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| Google head up display |
It's not the first time that rumors have surfaced of Google working on some heads-up display glasses (
9 to 5 Google first raised the possibility late last year), but
The New York Times
is now reporting that the company is not only working on them, but that
it's set to release them by the end of this year. Citing "several
Google employees familiar with the project," the paper's Nick Bilton
reports that the glasses will be based on Android, pack 3G or 4G
connectivity, plus GPS and a range of sensors, and cost "around the
price of current smartphones," or somewhere between $250 and $600.
They're also said to include a low-resolution camera that can monitor
your surroundings in real time and overlay relevant information,
although Google is said to be paying attention to potential privacy
concerns, and "wants to ensure that people know if they are being
recorded by someone wearing a pair of glasses with a built-in camera."
What's more, the
Times
says that none other than Sergey Brin is a "key leader" on the project,
with another being Google engineer Steve Lee, the creator of Latitude.
Notably, Bilton also says that Google sees the project as an
"experiment that anyone will be able to join," and that the company is
not currently thinking about potential business models for the glasses,
which could suggest that they may be more of a small-scale hobby than
part of a major push into consumer hardware.
