You have already seen the video review from Wylsacom Google Glass. I think that any person interested in technology does not need to introduce Google Glass. After the mildly impressive presentation of this device at the Google I / O conference last year (with skydivers, cyclists and Sergey Brin personally, at which the author was lucky enough to attend), Google has made a considerable amount of effort to popularize it. The unusualness of the device itself, and the general expectation of the next revolution in the field of mobile devices (for which Glass immediately became a contender), and the "One of the best inventions of 2012" award from the prestigious Time magazine helped. Even people who are not interested in technology do not need to put down Glass - many saw it on television, someone read about it in a newspaper / magazine / Internet, someone just heard something from someone about them, and many just become interested, what's that thing on your head, and they come up and ask.
To grow the Glass ecosystem, Google created the Glass Explorers developer program. A special batch of device prototypes was released for the program, which could be purchased for $1,500. Only developers living and working in the United States and not planning to use Glass prototypes for commercial purposes could get into the program. To participate in the program, one had to submit an application for I / O 2012 (which the author did) or earlier this year to write an idea for an application or feature that the developer planned to implement on Glass. Google considered the applications and notified the developer if he was accepted into the program, after which he could pay and pick up the device from one of the Google offices (which the author did) or ask to be sent by mail.
When buying, you need to choose a color. There are five options - white (Cotton), blue (Sky), orange (tangerine), gray (shale) and black (coal).
So, we eagerly open the box and find in it ... Glass:
We carefully take it out of the box and begin to twist it in our hands and examine it. The device is a strong and lightweight titanium arc, to which are attached the bow-supports for the nose and the computing module on the right side.
The most unusual detail catches the eye first - the prismatic screen at the front of the device. There was a camera next to him.
On the inside, behind the camera, there is a proximity sensor and a camera that tracks the movement of the eyelids and the eyeball.
And on top is the camera release button.
An elongated plastock module stretching from the temple to the ear contains the main computing part - the motherboard, processor, memory, communication modules, etc. Its outer surface is a touchpad. And on the inside, near the ear, there is a power button.
On the bottom surface, under the button, there is a standard micro USB socket for power supply and connection to a computer.
The back of the device, which is located behind the ear when the device is worn on the head, is a battery and a special loudspeaker that "projects" sound directly into the inner ear, by vibrating the cranial bone.
Put Glass aside and see what else is in the box. We lift the cardboard on which the Glass lay, and under it we find a 1000 MAh charger, a two-color microUSB cable and spare nose pads.
MicroUSB plug is bent at the end by 90 degrees and can be used as a kind of "stand" for Glass.
Also, to the box with Glass you will be given two boxes with clip-on "glasses" - "protective" transparent and "sun protection" dark.
Dark glasses (by the way, they are polarized) turn Glass into very stylish Sunglasses.
In each box you will find a cover - for Glass and for glasses. Case for Glass is quite interesting - it is a double bag with a hard bottom and a neck that tightens with a rope: Glass fits comfortably in a soft inner bag, and the prism is securely protected by a hard bottom. In the Glass case, you can safely carry it in your bag or backpack without fear of damaging it.
As much as we would like to, we cannot immediately put Glass on our heads and start playing with it. Before that, Glass needs to be "linked" to the gmail account and make preliminary settings, and for this we need a smartphone (or tablet) and the MyGlass application. Download the app from Google Play and run it.
MyGlass knows a little, but we don't need much. With it, we can:
"Pair" Glass with a smartphone via Bluetooth (we will do this right away)
Set up a gmail account on Glass. If there are several, the application will ask you to select one of them. (We will do this too)
Set up WiFi connection on Glass. (this would be nice to do as well)
Add / remove contacts on Glass (we don’t need this right away)
Enable / disable applications (this can also be made for later)
Locate Glass (I hope this is just for demonstration purposes)
See what the Glass screen shows, which is called screencast (and this is a very useful feature that helps a lot to demonstrate the possibilities of Glass)
Putting Glass on your head
Finally, we put Glass on our heads and... And again, we can't start playing with it right away, because we need to "adjust" it a bit for ourselves. This is not a smartphone, where “customization” consists in choosing a smartphone in a store according to the “fits in hand” principle, and not a watch, where it is enough to tighten the strap. It’s a little more complicated here, since the shape of the head, the distance between the eyes, the location of the eyes in relation to the temple and bridge of the nose are different for everyone, and to make sure that Glass sits comfortably on the head and its screen is visible well - the process is a little more complicated than tightening the strap . Fortunately, this only needs to be done once, and the task is quite achievable. One of the reasons why Google was highly recommended to take Glass out of their office was precisely the "fitting" for themselves, with which special people there could help. (The author, of course, did not miss the opportunity to joke later that he had to fight by changing the shape of the skull.) To fit, you need to bend the bow supports for the nose and turn the prism (it is on a hinge), ensuring that all the four corners of the picture are clearly visible. After a few minutes of fiddling (in my case) Glass is ready to use.
