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.
The task of remembering everything that runs through our brains during a day is quite daunting. Sure you can write stuff down or type it out, but even the latter of those is still rather cumbersome. Looking to fix this problem, Mariux Apps has released a new app for Google Glass, dubbed Rememory, that lets you store notes in your Glass memory using nothing but your voice.
According to a new patent application filed with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (via Galaxy Club), it looks like Samsung may be planning to take Google Glass head-on. While this isn’t the first time Samsung has filed a Glass-like patent, the application reveals what appears to be a cross between Google Glass and a Bluetooth headset. As odd as that may sound, there could be some practicality behind this idea.
As mentioned in the patent application, Samsung calls this device “Earphone,” but other rumors have suggested that this device could be called Gear Glass or Galaxy Glass. The patent doesn’t describe exactly what this device would be used for, but it looks like Google Glass may have some tough competition in the future.
Google will soon open its Glass explorer program to all US residents for one day only, however a recent patent application from the search engine kingpin might make you reconsider making a purchase tomorrow. Spotted by the folks at Patent Bolt, Google has filed a patent application for a micro camera component to compliment its recently announced smart contact lenses.
Update: Google has confirmed on Google+ that it does plan to open the Explorer program in the US for a period of time on April 15th.
Google has been slowly opening up its Google Glass Explorer Program to more people, but it’s about to let anyone in the US join the program and purchase Glass, at least for one day. TheVerge posted the document above showing what appears to be an upcoming Google Glass “Explorer Program Expansion,” or at least a proposal for one, that would see Google selling Glass for the usual $1500 through Google.com/glass to anyone in the US that wants one. That opposed to the waiting list that Google is currently taking sign ups for.
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We’ve seen Google Glass be adopted in places such as operating rooms, football fields, basketball courts, and by the New York City Police Department. But this latest use case pushes the boundaries of Glass to an entirely new level. According to a new report out of VentureBeat, the U.S. Air Force’s “BATMAN” research team is currently beta-testing the use of Glass on the battle field at its Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
According to the report, one of the things the research team likes the most is the ability for the device to “access information very quickly.” Other things the team is fond of “are its low power, its low footprint, it sits totally above the eyes, and doesn’t block images or hinder vision,”
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Google has been working for the past year to register the word “Glass” as a trademark in the United States. The company successfully received a trademark for the “Google Glass” name, but so far, has been unsuccessful to its attempts to trade the single word “Glass.”
According to the report, Google first submitted its application to trademark “Glass” with the classic, futuristic font last year. Shortly thereafter, Google heard back from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and was informed that the word could not be trademarked. One of the reasons cited by the office was that the trademark was too similar to other existing and pending computer software trademarks. This could lead to consumer confusion, according to the examiner.
The trademark examiner also claimed that the word “Glass”, even when written in its classic font, is “merely descriptive.” According to federal law, words that describe a product cannot be trademarked. “Google, like many businesses, takes routine steps to protect and register its trademarks,” a Google spokesman said.
Image: Medical Daily
Two former Stanford University students who created a startup to help doctors use Google Glass to view and update patient records have raised $3.2M in venture capital funding, reports SFGate.
Augmedix’s founders say that physicians currently spend around a third of their time with a patient looking at a computer screen, and that using Glass instead will allow them to spend more time communicating with patients …
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ER doctors at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center have been using Google Glass as way of quickly pulling up data on patients, monitoring vital signs, and more while examining patients in the emergency department. Dr. John Halamka from the medical center described the system in a blog post today (via Ars Technica):
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As wearable technology comes closer and closer to the mainstream, medical applications are at the forefront of potential use cases being explored by hardware manufacturers and users alike. While still-rumored smartwatches pique our imaginations, existing tech like Google Glass is already being implemented in the medical industry.
The latest story of wearables in medicine comes from Dr. Paul Szotek and Dr. Jeff Browne of Indianapolis, Indiana, who used Glass to help successfully remove a cancerous tumor at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital during a four-hour operation.
Now that Google’s Glass Explorer program is open to just about anyone in the U.S. that wants to signup for the $1500 head-mounted computer, we’re bound to see more and more people test the product in new scenarios. Today we get word from a VentureBeat report that The New York City Police Department has invested in a few pairs of the wearable in order to test Glass as a surveillance tool during patrols.
