If, like us, you’re excited about the prospect of Google Glass going on general sale, you’ll also be eagerly awaiting news from Google I/O next month, where there has been a chance we’ll hear about the high tech specs public release. Sadly, we may have to keep our expectations in check, as according to Google’s Eric Schmidt, Glass is still about a year away from being released, meaning the I/O keynote may come a little too early for any announcement to be made.
Schmidt revealed the news during a radio interview with the BBC, where he spoke on a variety of subjects including the firm’s tax policy in the UK, a controversial talking point at the moment. Glass was mentioned briefly, with host Martha Kearney asking how the technology would work. Schmidt explained and talked about the Explorer Edition being sent out to developers, and responded to the question of how long before we would see it on the market by saying, “It’s probably a year-ish away.”
Although the Explorer Edition has gained masses of attention, we’re in danger of forgetting it’s a test product, and user’s reports will be used to modify and enhance the next versions. All this takes time, and we really don’t know how many subsequent Explorer Editions will be made before we get to a final, retail-ready pair. Before now, Google has said Glass would be on sale by the end of this year.
Eric Schmidt is Google’s executive chairman, and therefore he should be sufficiently informed about the company’s plans to offer an opinion on Glass’ prospective launch. However, he’s not directly involved with the project, and his vague timeframe could be a bluff so as not to reveal anything ahead of Google I/O or another event.
Glass is now reaching the hands – or should that be faces – of those who pre-ordered a pair last year. Well-known tech commenter Robert Scoble is one of the developers already trying out glass, and has tweeted that, “Everyone who tries them on is amazed,” and bets Google will have the price for Glass down to $200 by 2016, at which point it’ll sell, “millions.” With people clamoring to buy them for seven times this figure, we don’t doubt he’s right.
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