The fitted Glass sits very comfortably on the head. We must pay tribute to the designers - despite the fact that the right side of the Glass is heavier than the left (the entire computing module is there), the Glass sits very balanced on the head, no "overweight to the right" is felt. Glass also keeps on the head very firmly - the author did both the wheel, and kicks with a roundabout in a jump, and somersaults, and fell backwards, and all this with Glass on his head, and Glass didn’t just fall off, but didn’t even move. And he didn't even regret it.
The prism display sits directly above the right eye without blocking the direct view. You can talk quite calmly, looking at the interlocutor, and he will see that you are looking at him, and not at the screen. To look at the screen, it is enough to throw your eyes up, and you will see a picture hanging in the air - much like looking into the rear-view mirror in a car. In the picture, the eye focuses relaxed, despite the fact that the screen does not move a couple of centimeters from the eye. Let me remind physics lovers that in a relaxed state, the eye focuses on a distance of 25 cm. This means that the optics in Glass "pack" this 25 cm optical path inside the prism, most likely by multiple reflections. This is not an easy task, and therefore it is worth expressing respect to the engineers who created this display.
What Glass Can Do
Glass likes to fall asleep very much, in order to save battery - three seconds of inactivity, and the display will turn off. While we were fiddling with him, adjusting him, he must have fallen asleep. We touch the touchpad to wake him up. The screen turns on and we see the following picture:
This is the main screen of Glass. Here we can move back and forth on the touchpad and see that the Glass interface is a horizontal row of "screens" called "cards" (cards), just like in Google Now. By left side"service" cards are lined up from the main screen - Google Now cards (weather, information about local institutions, traffic jams on the way home) and settings cards (Settings). On the right side - the results of recent operations in reverse chronological order(photos, search, etc.).
The list of cards supports "kinetic" scrolling - if you swipe back and forth on the touchpad not slowly, but quickly, you can jump through the list not to the next card...
And far ahead or back.
With these commands, we can:
- google something
To photograph
Film a video
Start Navigation
send a message
call
Launch a hangout
If the command is followed by an ellipsis, this means that after pronouncing the command, you will need to say "introductory information" for it. For example, in order to google, you must say what exactly to google, or if you need to go somewhere, you must say exactly where you need to go.
For example, let's ask Glass to google who is the current president of Russia. Glass will not only tell us who it is, but also tell us many interesting details about him.
Hands-free photography is one of Glass's most impressive features, and one that few people don't wow.
Shooting a video "without hands", and even in motion, and even in a jump, and even in a turn, does not leave anyone indifferent. By default, the duration of the video is limited to 10 seconds, but the restriction can be removed in the menu during the shooting process and shoot until the space on the internal flash drive runs out or the battery runs out. Here are some examples of videos shot with Glass.
Navigating with Glass is extremely convenient. He told Glass where to go - he will look for this place on the map, and if he finds a suitable place, he will immediately lead there. If there are a lot of search results (for example, a lot of Starbucks nearby), it will show a list from which you can choose where to go. If you find some point on your phone (in the Maps application, for example) and want to get there, then the MyGlass application is registered as a navigator, and with its help you can "send" the destination to Glass and automatically start navigation to it.
On the navigation card, you can call up a menu where you can:
View route
Change the way you travel (car, bike, on foot)
Exit navigation mode
Driving in Glass is comfortable. The screen does not cover the view of the road, it sleeps between warnings about maneuvers, and it’s very easy to understand what kind of maneuver to do - just look up for a second, like looking in the rear-view mirror. Very unobtrusive. If you need to look at something (for example, how far to go until the next maneuver), and the screen is off, then you just need to touch the touchpad. Glass will wake up, show the navigation map with the current status, and fall asleep after three seconds.