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[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKKCTLZDWls]
An episode of The Simpsons poking fun at Google Glass has appeared on YouTube, but as it’s on an unofficial channel, don’t expect it to be there long …
The Hulu version, available in 1 country and on limited platforms is below:
[hulu id=4qhtqlup1znadj_joie4fa width=704]
While there have been cases of Google Glass wearers being told they must remove them to enter anywhere from bars to workplaces, and even one ticketed by police for wearing them while driving, you wouldn’t generally expect wearing them on a night out to lead to being questioned by the Department of Homeland Security. But that’s exactly what happened to one man, who wore a pair of prescription Glass to a movie theatre, in an email to The Gadgeteer.
About an hour into the movie, a guy comes near my seat, shoves a badge that had some sort of a shield on it, yanks the Google Glass off my face and says “follow me outside immediately”. It was quite embarrassing and outside of the theater there were about 5-10 cops and mall cops …
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPbZy2wrTGk]
If ever there were a rock-solid case for needing hands-free information fast, firefighting would be it. Full-time firefighter and spare-time Glass developer Patrick Jackson has already developed two of the apps shown in this video, and is working on two others, reports The Verge …
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[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNMoFULXXak]
Vivek Ranadivé, owner of the Sacramento Kings, has tweeted that selected players, cheerleaders and announcers will be wearing Google Glass at Friday’s NBA game against the Indiana Pacers, allowing fans to “see the game from an entirely new perspective” …
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While wearing a heads-up display and driving might not be the best idea, or even legal in some locations, the developers behind DriveSafe are doing their part to counter that.
Using the sensors available on Google Glass, the Glass app will present a prompt to you if it determines you could be nodding off at the wheel. Of course driving while on the verge of falling asleep is extremely dangerous on its own, so DriveSafe goes a step further and uses voice input to help you find a safe place to stop and refresh yourself before getting back on the road.
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Since the initial release of Google Glass at Google I/O last May, people have been calling for the ability to attach prescription lenses to the product. Over the last month, talk of this has heated up with images of Glass with prescription lenses being leaked and much more. Today, however, Glasses company Wetley has released its prescription frames and lenses for Google Glass and they are available for ordering now, dubbed GGRX.
The frames are made of stainless steel and the company touts that the mounting process is incredibly simply and requires no tools whatsoever. There are a variety of options available for purchase and they start at $99. The first option is the frame only. In order to get lenses, you would have to take the frame to your local optometrist. The next option are single vision prescription lenses, which start at $149.99. Next up are progressive prescription lenses at $249.99. Sunglasses with a gray tint and no prescription are available for $139.99, while sunglasses with prescription capabilities are also available.
GGRX frames are available now at OpticsPlanet.com. Full press release after the jump:
There’s been no shortage of critique regarding Google Glass, its future, privacy, and of course cost. A new Google+ write-up by the most famous “Glasshole” Robert Scoble raises a number of issues relating to Glass and the potential for it to be both wildly popular and doomed before it even gets started. Scoble lists a number of reasons why it’s possible that Glass could be both successful or find itself on the shelf of great Google products that were introduced before their time.
I’m not always in full agreement with Wired’s Mat Honan, but his I, Glasshole piece definitely struck a chord with me and my mostly similar experiences with Google Glass. I can agree with almost everything he’s said on the experience of owning and operating them, at least to an extent.
The biggest point to bring home is the outward awkwardness, but I wouldn’t characterize it as 100% negative across the board like Honan’s experience. He said that even in a room full of Wired writers he’s still ostracized for wearing them. That may be true, but at certain events like his Google event image, they felt pretty normal. I wasn’t at the one pictured, but at Google I/O every 4-5 people at the show were wearing them, even if Google’s own presenters weren’t. No one was uncomfortable in that environment. I imagine it isn’t uncomfortable at Google or any number of the places that are beta testing the Glass in large numbers relative to the population.
