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Google's glasses: Who's the idiot that would buy these?

By | February 22, 2012, 8:04am PST

Summary: The composite sketch of a Google glasses consumer isn’t pretty.

Google is reportedly cooking up glasses that will be based on Android and feed information and data to your eyes in real time.

The New York Times’ Nick Bilton writes:

According to several Google employees familiar with the project who asked not to be named, the glasses will go on sale to the public by the end of the year. These people said they are expected “to cost around the price of current smartphones,” or $250 to $600.

Bilton has a bunch of other details, but let’s cut to the chase. These goggles are going to go over just like Google TV did. I can’t help but think of the composite sketch of the person who would buy these things.

That composite sketch is a total dork.

  • Do you really need GPS in your glasses? No.
  • Do you really need a data connection in your eyes? Nope.
  • Are you really going to pay more than $100 for what essentially is a gag gift for nerds? No.
  • Do you want Google ads in your glasses (you know they’re coming)?
  • Do you want data—not to mention tracking—following you around everywhere? Probably not.

In the end, it’s hard to see how these Google glasses contribute much of anything. Even worse Google glasses threaten to take the life out of what should be a mindful walk in the park. Skip the goggles. Enjoy the walk.

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Topics

Google Inc., Glass, Bilton, GPS, Handhelds, Smart Phones, TVs, Cellular Phones, Tv & Home Theater, Advertising & Promotion, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Hardware, Home Entertainment, Marketing, Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

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Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan has nothing to disclose. He doesn’t hold investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic. He was most recently Executive Editor of News and Blogs at ZDNet. Prior to that he was executive news editor at eWeek and news editor at Baseline. He also served as the East Coast news editor and finance editor at CNET News.com. Larry has covered the technology and financial services industry since 1995, publishing articles in WallStreetWeek.com, Inter@ctive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning magazine. He's a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and the University of Delaware.

For daily updates, follow Larry on Twitter.

51
Comments
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Top Rated

You will too.
DarCK 22nd Feb
Do you really need GPS in your phone?
Do you really need a constant data connection to your phone?

Need no want yes.

How much of your day do you spend staring at a screen anyway?
Why would you want to be able to fit that screen in your pocket?

Who would want to look up and review an instructional video when tinkering under a sink or car?

I would!
View in thread

Just In

Glasses could work in the field
Bob.Bertrand@... 5th Apr
I see potential for this technology in companies with employees that work in the field. Could be used to locate equipment in the field. Telemetry from systems along with NFC could be beneficial for the field worker. Plus often these individuals wear safety glasses so this will further enhance the benefit for businesses. Best of all, this technology keeps hands free for tablets and smartphones while being connected. Issues though in terms of use in noisy spaces for voice recognition and communication. It has potential.
View in thread
1 Vote
+ -
The devil is in the details
fishy2 22nd Feb
Just because you are wearing a computer in front of your eyes does not mean it has to obvious to anyone who sees you. For all we know, they may have been able to make the Google goggles look like ordinary sunshades or prescription glasses.
-1 Votes
+ -
Larry's comments remind me of Ballmer on the iPhone
balsover 22nd Feb
@fishy2 remember all of the negative things Ballmer said about the iPhone? Larry sounds exactly like Ballmer did. happy
-1 Votes
+ -
I also remember...
fishystory@... 25th Feb
When the iPad was announced, many people believed it would fail because of its name resembling a tampon product.

And before anyone suggests that Apple is the only one who can disprove their critics, there are articles from the past, which suggested Android won't succeed: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/25/android_to_conquer_all_not/ (2010), and that Gmail will fail: http://www.nickschweitzer.net/2004/04/16/WhyGmailWillFail.aspx (2004).

My opinion is that it's too early to decide whether Google glasses will or won't catch on. Articles such as this are just speculative fiction.
1 Vote
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Hollywood will like it
FADS_z 22nd Feb
It already in movies hundreds of times.
0 Votes
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I would definetely buy them
The Linux Geek 22nd Feb
just imagine the google+ integration!
0 Votes
+ -
I'd love to see you in a pair
Blogsworth 5th Apr
So I could see you walk into lampposts and brick walls. That would be fun to watch.
4 Votes
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Top Rated
You will too.
DarCK 22nd Feb Top Rated
Do you really need GPS in your phone?
Do you really need a constant data connection to your phone?