You can send messages and make calls with Glass only to a limited list of contacts (10 maximum), something like "emergency" contacts on your phone. This is done in such a way, apparently, to limit the time it takes to search for a contact in Glass, which can distract for some time from ... let's say, the road. This list is independent of the contact list on the phone - you can still use thousands of contacts there.
To send a message, you must say the name of the person to whom this message is intended, and then dictate the message. Moreover, it is quite possible to dictate punctuation marks, Glass will recognize them and insert them into the text. Pauses cannot be made - with a two-second silence, Glass will send a message. If the contact has a mobile phone number, the message will go as SMS, if there is no number, then as an email.
When you make a phone call, Glass turns into a bluetooth headset. But cool, with a screen that shows the duration of the conversation. Moreover, it is not necessary to make a call with Glass, you can make a call from your phone or receive a call - the sound will still go through Glass.
Hangout (Google analogue of video chat) works rather crookedly - the call does not always come to Glass, even if it came to the phone. But the feature itself is very suitable for Glass - to show your friends live what you see. No wonder it was used during the first presentation of Glass at I / O 2011, with an airship, paratroopers, cyclists and more. The author was present at this action and can confirm that by the end of the presentation there were no articulate (as well as censored) words left for the audience.
Applications
So far, for development, Google only offers the Mirror API, which is used to create web applications called Glassware. Such applications can only send cards through Google servers to Glass. This may be suitable for applications that need to send some kind of notification to the user from time to time (for example, twitter mensions, or current news), but not suitable for something more serious (for example, augmented reality)
Google themselves offer several Glassware applications:
In addition to Google itself, several well-known companies have already made their applications for Glass based on the Mirror API:
New York Times
But for more serious things, you need the ability to create "native" (native) applications. Google is also well aware of this, which is why, although they have not yet presented the official SDK for Glass, they still left a loophole - in the Glass settings, you can enable debugging mode and develop applications simply with the standard Android SDK. But it is still difficult to distribute such applications - Glass does not support the Play Store, and the Glass launcher android apps does not show, only cards. But knowing the history of the development of the SDK / NDK on different platforms, as well as the audience that has gathered around Glass, you can look to the future with hope. Moreover, at the last I / O, the guys from Google mentioned that they were going to publish the Glass Development Kit (GDK) - a toolkit for developing android applications under Glass, which suggests that since they give a tool and ask to make applications, they will give a way distribute these applications.
But Google didn't stop at debug mode. Glass has a bootloader with the ability to unlock (fastboot oem unlock), and at the last I|O there was a session on how to root Glass, and even a rooted boot.img was posted for those who like to play at the platform level. Factory firmware options were also promised, in case someone gets too carried away with modding and drives Glass into a boot loop or other similar mode. (The author secretly hopes that someday there will also be firmware sources for Glass for those who like to make custom ones.)
Well, what now? Is Glass the future?
This question is asked to me very often. About as often as "Wow, you're wearing Glass. How do you like it?" And my answer to both questions is very simple - "I don't know." And if the answer to the second question changes (I get used to it), then the first question is still incomprehensible. And not only to me, but also to Google, and to numerous analysts, and to the entire geek community. But let's not try to predict the future, but just weigh the pros and cons and try to understand what obstacles Glass needs to overcome in order to have a chance at commercial success.
Obstacle one - battery life
A stereotypical problem of Android devices, aggravated by the fact that a large (and, accordingly, capacity) battery cannot be used on Glass. At the moment, Glass works 3-4 hours with fairly economical use. Heavy use of navigation and video capture kills the battery completely in less than an hour. Of course, it is possible to charge Glass worn on the head, but it requires a certain "thick-skinned" from the owner. Google understands this problem and tries to solve it. For example, Last update firmware (XE6) greatly improved the battery life. The question is what will happen when all possible optimizations for power consumption in the firmware are made and the lifetime of Glass from a single charge rests on physical limitation battery capacity. Will the achievable maximum be enough for comfortable work during the day?
