Ok so the cynic in me is sitting here thinking that in order for something like this to catch on, there needs to be some celebrity or event that turns this into something "cool". It's just too techie and geeky for mainstream until something comes along to make it socially acceptable.<p>If I were Google I'd try like hell to partner with a company that already knows how to make glasses cool and trendy. There's one company in particular that has done really well making those 50's style hipster glasses popular--their name escapes me, as I am not a hipster--who might be a good pick.<p>Basically Google sucks at marketing anything, but if they can find a partner with that skill set they may have more luck.
In fact there are already glasses on the market:<p>"Epson Moverio" for $699.99
<a href="http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Moverio/Home.do" rel="nofollow">http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Moverio/Home.do</a><p>Developer Program (they use Android):
<a href="http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Moverio/Home.do#tabs=1" rel="nofollow">http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/jsp/Moverio/Home.do#tabs=...</a><p>ST1080 for $799:
<a href="http://www.siliconmicrodisplay.com/st1080.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.siliconmicrodisplay.com/st1080.html</a>
This is probably good for Google. When you start a new product category, you need competition to validate your idea. Although you still need a big enough lead to maintain your leadership in the market. Hopefully Google didn't show the video way too early so competitors get a chance to make something just as good by the time they get it out themselves. It should come out within 6-12 months at most.
That kind of makes me wonder why Google revealed them so early. They must have known that by revealing it they would start the competition, but what do they gain by releasing the idea? Does this indicate that they might have a product to sell soon?
It's worth noting that pretty much every newly-made airliner has a HUD for instrument landings (among other things). The technology is not new. It's just new to people with $600 to spend on gadgets :)
Google is NOT a pioneer in wearable computing and have really been getting more than their share of praise. This is a space that has been developing for quite some time. Steve Mann, a professor at University of Toronto, is probably the best known researcher that has been developing similar mediated reality technology since the 90s.<p>Google is just looking to commercialize the space and make sure it's their services that are driving the experience.<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Mann</a>
<a href="http://eyetap.org/" rel="nofollow">http://eyetap.org/</a>