Ecommerce

Google Glass – First Impressions

By Tinuiti Team

I had a chance to test drive the new Google Glass at a meetup that our friends over at MJD Interactive hosted last month. Kudos to MJD for hosting a demo day where San Diego based technology start-ups, digital agencies, and companies had a chance to showcase the cool technology they are experimenting with.

As far as Google Glass is concerned I honestly didn’t have have high expectations about the device going into it, namely because it was difficult for me to see how a device you wear on your face could be both comfortable and practical at the same time.

Well as they say, seeing is believing.

Google Glass
Relax, I’m not recording you. Yet.

I came away from my experience impressed with the potential of the device. Here are some of my main takeaways-

Weight – This was probably my biggest cause for concern about Glass. The only glasses that I wear with some regularity are sunglasses and they come off as soon as I’m inside. Glass honestly weighed less than some shades I own and was practically unnoticeable from a weight standpoint moments after putting them on.

Voice Commands – This is probably one of the most underutilized feature of the Android platform, but with Google Glass it’s the primary means of user input. How many times have you missed the chance to record something cool because your phone is buried in your pocket or bag. Being able to take a picture or record as soon as the thought crosses your mind is pretty amazing.

Maps and Navigation – Of the features I was able to demo this was probably the most impressive feature. Even though I was at meet-up and didn’t really need to go anywhere, the maps feature felt very natural positioned on the upper right side of my field of vision. I actually feel the Glass Display is less intrusive than fumbling with a phone or glancing at navigational system built into a dash.

Overall my brief encounter with Glass was pretty eye-opening and I’ve definitely gone from being pessimistic to being quite enthused about the future of the platform. That said, it’s unlikely I will plunk down $1,500 dollars to be a part of the Glass Explorer Beta program but if Google can come back with a Sub-500 price point for the consumer version of glass we might be tempted to take a look at picking up a pair or two for the office for research purposes.

 

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