Google Glass Explorer experience

Since the beginning of this year Shareforce owns a Google Glass. As one of the first developers in the Netherlands we have been accepted into the Glass Explorer program and we have immediately seized that opportunity to start developing apps for Glass.

Google Glass is not for sale in the Netherlands yet. Google only sells the device to people who pay $1.500 and have a US address and US credit card. Despite these limitations several creative Dutch Glass Explorers have been able to order one. After several attempts and a lot of hassle we were successful too.

In this blogpost i will describe my firsthand experiences with this new device. And all the positive and negative observations that come with Google Glass.

POSITIVE

• innovative: Google Glass offers a complete new user experience that is impossible to compare to anything else. The possibilities for this smart device will become more clear over the next couple of months. 
• curiosity: a lot of people want to try Google Glass. Nearly everybody is positive about their first impression. Glass feels good, despite the fact that we have to learn how to use it.
• configuration: connecting to the internet by wifi or bluetooth on a smartphone is very easy. Adding new apps on the device is just a matter of a couple of clicks on a button.
• screen: the transparent screen is bright and very clear.
• weight: despite the fact that Google Glass is full of new technology, Google was successful in keeping the weight as low as possible. I even used Glass on my weekly runs and found it a nice experience.

NEUTRAL

• voice control: Glass can be controlled by voice. For the time begin only English is supported and it not always works flawless. But in most cases simple commands work ok.
• timeline: every bit of information on Glass is presented in a card timeline. This is a very good overall concept, but when you get into the deeper layers of the interface, sometimes you will get lost.

NEGATIVE

• battery life: the battery is not powerful enough. When you use Glass continuously the battery is empty within 1-2 hours. More than once we also saw a warning that ‘Glass needs to cool down’ and it therefore does not work optimal. 
• apps: only about 20 apps have been made available officially for Glass by Google. You can ‘side load’ apps because Glass is an Android device, but for a successful broader introduction into the market much more useful apps are needed.

It is expected that Google Glass will be available for all consumers in 2014. At what price and date it will be available for the Dutch market is still unclear at this moment. It is my personal believe that it will not be available earlier than the end of this year and at a price range between €500 and €1.000.

I do believe in the future of wearables like Google Glass. It is still an early stage device, but innovative companies better not wait too long in learning about all its opportunities. Do you have plans for Google Glass apps? Shareforce would love to brainstorm with you about Glass app development. Want to try and experience Glass yourself? Visit our Google Glass demo afternoon on March 14.