Google Glass Is Dead, Goodbye Glassholes! | TechTree.com

Google Glass Is Dead, Goodbye Glassholes!

After years of development, Google has finally pulled the plug on its Glass project.

 
Google Glass Is Dead, Goodbye Glassholes!

Eating its own words, the search-behemoth Google has pulled the plug on its Glass. The Explorer program, expected to provide vital feedback on the product has been halted too. A few years ago, Google had announced plans to roll out this gadget in more countries. Developed by the Google X lab, the glass was first publicly showcased in 2012. Following year, the product was made available for developers for $1500. In 2014, Google began selling it to the consumers in the US and UK.

Despite initial hype and excitement surrounding it, Google's wearable never really took off. There were several reasons for that. Google Glass displays information through a tiny screen placed near its hinge. So the user sees a real world with one eye while the other is fed information from Google. That's for me is the height of distraction. The gadget features a tiny camera capable shooting stills and videos. That's like a perfect privacy nightmare. Thankfully, sensible people banned Glass explorers (playfully referred as 'glassholes') in many pubs, hospitals, and banks. There are multiple incidents where 'glassholes' were kicked-out for invading other people's privacy. If that wasn't enough, operating Glass makes you look like an idiot. Users have to tap on the controller near their temple to select an object. And you can wink your right eye to take a picture.

Image courtesy: weknowmemes.com 

Then, there were other aspects such as the painfully slow product development, which disappointed early adopters. This can be partially attributed to key people including the product architect, Babak Parviz leaving Google. Due to the limited user base, developers also gave it a cold shoulder. Those who released apps, did not bother to roll out updates. All these things lead to the death of the Google Glass. And in a world where people waste their productive time on WhatsApp, I don’t think we need another addiction. Now I’m hoping that the smartwatches are next in line.


Tags : Google Glass, Google, augmented reality

 
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