Obstacle two - opportunities
Obviously, without being tied to Google services, Glass would be just a wearable camera without voice control. And that the ability to navigate, voice control, voice dialing, hangouts, etc. turn Glass into something completely different. The question is, are these opportunities enough for commercial success? I think the answer is obvious - no. It is obvious to Google. They understand more than anyone the importance of the ecosystem and the extensible feature set in product success. Hence the choice of Android as the OS for Glass (it is easy to port existing applications from smartphones), and plans to release the GDK, and the Glass Explorers developer program itself, thanks to which this review was written. Apparently, you won't have to worry about overcoming this obstacle - interest in Glass among developers is great. Many companies, small and large, have announced that they have started developing applications for Glass. We wish them success, because their success is a joy to us, users.
The third obstacle is the price
The price of Glass at the moment ($1500) is only available to very dedicated enthusiasts or companies. Google understands this and promises a commercial version of Glass at a price "comparable to the price of smartphones." Let's assume that this price lies in the area of flagship prices ($550-650), which is quite high for a non-self-contained device (someone might even call Glass a "fancy headset" and will not be far from the truth), but it may well turn out to be justified if Glass release time will acquire a sufficient number of features and applications.
Fourth obstacle (unexpected) - fashion
Yes, it's fashion. Unlike other types of wearable electronics (watches, bracelets, etc.), Glass is a very noticeable thing and is worn on the face. Not everyone will agree to wear an incomprehensible looking thing on their face, and even talk to it. It's one thing when a geek friend shows it to you, and quite another thing when you yourself wear it on the street and everyone stares at you. And if for watches to be crammed with electronic features is cool and familiar (for many years already), then the same for glasses is still a curiosity. And whether these features are worth the risk of looking stupid in the eyes of strangers is a question that many will ask themselves before buying Glass for themselves. Of all the obstacles to Glass' path to success, this is perhaps the most difficult. The rest are more controllable in nature and can be solved with manpower and/or money. But fashion and human inclinations are things that are rather uncontrollable. It is very difficult to be a trendsetter. Google is trying to do at least something to make the look of people in Glass become familiar (and even attractive) to the layman's eye - beautiful "glossy" photos of models wearing Glass are published, Glass appears in popular TV shows, and more and more often you can see them on the streets of big cities. people in Glass. But this does not guarantee success, although it helps. And one successful parody or goofy photo can undo all the success of a PR campaign and turn Glass's perception from "stylish" to "stupid".
Judging by the way events are developing now, Glass has a real chance of commercial success. Maybe not everyone, but definitely young technically savvy. It is unlikely that children will give Glass to their parents, but on the contrary, it is quite possible. Moreover, behind them is the power of Google and the personal interest of Sergey Brin. But even if Glass does not become mainstream, it will spark a revolution in the perception of wearable computing - after it, the idea of a computer worn on the head will no longer be something out of the ordinary.
about the author: Izzat Bahadyrov (@oshpaz) Candidate of technical sciences, programmer, inventor. I work as an engineer in the research department of Samsung Mobile. I write mostly for Android. I carry with me at least three different devices on at least two mobile operating systems that I use daily.
Google Glass glasses and rumors spread that the project would be closed. And on Saturday, the company unexpectedly announced that it was restarting the project and a new version Google Glass will be developed entirely from the ground up under former Apple designer Tony Fadell. What was the reason for such measures, was the project really such a failure? There is no easy answer, so let's try to figure it out.
To understand what went wrong, you need to go back a few years to Mountain View, where among the colorful company logos and luxurious maples, Google founders and a handful of trusted executives compiled a list of the 100 most futuristic ideas. This list included a geolocation service for working inside buildings and even a project called Google Brain, but the priority shifted towards a new type of wearable computer that could be attached to the skin, possibly in the form of glasses. By the end of 2009, then-CEO Eric Schmidt entered into discussions with Stanford University genius Sebastian Thrun to bring these ideas to life.
According to several Google employees who worked on "Project X" (as Thrun dubbed it) on early stages, the lab soon found a home on the Google campus. There, the first prototype of the device was created. virtual reality, which later became known as Google Glass.
Thrun hired a slew of researchers and luminaries to work on Google Glass, including Astro Teller and Babak Parvits, cutting-edge experts in wearable computing, and designer Isabelle Olsson. Later, company founder Sergey Brin teamed them up to help launch Google X.
