Aji ( our CEO) wearing Google Glass. Credit - Vivek Bhargava of Commmunicate2.
Google's got a mixed bag of news for the Glass enthusiasts. The good news is now anyone can buy Google Glass for $1500. And the bad news is - it's a one-day offering and is available only in the US. The news of the sale went viral when a report in The Verge on 10 April noted that the search giant “will open up its "Explorer Program" and make Glass available to anyone who wants to purchase a pair, possibly as soon as next week.” Google later announced the news on its dedicated Glass page.
This is the first-ever initiative by Google to bring its much-talked-about eyewear within public reach. The offer will be available on first-come first-serve basis. The one-day purchase will be rolled out on April 15th at 9am EDT. You can sign up with Google to set a reminder.
Going clear about the motives of the initiative, Google said ''Over the past several months, we’ve been trying out different ways to expand the Explorer program”, asserting the fact that this is merely an extension of its existing Explorer program and not a full-blown consumer release which is slated for later this year.
Speculations are flying as to what else might be behind the whole idea of sale. The Verge thinks that Google “simply wants to get the device in the hands of as many people as possible for testing and development purposes...Alternately, it could be Google's way of clearing out Explorer edition stock ahead of the full consumer launch”, while according to Forbes, ''Google has crowdfunded Glass and has shown big business how crowdfunding can be done. In essence it is a giant kickstarter campaign in all but name.”
Online Reactions on One Day Offering
The announcement recieved mixed response - for the Google glass enthusiasts in the US, the news meant they can now own the latest cutting edge piece of technology.
Some users weren't happy with the $1500 price tag, though.
There were other glass enthusiasts who justified the price tag.
Others got upset as the glasses would be available in the US only.
Attacked for Wearing Google Glass?
In Feb, Sarah Slocum, a tech writer who contributes at Newsdab, was physically and verbally attacked for wearing Google Glass. She was attacked by “Google glass haters” at Molotov's, a San Francisco bar. One of the assaulters even tried to snatch the connected headset off her face. The assault happened when she was showing someone how the glass worked.
The latest attack was on Kyle Russell, who works for Business Insider, on the streets of San Francisco. The 20-year old journalist was leaving for the day after covering the local Google protests and was on his way to the 16th Street BART train station when a woman snatched the device off his face. Russell and his friends chased the woman but she escaped, smashing the device on the ground.
Many see these attacks as sentiments against wealthy techies in San Francisco. What's your take on these attacks?
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