Tuesday will be your lucky day. Google is opening sales of Glass
for one day only to any adult in the United States who wants one of the
devices. In true sale fashion, Google is throwing in free frames or
sunglasses for those first-time customers and the supply is limited.
Sales start at 9 a.m. ET on April 15, but people can sign up now with Google to receive a reminder.
This is the first time
the device has been available to the general public. So far, the
face-mounted computers have been sold only to Google "Explorers," the
company's name for early adopters. At first only developers could buy
Glass, but Google slowly expanded the program to include regular people.
Some were hand-picked, others applied to be Explorers through Google
contests by sharing what cool projects they would do if they had Glass.
In the year since Google Glass was first shipped, it has been lauded as the future of computing,
criticized for hastening the death of privacy, and mocked for looking
silly. People wearing Glass have been banned from bars and restaurants,
given tickets for distracted driving, and dubbed "Glassholes." It's been a busy year.
Glass mounts on a pair of
compatible glasses and positions a small display above the wearer's
right eye. The wearer uses Glass to access the Internet and can simply
look up to see things like directions, notifications and content from
custom Glass apps on the screen. It is controlled by voice or using the
tiny touch pad on the side.
The device's most
controversial feature is a small camera that can record 720p video or
snap still photos. There's no indicator light showing when the camera is
on, though Glass wearers say the display lights up, so it's not a
secret.
Google and Explorers say that more education and exposure
is needed to dispel privacy fears and for the technology to be embraced
by the general public. This one-day sale could lead to a lot more
people donning the devices. We'll have to see if that helps or hurts the
Google Glass cause.
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