(Smart glasses. Get it? I know; I'm an awful human being.) The Economist on Google's new wearable computing effort:
the glasses seem like something out of a science-fiction novel. A tiny transparent display towards the top of one lens allows wearers to see text and images by glancing upwards. And the spectacles can be controlled using either voice commands or a somewhat bulky touchpad integrated into one of the arms. Mr Brin says the goal is to “get technology out of the way” so people can, say, take videos without having to pull out a camera or smartphone each time they do so.The problem with products like these is that anyone with an even remotely style-conscious bone in their body will balk at the idea of having to wear tacky, unfashionable sartorial accessories to complete computing tasks. This is why 3D — charming as it is — will never become a 'thing' people want to have at home. While it's perfectly acceptable to wear godawful plastic glasses inside a darkened screening room, few people are comfortable enough to wear them in the light of day without at least some hesitation. No...I think people will generally object to the idea of wearing computers. But this is the problem when you have a company, like Google, run by computer scientists: digi-glasses constitute an excellent science experiment, but not a serious business opportunity. Science fiction fantasies rarely translate into real world solutions.
Google’s glasses reflect a growing interest in wearable computing, which many experts think could be the next big thing in personal technology after smartphones and tablets. But some tech veterans give warning that designing novel devices people feel comfortable wearing is an especially tricky task. “In general, the first attempt at producing new computing paradigms rarely sticks,” notes Sumeet Jain of CMEA Capital, a venture-capital firm.
The impracticality (not to mention the unfashionable nature) of the idea ought to render it nothing more than a fantasy like any other. Something tells me you won't be seeing Google's Smart Glasses around the place anytime soon.