Google’s Glass division may be losing its lead engineer, but the company announced today that it had hired former Gap and Old Navy marketing chief Ivy Ross to head up the division. Ross will start her new position on May 19th.
Aside from Gap and Old Navy, Ross has also served as Chief Creative Officer for The Disney Store, headed up worldwide product design at Mattel, and, worked as Vice President of Design and Development for Outlook Eyewear at Bausch & Lomb. That last position is perhaps the most relevant to her selection as the new head of Glass.
The first of these apps is Foursquare, the popular check-in app that allows users to locate and review restaurants, shopping centers, or any other point of interest. Google also debuted TripIt integration, allowing users easily plan their travel itineraries through Glass. The third glassware app revealed today is OpenTable. Using this software, users can now book restaurant reservations right from Glass.
The University of California, Irvine School of Medicine will be adding Glass to its four year curriculum as a part of its first and second year anatomy courses and clinical skills training. The school’s faculty feels that Google’s wearable has the ability to fluidly deliver information through voice commands and other means while remaining hands-free. The university will use a proprietary secure software to record and broadcast patient care and student training.
Samsung is working on a competitor for Google Glass that will be announced in September during IFA in Berlin, according to Business Korea. Aptly referred to as “Gear Glass,” the unannounced wearable is expected to be revealed alongside the Galaxy Note 4 and it’s rumored to run the Tizen operating system used by the Samsung Gear 2.
After a brief stint of availability last month, Google Glass is once again available to everyone for purchase. A pair will still run you $1500, but you will also get a free set of Titanium Collection frames for free. Unfortuntely, however, Google has limited the availability to the United States only for the time being.
Google announced the availability of Glass today in a post on Google+. The company says that it is looking to move the product towards a “more open beta,” although it will still carry the “Explorer” branding.
Last week we told you we’d be trying out new ways to find Explorers. Well, we weren’t kidding. We learned a lot when we opened our site a few weeks ago, so we’ve decided to move to a more open beta. We’re still in the Explorer Program while we continue to improve our hardware and software, but starting today anyone in the US can buy the Glass Explorer Edition, as long as we have it on hand: google.com/glass
We’re ready to keep meeting new Explorers, and we can’t wait to hear all your experiences and feedback to continue to make Glass even better, ahead of our wider consumer release.
Head over to the Glass Store to grab your pair – and free titanium frames – today. It’s unclear how long Google will be selling Glass to the public, although it looks like as long as it has it in stock, it will be up for sale. Google sold out of several variants when it put Glass up for sale earlier this year, although it presumably has more units this time around.
XE 17.1 appears to be a rather minor update, but still includes some pretty critical fixes for Glass users. Most notably, the update has reportedly considerably improved general performance with the device. The speed of snapping photos has greatly been improved, as has the responsiveness of the TouchPad. The update also reintroduces the ability to share from places from your Android device with Google Maps to Glass.
The update to MyGlass on Android also appears to be minor, with the most notable changes including the ability use MyGlass to enter Wi-Fi passwords and some interface tweaks.
The XE 17.1 update is supposedly rolling out to Glass users now and will continue to do so for the next several days. The MyGlass update should begin to roll out at any time, as well.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjcHzO3-QEg]
Minuum, one of the more distinctive third-party keyboards available for Android devices, is coming to Google Glass. The keyboard was shown off this morning in a video of the prototype app running on Glass. The second half of the video, however, is far more exciting. Expand Expanding Close
In what seems like a natural step forward, CNN is opening its iReport platform to Google Glass users. Until now the citizen journalism initiative was available through traditional mobile apps, but this has just changed. Glass explorers can now share photos and videos with CNN from the comfort of Google’s popular wearable.
The video above just landed on the official Google Glass YouTube channel as the latest of Google’s promotional/inspirational videos showing off the video capturing capabilities of Glass. As noted by Google, the video was shot entirely on Glass by students from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts as part of its contribution to Google’s Glass Creative Collective. Expand Expanding Close
We’ve seen several competitors to Google Glass over the past few years, including smart glasses from Vuzix and Epson. The latter of those, in fact, beat Google to the market back in 2012 with its Moverio glasses. Today, Epson has announced its second generation smart glasses, powered by Android.
While the XE16 update brought KitKat and various other enhancements to Glass Explorers everywhere, it also carried a few nasty bugs that — among other things — could force devices into a boot loop. As such, Google issued XE16.2, which was supposed to fix these issues. Apparently it didn’t quite do that, as Google has today released the Glass XE17 update. Expand Expanding Close
According to a new report out of TechCrunch, Google is working to add Google Wallet functionality to Glass. Citing a “source close to the company”, the report claims that Google is currently testing the feature internally, but that it hopes to make it public in the near future. Currently, Glass users have to be signed in to a computer on Google’s corporate network in order to install the app on their Glass.
Like many features on Glass, Google Wallet will work almost exclusively with voice commands. Users will be able to simply ask Glass to “Send money”, then have the ability to swipe through the interface a view times and your done. One of the most common uses for this would be the ability to send your share of a dinner bill to a friend, much like with the Google Wallet integration in Gmail.
The fees for using Wallet with Glass will be the same as other services, with Google taking a 2.9 percent fee for all transactions. Google is certainly looking to add more practical use cases to Google Glass, and the ability to pay with Wallet will certainly come in handy for users.
The Google Glass Explorer edition, which usually sells on an invitation-only basis for $1500, comprises parts whose total value is just $79.78, claims Techinsights after a teardown analysis.
