Tony Fadell volunteered to rescue Google Glass

Google's decision to 'graduate' Glass from Google X in January was coupled with the announcement that the team would start reporting to Nest co-founder Tony Fadell. Glass was never a roaring success -- privacy concerns and the "Glasshole" label scuppered public adoption -- so some wondered whether the iPod designer had been saddled with the project. Apparently not so. In a BBC interview, Fadell has clarified that he actively asked for the role. "It wasn't handed to me and said, 'Tony, clean it up,'" he explained. "I offered and said, 'this is important.' I remember what it was like when we did the iPod and the iPhone. I think this can be that important, but it's going to take time to get it right."

We don't know, however, when Fadell approached Google's upper management to pitch his involvement. Had the company already decided to 'graduate' Glass before Fadell expressed an interest? If he hadn't stepped forward, would Google have carried on regardless? We may never know, but Fadell's support for the wearable could help Google to frame Glass' comeback if and when a second-gen model emerges.

[Image Credit: Kimberly White/Getty Images for Vanity Fair]