Under the leadership of Brin and Thrun, "Project X" developed and was hidden from prying eyes for more than a year. “Ordinary Google employees walked past the building every day and did not even suspect what grandiose project work is in full swing outside its walls, ”recalls one of the Google X participants.
In 2011, information was leaked about a secret Google lab working on "Project X". At the time, a dispute broke out between the engineers working on Google Glass - some argued that glasses should be worn constantly throughout the day (as a "fashion gadget"), while others stated that they should only be used in certain situations. However, everyone agreed that the current goggle prototype is the best option and it can be taken as a basis, modifying some of the nuances.
But there was one dissident among them - Sergey Brin. He knew that the project was still far from the final stage of development, but believed that it should be presented to the public, and not hidden in the laboratory. Thus, he wanted to see the reaction of consumers, as well as use the feedback to improve the functionality and design of the gadget.
To highlight the fact that Google Glass is still in development, the company has decided not to sell glasses through Retail Stores, and instead limit the audience with Glass Explorers, a select group of geeks and journalists who paid $1,500 to be early testers. But this strategy backfired, due to the increased interest of various media that did not get "their part of the story" - there was an unhealthy hype and a lot of hype around Google Glass.
"The Project X team knew that the product was still very far from the stage where it could be presented to the public," says a former Google employee. But the marketing department and Mr. Brin had other plans.
The glasses were presented with great fanfare at the Google Developers Conference in 2012: skydivers with Google Glass filmed their flight right on them, and Brin reveled in the delight of the audience present, apparently feeling like Tony Stark.
It looked cool, it wasn't quite the kind of "going out" that a quiet secret project needed.
Skydivers and models caused a sensation, but after the first reviews by technical reviewers, the luster of Google Glass immediately faded. The glasses were described as " worst product of their time”: they had a battery, the autonomy of which made me want to cry, and a whole bunch of different bugs. In addition, there was the issue of privacy and the fact that you were not allowed into many establishments wearing glasses, including bars, cinemas and other places where customers are not allowed to make video recordings.
Google Glass became the object of desire before work on them was completed and they could even be considered a finished device.
At the beginning of 2014, a scandal worthy of the tabloid front pages erupted in the Google X Lab. In the midst of 3D printers and microchips, Brin and Google Glass marketing manager Amanda Rosenberg began a love affair. Adding piquancy to this is the fact that Rosenberg was familiar and even friends with Brin's wife.
From that moment, it would seem, the decline of Google Glass began. The people who started the project left (including Parvits, who moved to Amazon). And Brin, who never missed an opportunity to appear in public with Google Glass, stopped wearing them.
The news of the end of the Glass Explorer program was seen by many as the beginning of the end for Google Glass. But maybe things will be a little different. Google Glass renaissance to be closely watched by Ivy Ross, designer jewelry, head of Google's smart glasses division, and Tony Fadell, former Apple employee, creator of the iPod and Nest smart thermostat.
"The first prototypes of Google Glass had a lot of rough edges, but they allowed us to explore what's important to consumers and businesses," Fadell said in a statement. “It's an honor to work with Ivy. Together we can determine the direction of development and support it. She is leading the team and working together we will combine our knowledge and apply it to future products.”
Several people close to Fadell say he's going to build the product completely from scratch and won't release it until it's complete. As one of Fadell's advisers put it: “There will be no public testing. Tony is the kind of person who will only introduce a product when it's great."
Unique smart glasses Google Glass was announced to the public in 2012. After the experimental models were subjected to lengthy testing, and only at the end of spring 2014 they went on sale, while at that time they cost about $ 1,500. In this article, we will make a short review of this unique and promising headset.
Device Capabilities
These glasses are a comfortable headset, combined with the phone. This device is often referred to as a wearable microcomputer. These glasses work on Android, they are significantly different from similar models from other brands. Their body consists of lenses and a frame to which a small digital display is securely attached. In addition, the headset is equipped with a digital video camera, with which you can quickly record quality video and take normal photos.
Google was able to create glasses for augmented reality, which combines cellular communication with the Internet, as well as recording video diaries. This headset fully implements the possibility of maintaining a video diary, while the communication characteristics could be better. Therefore, users believe that in new models all these unpleasant nuances will be finalized.
Although the device has some drawbacks, a large number of users still managed to truly fall in love with Google Glass glasses, as a result of which all their functions and the impressions received by users from this headset can now be found on the Internet. Also, many of them review the device, both in text and video format.
