NYT: Google's augmented reality glasses due year's end

In the competition for eyeballs, Google plans to sell glasses that stream information about the wearer's surroundings to them in real time.

The glasses will sync with a variety of Google services to provide location-specific data and navigation services and should be out by the end of the year, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

The glasses will be based on Android and incorporate a screen that sits a few inches from someone's eye. They will have multiple sensors including motion and GPS and have a 3G or 4G data connection.

Over the past few years Google has expanded the range of products and services it offers to embrace tablets, smartphones, and computers. This means that however and wherever people are consuming information, they can be exposed to Google services that lead to search, which makes money for the company.

The glasses will send data from a low-resolution built-in front facing camera to Google and use various technologies to feed information back to the wearer. There will be a social component that lets people 'check in' to locations, according to the NYT.

Unconfirmed reports elsewhere have speculated that the augmented reality glasses will use a head's up display to overlay information about the world.

The NYT understands that Google co-founder Sergey Brin is working on the project, which is being developed by the company's skunkworks 'Project X' team.

Prices for the glasses could range between $250 (£160) and $600, the NYT reported.