Google’s Sergey Brin shows off Glass at TED 2013, slams smartphones (Photos)

Élyse Betters | Feb 27 2013 - 10:01 am PT

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TED 2013, an annual tech and media conference, is underway in California, and Google co-founder Sergey Brin has apparently made an appearance while donning non other than Google Glass.

Brin went on stage Wednesday to show off Google’s space-age spectacles. According to tweets coming from the event, Brin is reiterating that Glass will be available later this year for $1,500. He also reportedly compared Glass to traditional handsets, claiming smartphones are “emasculating” and “clumsy and awkward for humans.”

Forbes’ Bruce Upbin summarized some of what Brin said:

“This act of looking down at my phone is one of the reasons behind Glass. We questioned whether you should be walking around looking down. That was the vision behind Glass and that’s why we created this form factor. (…) When we made this we thought, ‘Can we make something that frees your hands and frees your eyes.’ That’s why we put the display up high and out of your line of sight so you can make eye contact with people. The sound conducts through the bones in your cranium to free up your ears. If you want to hear it better you cover up your ears, which is surprising. Our original vision at Google was eventually to get rid of the search query and you’d just get the information you need when you need it. Fifteen years later this is first form factor that delivers on that vision. The project has lasted just over 2 years. We’ve learned lot.”

Brin also called cell phones a “nervous habit,” according to The Verge, and admitted he whips his out when trying to look as though he has something important to do, but Google Glass takes that restless need away.