Need no want yes.

How much of your day do you spend staring at a screen anyway?
Why would you want to be able to fit that screen in your pocket?

Who would want to look up and review an instructional video when tinkering under a sink or car?

I would!
3 Votes
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Good point..
JCitizen 23rd Feb
@DarCK - and politicians would like them as a teleprompter replacement, so they could tell better, more fluid, more graceful lies.
0 Votes
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Hahah touche!
registeredjustforthis 27th Feb
Hahah touche!
2 Votes
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Lack of vision on your part Larry
balsover 22nd Feb
I don't know what they look like, on the other hand neither do you. Most of your comments already apply to cell phones that people already carry around.
If these glasses could be made to look respectable as far as a pair of sunglasses go being able to call up any information and have it displayed privately (possibly in 3D) before your eyes from a voice command is seriously cool and would be a cooler thing than Apple's Sirus or whatever it is called; it would be about as close to virtual reality as we can practically create today.
2 Votes
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Agree
sboverie 22nd Feb
@balsover
Criticizing a product before it has been shown or demonstrated does not help anyone to make an informed opinion. One one hand, if it works like Hollywood portrays in movies then it could be popular and on the other hand it could have problems like eye strain and distraction and not sell.
2 Votes
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Trolling in the name of journalism?
mostlyfoobar 22nd Feb
Build in a high quality camera and design them so it is not readily obvious that they are 'Google specs' and paparazzi, policemen, sports photographers, spys, me and many, many others will buy them like hotcakes.

Easily film whatever you happen to be looking at, upload the footage in near real time, broker/sell it to whoever might want it (news agencies, tabloids, corporation, etc) again - in near real time. This idea has been around since at least 1992 (See Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson.) Been seen in countless films and is perfectly sensible, rational, viable and about time.

Question: is it common for articles here to troll so shamelessly? Of course people will buy these.

Sheesh.
0 Votes
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This means..
Jow_Blow 22nd Feb
The CIA/NSA will have real time knowledge of what you are looking at and have an interest in.
-2 Votes
+ -
Nerdy, nerdy, nerdy
MC_z 22nd Feb
I spend way too many hours in front of my computer. So I've early my nerd merit badge a hundred times over. But Google glasses are a nerd too far.
2 Votes
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Misses Everything
JamesKelley 22nd Feb
I'm sure I'll try the glasses, but may not take to them. The article, though, misses everything.

The glasses will likely interface with another device that you carry with you always, so the GPS will be in your pocket.

The data connection isn't in your eyes in either case. See above, it will likely be your cell phone. The glasses are likely to be only an interface.

The gag will be on you when you change your opinion about the usefulness of an immersion interface.

If Google can make the ads useful, it won't be that bad. You already have ads in your visual space when you move about. The plus is they will be closer to your brain and can more accuratly read your thoughts. Thought: Mmmm, bacon. Ad: Discount Bacon that way! --->

Do you want tracking following you everywhere? Do you have a cell phone?
1 Vote
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For certain forms of blindness
Zwort 22nd Feb
My mum will try them; she has a form of blindness stemming from dry macular disease. Some weeks back we discussed them when I first read about them and she wants to have a go. The money is irrelevant, because what she wants is something she can only get by sitting up close to the television; she wants to see faces again, and dry macular disease obscures them; it kills the central area of vision, leaving only the 'side view' as it is called. Proximity helps to obviate the problem.
1 Vote
+ -
But they have this technology already
William Farrel 22nd Feb
@Zwort
so why would you wait for Google to develop a pair?
0 Votes
+ -
Glasses? Maybe. Android? No.
jerry_m@... 22nd Feb
Been looking at versions of this for various purposes for over a decade: on-site field staff needing reference material and/or video streaming to HQ, hands-free recording and/or display documents, etc. The uses are about as endless as the Internet, so the article is entirely off the mark here.