At home or in the general public, I agree – it is definitely jarring wearing them around. You get the same kind of attention that you’d get if you had a massive headwound at the grocery store or if you were waving a light saber around on the way to the coffee shop. The attention isn’t entirely negative, but it is certainly one of discomfort and curiosity. Some people ask about them and want to find out what the experience is like. I’ve let tons of people wear mine, and those who’ve tried have usually thought they were ‘cool’.
I’ve found a good way to mitigate the attention is to wear a low lying baseball cap coupled with the Oakley Blades wrap around shades attachment. With this setup, about 90% of the people don’t notice the Glass and just think you are some dork wearing Oakley Blades from 1987. Clearly, Google could innovate here – getting them on normal glasses hides the appearance. They’ve already promised a prescription lens attachement and even shown off some demos.
The 2014 model Glass, as I am now calling them, won’t do much for the appearance. The inclusion of a mono or stereo headset is just going to complicate the setup rather than simplify it. Note the left stereo earpiece comes out of the same right side hole as the right side ear piece.
I feel a little claustrophobic looking at them, and I imagine the final consumer version will have the earpiece coming out of either the back or the other side of the glasses.
Appearances aside, how does it work?
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Google has been inviting more and more people to buy their way into the $1500 Google Glass Explorer program in recent months. It recently started sending invites to select developersr and allowing Glass owners to purchase a second unit for a friend, and today Google has begun inviting subscribers of the Google Play Music All Access streaming service.
Your Chance to Buy Google Glass
With the launch of Google Play Music on Google Glass, we’ve secured VIP invitations for All Access customers to join the Glass Explorer Program. Interested in rocking out while exploring with Glass? Sign up to receive your invitation below!
Google has a sign-up page for All Access subscribers here and as always the invites are only available to those in the US.
(via AndroidCentral)
Google Glass is making its way onto the football field in the friendly confines of the Stanford football program. The university that graduated both of the Google founders as well as many of execs and programmers is evaluating the Google Glass according to the LA Times. Stanford’s football offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren went through Friday’s Rose Bowl media session wearing Goggle Glass.
“It’s my my way of paying homage to Nerd Nation,” he said, adding, “Our relationship with Google is obviously very strong and I’m the tech member of our staff. “I’m the guy that wants to unwrap toys like this on Christmas.”Bloomgren said he could envision the practical application of the video technology eventually making its was onto the field.
It isn’t just the coaching staff. Stanford’s cheerleaders are also checking out the headgear for practical purposes. During the Stanford vs. Notre Dame game a company called Crowdlogic outfitted the Stanford cheerleaders with Glass to broadcast what they were seeing to the Jumbotron in real time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhDkorzCWJQ&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DdhDkorzCWJQ&app=desktop
As 2013 wraps up, we’ve seen a variety of different year-end info graphs and data, most of which comes from Google itself, such as the top search terms. This afternoon, Dow Jones has released an info graphic displaying the most talked about companies in 2013.
Google was able to narrowly beat out Apple this year. Google received 123,769 media mentions this year, while Apple received 120,451 mentions, up from 114,954 in 2012. Google saw its biggest spike in mentions came in May, which as we all know, is when Google I/O took place. Other notable technology companies include Microsoft, who received 84,174 mentions and IBM, who came in with 48,734 mentions.
As we look to the end of 2013 and turn around to see the Google of the last year, we know it’s been a good year. Forget concerns over Google’s purchase of Boston Dynamic’s Robotic program and the joke notion that Google and Skynet will eventually be one. This is a company that surpassed the 1,000 share price in the stock market and brought Google Glass to market as a new form of wearable technology. With these stories and more in mind, let’s take a look at the top 5 Google stories on 9to5Google in 2013. These stories were selected in order by the amount of traffic they had in a single 24 hour period and don’t necessarily reflect the importance of the story itself. In other words, these are the stories you read the most over the course of this year.
Google just dropped a few more updates for Glass via Google+ to help end 2013 in the best way possible. Included in this shiny new update are the Wall Street Journal, Weather Alerts, Winkfeed (different from yesterday), Upload to YouTube and Hangouts. All in all, it’s a pretty hefty update for Glass fans and offers a few more reasons to consider shelling out $1500 courtesy of the money you got from returning all those ugly sweaters your grandparents are preparing to give you on Christmas day.
