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Google is ending support for the Explorer Edition of Glass
Google is rolling out one more update for the Explorer Edition of Glass before cutting off support for its old wearable. The tech giant introduced Project Glass back in 2012, opening it up for preorders for $1,500 each. Despite people raising privacy concerns about its ability to record videos, the company quickly released an upgraded version of the device. It soon decided to change its approach and target businesses, though, releasing an Enterprise Edition of the device in 2017. The company will continue supporting the enterprise version, suggesting that it's doing better than its older sibling.
How would you change Google Glass (Explorer Edition)?
It's always tough asking for people's opinions on a device when so few instances of the hardware are available. Even a year after its release, getting hold of Google Glass (Explorer Edition) is a long and expensive process that few outside of the tech fraternity will bother with. Still, we're fairly sure that plenty of you have at least tried a pair on - the last time we were in the same city as Alexis Santos, he was stopped every five minutes by curious passers by. Now, when we forced Mr. Tim Stevens to review it, he said that Google Glass was a fascinating prototype, with plenty of potential, but unless you're the sort of person who would describe $1,500 as chump change, you should steer clear. The two-hour battery life wasn't ideal, and there were more than a few privacy concerns that, in hindsight, have been borne out. Personally, the most exciting feature for me was the navigation coupled with the bone-conducting headphone, and there's nothing greater than having directions beamed directly into your cranium. Still. The question here is simple: if you had a meeting scheduled with Sergey Brin, what would you tell him (on our product forum) to change for version two?
Google expands Glass sales but still wants a one-to-one chat with every buyer
Gone are the days when you needed to visit a Google office in person to pick up a pair of Explorer Edition spectacles. Following the recent expansion of the wearable project, which allowed existing owners to invite up to three friends or relatives to take that $1,500 step into the future, it's been possible for new customers to have their glasses shipped to them, just like any commercial product. What hasn't changed, however, is Google's desire to influence these users' first impressions of the device by giving them a highly personalized introduction. Soon after Phil Nickinson of Android Central received his invite-only Google Glass, he got a phone call asking him to join a personal 45-minute Hangout to take him through the "entire setup process" and tell him "about the history of Glass along the way." These calls are a sensible move on Google's part, no doubt, and likely very helpful to new owners, but they also suggest that Glass may still be a little too complicated to ship with nothing but a Getting Started PDF and a legal disclaimer.
Google Glass Explorer Edition arrives at the FCC
Folks, the rather dour line drawing that you can see in the image above is the very first glimpse of Google's wearable computing project as it swings through the FCC's underground facility. The Google Glass Explorer Edition hardware, promised to arrive this year, is carrying a Broadcom 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g WiFi radio that's been paired with a Bluetooth 4.0 + LE module. We've seen a reference to an "integral vibrating element that provides audio to the user via contact with the user's head," which we presume relates to the bone conduction patent we saw earlier this month. The filing also reveals that the testing laboratory involved used the conduction technology to view video with audio. As the commission is now making the paperwork public, it can only mean that it's judged the unit, with the product code "XEB," to be safe for human consumption -- which means customers 782 and 788 might be expecting something special in the mail very shortly.
Google I/O keynote roundup: Project Glass, Nexus 7, Nexus Q and Jelly Bean
Did you keep up with everything Google announced at today's I/O keynote? Believe us, we had a difficult time too. Covering everything from Jelly Bean to jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, there was plenty to keep the audience oohing and ahhing. It makes sense to have this plethora of news in one handy place, right? After the break you'll find every piece of action that Sergey and Friends covered in Moscone West this morning -- as well as the video of the keynote -- so make sure to save a little extra time for yourself to enjoy every last bit of it.
