounted camera, what other use-cases has Glass shown itself
useful for?

~~~
nswanberg
There is a pilot program to use it at Beth Israel hospital:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=beth+israel+google+glass](https://www.google.com/search?q=beth+israel+google+glass)

This sort of use, having a lot of context-specific information to do a job, is
the best category of use that I can think of. It seems to me that others who
need to move around, see specific information, and need their hands free, like
mechanics, would also benefit.

I haven't found it useful with any software to the point that I can justify
buying it as a practical device, but it has been a lot of fun to experiment
with. I wore it on a 100K run a month ago, and while I didn't have enough time
to write software to do what I originally wanted to do (put what I was looking
at on a website every minute or so, and enable friends to hassle me during the
run), it made taking pictures a lot easier.

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petepete
Open To All.

* US only.

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thefreeman
Does anyone else feel like they could have done a much better job integrating
the "glass" portion into the frames?

I understand wanting to be able to replace change the frames and lenses, which
is cool. And perhaps it needs to be able to be adjusted depending on the users
eye position.

But I still feel like it looks like an MVP, despite being worked on now for at
least a few years and with the massive resources of Google. It also doesn't
seem like the design of the outside portion of the device would necessarily
conflict with development of the internal api and software.

I can't help but feel like if Apple, for example, had put out this technology
it would look _a lot_ better, even if it took longer to get to market. And I
am not an Apple fanboy by any stretch of the imagination.

I also feel like they are underestimating the importance of the "look" of the
device. I get that it is targeted to techies, and that as people get used to
new technologies styles / opinions change. But I am pretty confident that if
these devices do succeed and become mainstream, the end result will not look
like a pair of glasses with a USB drive stuck on the side.

~~~
bripeace
It's possible they are keeping the form factor the same so it is obvious what
they are to outsiders. There has been some backlash against the things, which
would likely be higher if it was even more covert. I'm sure once these are
more mainstream they will become much more stylish and discrete.

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mark_l_watson
I think one of the more interesting things about the Glass product is the full
customer support that Google provides. Now, I admit to having just one data
point: a friend who is older and slightly handicapped, who found Glass to be
somewhat practical. She said the the support from Google was very good, to the
point where they would initiate communication.

Isn't this level of support something new for Google? It is true that
developer support via usenet (Google Groups), etc. is pretty good, but the
customer support for Glass seems like a new thing.

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Dorian-Marie
I love the "Purchase Glass" button that just redirects back to the same page.

~~~
SippinLean
Same here, on Chrome. Ironically it works just fine in Firefox.

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bhartzer
And you can choose from a few different frames, which is a good start.

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allsystemsgo
Will the KitKat update include BTLE support? I'm guessing no.

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caiob
Thank god it's only in the U.S.

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schandur
...just in time for tax day?

