The developers who signed up (and paid) for the Glass Explorers programme last year at Google I/O must be ecstatic today, as Google have sent out emails notifying those lucky ducks that the units have started rolling off the production line, and will begin shipping very soon. Not enough Glass(es?) have been manufactured yet to send them all out at once though, so they’ll be shipped in batches when they’re ready.
Google have also released the specs for the Glass units today, and there isn’t really anything surprising there:
- Display: 640×360 resolution display (which Google says is the equivalent of a 25″ high-definition screen from 8 feet away”;
- Camera: 5-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p video;
- Audio: Bone conduction transducer audio (a frightening way of saying that Glass won’t need headphones to let you hear it, it uses your skull to conduct the sound to your ears);
- Storage: 16 GB flash memory (12 GB usable space);
- Wireless connectivity: 802.11b/g Wi-Fi (no -n, I’m afraid) and Bluetooth;
- Battery: Apparently one full day of battery life with typical usage. Charges by microUSB;
Google says that Glass will be compatible with any bluetooth-enabled phone, but I strongly doubt that connecting it to a Nokia 6310 will get you anywhere. Users of Android phones will be able to send their phone’s SMS and GPS data to their Glass unit with a companion application, which has gone live on the Play Store today. Apparently you can download it in the US, even without actually having a Glass unit to test it on, but it’s blocked in the Play Store for us in Australia. Much like almost every Android application Google is putting out these days, it looks very much like Google Now.
Well friends, it seems that Glass is definitely happening now, and it’s only a matter of time before Google will make it available to Australia. I can’t wait to see what applications the developers can come up with, because even though I know, to the very fibre of my soul that I must have it, I cannot justify giving Google all of my money just yet.