Of greatest interest is the process of human interaction with the headset. It happens due to voice commands, while the first thing you need to say is the phrase “Ok, glass”, only then you can say any command, for example, start the program, start video recording or something else.
In addition, gestures can also be transmitted through this headset - a micro touchpad is provided for this, which is sensitive to such signals. The picture itself in this device is read by the human eye from a miniature display. Many Google Glass counterparts do not have some of the features listed above.
Characteristics
Augmented reality glasses have the following characteristics:
- video camera - 5 MP;
- display extension - 640x360;
- Bluetooth, WiFi;
- internal memory of the device - 16 GB (of which 12 GB is available for use);
- RAM - 2 GB;
- MicroUSB connector;
- operating system - Android;
- battery capacity - 750 mAh.
The main function of Google Glass glasses is to record and view video, as well as mobile communications and the creation of augmented reality. Many users note the perfect overview of video files in the device. Worth a closer look unique way sound transmission in a device in which signals are transmitted to a person in the form of high-frequency vibrations, they are perceived by the bones of the skull.
GGoogleGlass, price in Russia
Some of our compatriots use Google Glass glasses on a daily basis, but they are quite expensive in Russia - from 90,000 rubles. Therefore, this model is not available to many users. The high cost of the accessory is due to the fact that such glasses are the first gadgets with new features.
conclusions
This device, of course, is expensive, but its prospects are huge, both for private use and for the work of various services and departments, because the capabilities of the gadget allow you to quickly perform many tasks.
I must say that this model is recognized and in demand all over the world, which is very rare with virtual and augmented reality glasses. Today, you can’t actually find a full-fledged alternative to this headset, since it compares favorably with its competitors with its capabilities.
is the so-called augmented reality headset (or wearable computer) for smartphones based on Android and iOS, developed by Google.
Features of Google Glass
Google glasses Glass allow you to navigate the area, take photos and videos, communicate through social media and chat rooms, and even buy goods over the Internet. The concept of Google Glass should ultimately implement three separate functions at the same time, bringing them together: augmented reality, mobile communication plus the Internet, lifelogging.
Google Glass understands voice commands, touchpad navigation gestures, some commands are performed by tilting the head, shaking, etc., for this, the capabilities of the accelerometer and gyroscope are used. For maximum convenience, the goggles have a variety of nose pad options that allow you to take into account anatomical features device owner.
Glasses design Google Glass
The glasses are based on a powerful processor, a microphone, a transparent display, a camera with a gyroscope and a touch panel, all of which are mounted on the headband of the glasses. The display is located just above the right eye, its resolution is 640×360 pixels, while the picture itself looks like it is being looked at a 25-inch HD monitor from a distance of 2.4 meters. The camera is equipped with a high quality 5 megapixel sensor, which allows you to shoot HD video, the sound is transmitted directly through the bones of the skull. Communication with the network and other devices is provided by Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0 wireless modules. Google Glass glasses allow the user to store personal information directly inside the device, for this there is 16 GB of internal memory, of which 12 GB are available to the owner of the glasses, in addition, synchronization with the Google cloud service is supported, where another 4 GB of memory can be used. The capacity of the battery is still unknown, but the manufacturer himself claims that the glasses will be able to work for a day without recharging, although if the user shoots a video, this time will decrease somewhat. There is a microUSB interface for recharging the glasses.
Synchronization with smartphones is provided by the Bluetooth module, through a proprietary application, Google Glass glasses support mobile devices with the installed operating system Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich and higher.
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How Google Glass works
The start of the glasses begins with the voice command "Ok, Glass", followed by a request to perform a function. At the moment, glasses already allow you to work with such programs as Google Now, Google Maps, Google+, Gmail, Evernote, Skitch, New York Times, Path.
The history of glasses
Testing of Google Glass glasses began in April 2012, the first information about them came to The New York Times, they reported on the new product at the end of February 2012. The first test glasses (Explorer Edition model) were presented at the Glass Foundry event in February 2013, at that time their cost was $ 1,500. The glasses will go on mass sale at the end of 2013, already at a lower price.