The company was careful to add that this is a preliminary estimate which is likely to be revised in the light of more detailed research. Google, quoted in the WSJ, has dismissed the estimate as “absolutely wrong” … Expand Expanding Close
Today, Google announced a trio of updates heading to Glass later this week and they appear to be pretty thoughtful. First on the docket is image backups.This process will only take place when Glass is connected to WiFi, however users with wireless data to burn will have the option of forcing a data backup if they wish to do so. Snap happy shutterbugs will also be able to clear photos and videos from their timelines, which should help keep things nice and tidy.
Google has raised the profile of the Field Trip app, which provides a virtual tour guide to help you explore an area, by enabling users to launch it by voice with an “Ok Glass, explore nearby” command. Previously, you had to launch it via the touchpad. Existing users will need to toggle the app to launch it by voice.
Engadget reports that the app has also been updated with content from more publishers.
A little over 200, in fact. Some of the more recent additions include Happy Vermont and Guide to Copenhagen. Yennie Solheim Fuller, a Niantic Labs marketing associate, tells us that they’re constantly scouring the web for hyperlocal content that they can incorporate into the app, with sources that range from Zagat all the way to smaller blogs and community sites. “We want content on tiny towns like Belmont too,” she said, emphasizing that Field Trip won’t just have info about big cities.
While the app first appeared on Android and iOS, developer Niantic Labs said at the time it was launched on Glass that it was “conceived with Glass in mind, but Glass wasn’t ready.”
In 2012, Google unveiled a teaser video for what would eventually become Google Glass. About two and a half minutes long, the short walkthrough highlighted a day in the life of a “Project Glass” owner. Aside from working the internet into a nerd-fueled frenzy video, the confirmed popular rumors that Google’s super secret X lab was laboring away on a new piece of wearable technology.
The NBA’s Indiana Pacers have a secret weapon on and off the court and while it won’t likely improve the team’s chance of making it through the playoffs, it’s changing the way people watch professional basketball. Last month, the Pacers became the second NBA team to use Google Glass (these guys did it first) to enhance its in-game experience for fans. According to Rob Laycock, VP of marketing for the Indiana Pacers, the idea to use Glass originally came from the team’s center, Roy Hibbert.
It looks like Google is allowing anyone to purchase Glass. Normally you’d need to receive an invite to happily spend $1,500 on this futuristic device, but according to a recent post on Reddit (via Engadget), Mount View’s popular wearable is available to anyone willing to pony up the dough.
Last week Google released its XE16 software update for Glass that was recently followed by a stability patch known as XE16.1. Since the latest firmware push, some Glass users have been experiencing performance issues, with some even encountering boot loops making the $1,500 wearable unusable. While this may be discouraging for some, all hope is not lost. Google is aware of this situation and posted a message in private Glass community forum advising users that it’s working to resolve the issue.
Google Glass hasn’t always enjoyed the best of public images. There can’t be too many products that have found themselves banned in everywhere from bars to workplaces to cars (that one later reversed), with governments raising privacy concerns and even noted fans wondering whether the product may be doomed.
Forbesstaff writer Jeff Bercovici wondered whether early Glass advocate Robert Scoble was right in accusing Google of having botched the PR. Marketing head Ed Sanders, perhaps predictably, says no.
The backlash is a result of the way Google decided to roll out Glass, he says — but it was a deliberate decision to do it that way, with a limited public beta surrounded by a nimbus of hype and curiosity. “Yes, it was an unusual step of doing it so exposed, and risks come with that,” he says. “We knew there would be downsides, but we also knew and know there would be tremendous upside” …
Today being Earth Day, Google has placed the spotlight on Sabita Malla, a senior research officer at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) who spends her days in Nepal’s Chitwan National Park fighting to protect Bengal tigers and rhinos from poachers. Aided by Glass, Malla tracks and monitors these endangered creatures using Google’s famed wearable to take pictures, notes and measurements — something she originally did with a pencil and paper.
Google announced today that it’s about to bring SMS for iPhone and a new Calendar Glassware to Google Glass users following an update to KitKat and the introduction of new features earlier this month. First up, iPhone users will now be able to receive text messages on Glass but, as Google points out, they “won’t be able to reply from Glass due to some limitations with iOS.” The support for SMS is a feature that Glass users have long had access to when paired to an Android device.
SMS for iPhone – iOS fans, by popular demand you can now get texts from your friends on Glass. Get started by going to your iPhone’s Bluetooth settings and turning on “Show Notifications” for your paired Glass. When you receive a new text message, it will appear as a notification on Glass. Keep in mind that you won’t be able to reply from Glass due to some limitations with iOS. (Android fans, don’t feel left out – you’ve got SMS on Glass already.
You’ll begin receiving notifications as long as the “Show Notifications” option for your paired Glass is selected from Bluetooth settings. Google also announced today that it will release Calendar Glassware available in the MyGlass tab: Expand Expanding Close
The XE16 update recently hit Glass and in wake of this major software push, Google has tossed out a life preserver to those who dare to tinker. Most likely as a safety precaution, the company has released a new factory image for Glass just in case your adventurous habits transform the expensive wearable into a $1,500 paperweight.
Google is allowing potential Explorers to try Glass before they shell out the $1,500 to actually buy the device, according to a Reddit user by the name of clide. He posted various images of a home try-on kit, as well as the above email he received from the Glass customer support representatives.
