Google Glasses to be Released in 2012?

• Tweet

Rumours are rife. Speculation is flowing. Will Google Glasses be hitting our shelves by the end of 2012? Will we soon be viewing the world through Google coloured glasses?

First there was e-commerce. Then m-commerce. Could the next big thing be g-commerce? Could glasses soon be connecting consumers to the net?

There is speculation that Google could be releasing “Google Glasses” as early as the end of this year, with rumblings of breakthroughs in wearable computing trickle down from Google headquarters. Google is reportedly releasing “smart glasses” that would connect to the internet to offer up information in a sci-fi style heads-up display. The glasses are reported to include a built-in camera that records what the wearer is looking at and then uses that information to find information and display relevant information on the lenses of the headset to be viewed by the wearer. Rumour has it that they will have a 3G or 4G connection, sensors including motion and GPS and utilise Google’s “Google Goggles” augmented-reality software.

Seth Weintraub, a blogger for 9to5Google, first wrote about the project in December. Recently he found out that the glasses would be Android-based and cited a source that described them to look similar to Oakley Thumps. Unnamed Google employees have reported that the glasses would costs between $250 to $600. The glasses are not designed for constant use, but given consumer’s attachment to smart-phones, chances are that Google Glasses will become a regular facial fixture.

The New York Times has reported that Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, is a leader of the Google glasses project and is currently spending most of his time in the secretive Google X labs.

Apple is apparently also exploring wearable computing, in the form of computers that can be strapped to someone’s wrist.

Article by Natasha Sholl

Natasha is a content creator for The Media Pad, publisher of Power Retail. She has a background in law and communications and a passion for all things retail. Natasha loves analysing and problem solving all of the challenges and trends that come with new media and the online retail space. Natasha is a yoga addict and reluctant running devotee, both of which are offset by her serious caffeine addiction and obsession with baking.