However, Android is a slug. My Android tablet is basically worthless due to Android bloatware, CPU hogs, and other crapware I can't deactivate, uninstall, or otherwise remove due to Google knowing more than I do about what I want. I used my iPhone to get work done. I use my Windows laptop to get work done. I use my Android tablet to show my tech-ignorant friends what new cool device I have that they don't.
0 Votes
+ -
What are you talking about?
registeredjustforthis 27th Feb
I own 3 Android devices: Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy Tab 10.01 and Nexus S. All three are super fast: the tab boots faster than my iPad2 and the phones boot faster than my iPhone4. Also, Android does not have any "bloatware or CPU hugs that you can't uninstall." I don't know where you get your info or what piece of crap Android product you bought from a clearance bin at Target, but what you described is as far from my Android devices as an iPhone1.
1 Vote
+ -
Don't mock it too much yet.
JohnMcGrew@... 22nd Feb
Yeah, the average tech user isn't going to be walking around with these, at first. But I bet someone is going to come up with a killer app that will make people want them. Remember, the Apple ][ was just another high-tech toy before VisiCalc made every businessman & accountant want one.
0 Votes
+ -
Add a webcam with streaming to the internet, give to Paris Hilton
ACobb-at-Cisco 22nd Feb
Add a webcam with streaming to the internet, give to Paris Hilton and watch the world be amazed. This is just the kind of blog/tweet/youtube streaming video that will take the internet by storm.

This is the next step in the evolution of the always connected, always tweeting, always on blogging, constantly streaming narcissist. There are millions out there who believe the websphere is hanging on their every move.

Subscribe to the Paris Hilton stream NOW!
What a great way to monetize your fame and notoriety.
1 Vote
+ -
Has ( potentially ) practical uses
semmerling@... 22nd Feb
I wouldn't dismiss this tech so quickly...as nerdy as it may seem. Beats lugging around a laptop/tablet..or fumbling with a cell phone.

I think these could be used in many practical ways, where heads-up, screen security or ergonomic convenience calls for data to be accessed and/or seen in a hands-free, mobile way. Surgeons, pilots, military, manufacturing..etc..etc. Prob won't be adopted right away, by the masses, though.

Remember...at one time..who could possibly use more the 2mb of RAM..or 10mb of hard disk space...or 2mb of network bandwidth...or a camera on their phone..on and on it goes.
0 Votes
+ -
More info, less opinion on a new product
ken.lund@... 22nd Feb
Microvision has been working on this for years---maybe it is finally ready for primetime....http://www.microvision.com/wearable_displays/mobile.html
1 Vote
+ -
I can see (sorry about that...) a few reasonable applications
NickNielsen 22nd Feb
- Having the instructions for a complex procedure literally right in front of your eyes.
- Having an instructional video right there that allows you to work along with it.
- Cheating on trivia night.

That said, the early adopters will no doubt discover different, less socially acceptable uses.
-3 Votes
+ -
What a piece of JUNK!
xangpow 22nd Feb
I will NEVER buy anything from google, NEVER! Unless Apple, Microsoft, Amazon or another company comes out with this, its nothing more than USELESS junk. :P
0 Votes
+ -
Very cool but then again there's this
pb1492 22nd Feb
Seems like an awesome concept. Sometimes getting a call on my droid interrupts what I'm doing. And the ads would be way small and tastefully done, google's always good that way. But then there's this:
Google is big-time in the business of attempting to dominate the geolocation space. And currently they are not that great at it. I am working on a project that involves a mobile app that requires precise geolocation and have done extensive research. While reading the mind-numbing details of a Skyhook/Google court case I learned that all vendors of Android enabled devices are contractually required to include Google location services as the default location service, and although it's supposed to be an "opt-in" deal, it seems that the service is always enabled upon delivery.
Bottom line is that Google puts much more effort towards knowing where droid users are than most droid users realize. May sound a little far-fetched but our cell phones are also personal location devices, by design (and function).
So knowing this, I would have to say no to the way cool Google glasses.
3 Votes
+ -
Yeah, EXACTLY like those bluetooth ear thingeys that look so nerdy
daboochmeister 22nd Feb
No one will EVER buy those things either, just like all you bloggers said originally.
0 Votes
+ -
Yeah and no one will buy those stupid iPhones either!
registeredjustforthis 27th Feb
Who wants a screen... in their POCKET?!

*rolls eyes*
0 Votes
+ -
Wait for the first fatality
RealGem 22nd Feb
You think texting and driving is bad? Reading while you drive is worse. People will drive with these on, work with these on, weld with these on, cut steel with these on, etc.

After the novelty wears off (if it goes beyond novelty), we're going to have to deal with these issues. Will your boss allow you to wear this type of eyewear when you're working? Will your spouse want you wearing them in the house? Howabout in the locker room?

Get ready for the fun!
0 Votes
+ -
I'll bet it's released early...
AlkiDweller 22nd Feb
They're going to release it a few months early, April 1st to be exact.
0 Votes
+ -
It's Called a Heads-Up Display
sperry532@... 22nd Feb
It's nothing new. Military aircraft have been using them for decades. They even tried putting them in cars about 20 years ago. Didn't work. I wouldn't buy them, but I can see they would have their valid uses, good and bad.
2 Votes
+ -
From Google? Not a chance! Forget it! From Apple? That would be so cool!!
adornoe@... 22nd Feb
If Apple were to "innovate" those glasses (i.o.w., copy the idea), and call them "iGlasses" or "iWear" or "iSee", or "iSpectacles", or "iNYourFace", then it would become the next big app, or the next billion dollar idea from Apple. The lines to get at one of those "iWear" (or whatever they'd get called), would be miles long at each Apple store, and the online orders would take months for Apple to fill, and the Apple nerds, aka: the fanatical Apple minions, would all bee seen walking around with big Apple logos on their faces, thinking they were the coolest people around.

And then, Apple's market cap would jump to the trillion dollar territory.

wink

wink
0 Votes
+ -
Troll level: master
registeredjustforthis 27th Feb
Well done my good sir. happy
1 Vote
+ -
I read earlier today that the interface
chrisbedford 22nd Feb
...is activated by headshakes, blinking, and eye-rolling (www.itweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51832&A=GAD&S=Mobile and Wireless Technology&O=E)

Imagine a bunch of googles-wearers on a bus all calling up news articles and spreadsheets - it's going to look like the Tourette's Syndrome Magical Mystery Tour.
0 Votes
+ -
ROTFL!
William Farrel 22nd Feb
@chrisbedford

it's going to look like the Tourette's Syndrome Magical Mystery Tour.

+1 grin
0 Votes
+ -
...Googled Glasses...ruby colored lens??? Click three times and say...
jpnagle59 22nd Feb
Hmmm, sounds like Google is up to their old tricks again...Easter Eggs anyone???
0 Votes
+ -
Off we go into the wild blue yonder...
jpnagle59 22nd Feb
@jpnagle59@... I forgot-the Air Force was using these on some of their maintenance personnel. They could look up specs on an airplane and repair manuals and such...saw the 1st ones around 1990, don't know if they did any good for them, anybody know??? We hardy souls that were In the Marine Corps had to use a stick and some play sand to draw things with...but that was back in the '70's...
0 Votes
+ -
A stick and some play sand... Older "technology" that still works.
adornoe@... 22nd Feb
Or, mapping "software" that will outlast Google maps or Bing maps.
1 Vote
+ -
Its the future man!
realvarezm 22nd Feb
It sadenns me to know that this magazine doesnt take that news a seious as it should. We have seen many movies with that gadget, i mean do you se yourself seat in your comfy chair at the office staring at the monitor but you are actually watching The lady with the dragon tatto or playing online with a friend or just checking the numbers of monthly sales while watching the last video of Kanye West. Of course my LG bluetooth stereo headset must work together. Is the new way of entertainment. Have vision people.
0 Votes
+ -
But then some knothead will wear them while driving
Sagax- 22nd Feb
After all the law will not know what you are doing until after the crash.
1 Vote
+ -
Google is far ahead of you in that area too, with the Google driverless
adornoe@... 22nd Feb
car to handle the driving, and then, all you have to do is surf the internet and chat and watch videos and still have time to do a one finger salute to other drivers as Google handles your every need.
0 Votes
+ -
Could be good, though
DT2 Updated - 7th Mar
Just think of a heads-up navigation system where your eyes don't have to leave the road. Or an MP3 player with the same characteristics..
-1 Votes
+ -
And when driving a vehicle....
rvanhaecke@... 22nd Feb
You will be required to display a 4'x8' sign front and rear that says
Distracted DORK Driving
-2 Votes
+ -
Let's be serious here.
xangpow 22nd Feb
google is like Mit Romney. They have failed to prove that they are a leader in the IT industry. Everything they have come out with Microsoft or Apple has already come out with it. If Microsoft and a good working search engine when google first started they would not be around. Anyone that has been in IT for the last 20 years knows that the true leaders are, and will always be, Microsoft and Apple. Ok, I will throw in Linux since they have been able to hold their own and they have done a good job with their products. I mean really what company will care that you know ANYTHING about google. On the other hand, if you can say you can work with Apple, Microsoft, and/or Linux people will pay attention. Let's face facts, google is a joke in the IT industry.
-1 Votes
+ -
Haha, are you serious?
registeredjustforthis 27th Feb
Microsoft hasn't been a leader in anything since like Windows 95. After 18 years, Windows 8 will finally be their first major interface overhaul. Bravo, it's about time! Don't get me wrong, I love my Win 7 rig, but let's be serious: the words Microsoft and leader aren't normally used in sentences together unless it's for a joke. Apple... you gotta hand it to them, they changed the world with the iPhone and iPad. Just as they did with the Mac. But Google will not do to iOS precisely what Windows did to the Mac. Actually, it already has: iOS is no longer the leading mobile OS - Android is. And in a few years, iOS will have the same % of the mobile market that the Mac has of the desktop/laptop market: about 15%. Google, on the other hand... they're innovating like there is no tomorrow. These glasses alone will be a bigger thing than the iPhone. Mark my words. Then add the Google cars and the million other awesome things that they're working on. Ha! No competition man - NO competition.
0 Votes
+ -
Rainbow's End
ryumaou@... 23rd Feb
If you're having problems understanding why these Google glasses are interesting, even if they're just a first step, read Rainbow's End by Vernor Vinge. He's a science-fiction writer who also happens to teach computer science. His thoughts on these devices are, I think, dead on.
3 Votes
+ -
When Apple makes them
SciZDNet 24th Feb
The media will call it revolutionary. happy
0 Votes
+ -
Focus?
DT2 7th Mar
I'm just wondering how one's eyes can focus on a screen that is only an inch away from them.
0 Votes
+ -
Google glasses Structure!!
ganesh1434 18th Mar
This product is out of imagination can't believe google is into such a good product, if this project comes into existance im sure it would take our world into next generation, what an imagination and what an effort for this wonderful peoduct hats off to google. I got to know the srtucture of this google glass released from this sit "http://tech2wonder.com/google-glasses.html" im not sure whether the structure is perfect given by them..
0 Votes
+ -
Missing the Point
wernman 5th Apr
Larry, I think you're missing it. It's just like the space program: The major contribution to society wasn't landing a man on the moon (afterall who really cares), but all the spin-off technology, including our computers which have changed the world. Even if you're right and the glasses themselves fail miserably, the spin-off technology could have a huge affect on the technology that future generations take for granted.
0 Votes
+ -
Glasses could work in the field
Bob.Bertrand@... 5th Apr
I see potential for this technology in companies with employees that work in the field. Could be used to locate equipment in the field. Telemetry from systems along with NFC could be beneficial for the field worker. Plus often these individuals wear safety glasses so this will further enhance the benefit for businesses. Best of all, this technology keeps hands free for tablets and smartphones while being connected. Issues though in terms of use in noisy spaces for voice recognition and communication. It has potential.

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