Voice commands to control Google Glasses
| Function | Team |
| Video recording | "ok, glass, record a video" |
| Photography | "ok, glass, take a picture" |
| launch Google Now | "ok, glass," |
| launch Google hangout | "ok, glass, hang out with" |
| Search | "ok, glass, google" |
| Photo search | "ok, glass, google photos of" |
| Translation | "ok, glass, say in" |
| Navigation | "ok, glass, give directions to" |
| Sending messages |
"ok, glass, send a message to" "ok, glass, send that" "ok, glass, send to" |
| Weather display |
"ok, glass, how is the weather in?" "ok, glass, do I need an umbrella today?" |
| Flight information display | none/automatically (Google Now) "ok, glass, when does flight depart from ?" |
Part 1: getting to know the device, design, smartphone connection and main features
The brightest, sensational gadget of last year was Google Glass smart glasses. Perhaps, never since the release of the first iPad, the IT industry has not been so excited, and users so intrigued. True, the first batch of Google Glass did not reach ordinary users: the mysterious device was distributed among Google friends, leading American journalists and developers. The acute shortage, coupled with the innovation of this product, created a real cult around Google Glass: the first owners of the device, who dared to come to a public event in it, immediately fell into the ring of curious people: everyone wanted to try on Google Glass, or at least look at them live.
At the end of 2013, a new version of Google Glass appeared - 2.0 Explorer Edition. Its difference from the first version is the presence in the kit of a mono-headset that connects to the glasses. The Explorer Edition was released in a wider edition. In order to get it, now you no longer need to have connections in Google, but, of course, this is still not a full-fledged sale, and the product is designed purely for enthusiasts.
You can get Google Glass through the Explorer program. To do this, you need to leave an application on the project website, providing information about yourself, and then wait for a notification about the approach of your turn (this may take about a month or a little more). When the queue comes up, you will receive an offer to pay for points ($1500 + state tax). After making the payment, you can come to one of the Google Glass offices in major American cities, where they will give you the device and show you how to use it.
There is another option: buy Google Glass from one of the resellers. In Russia, prices for "gray" Google Glass reach 90 thousand rubles. The situation may change in the second half of 2014, when Google Glass should appear in open sale. True, again, there is no information about whether the product will appear only in the US or in other regions too.
Finally, until only April 15, 2014, Google gives everyone the opportunity, but only for one day. On the one hand, this news indicates the absence acute shortage glasses and, possibly, an early start of wide sales, and on the other hand, it is clear that the audience of glasses is still enthusiasts, and Google does not count on a wide audience yet. Simply put, we have a symbolic extension of the beta testing program (which, in fact, is the Explorer program).
To this event, albeit local, but still, we timed a detailed testing of Google Glass. However, we considered the revolutionary Google gadget not so much as a commercial product, in which the main thing is the ratio of functionality and price, but as a prototype that needs to be evaluated not so much in terms of its current capabilities, but in the context of possible prospects.
Let's take a look at the known specifications of the novelty (note that Google does not disclose details, so relatively little is known). An asterisk indicates specifications that are not taken from official Google resources.
Specifications of Google Glass Explorer 2.0
- SoC: TI OMAP 4430*
- CPU: two ARM Cortex-A9* cores
- Screen: 640×360 resolution projected onto the glass in front of the eye, similar in perception to a 25" HD screen at a distance of 2.5 meters
- Camera: photo shooting - 5 MP, video shooting - 720p
- WiFi: 802.11b/g 2.4GHz
- Internal memory: 16 GB (user available 12 GB)
- Compatibility: devices based on Android 4.x and iOS 7.x
- Connectivity: Bluetooth
- Sensors: accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor
- Operating system: Android 4.0.4*
- Audio: microphone, bone conduction speaker
- Battery: Li-polymer 2.1 Wh*
- Weight 50 g
There is practically nothing to compare the device with - it simply has no direct competitors today, so we immediately move on to a face-to-face acquaintance with Google Glass.
Equipment
The glasses come in a fairly large white cardboard box with a black bottom. Opening the lid, we will see Google Glass lying on a white cardboard form, where buttons and main elements are signed with arrows pointing to glasses.
Very smart and comfortable! As a matter of fact, this is the only "help" that is in physical form. There is also a FAQ leaflet inside, but in general, the approach is similar to Apple: the user must figure it out on his own, and if that doesn’t work, then you need to look for guidance on the Web.
Under the white form there is a microfiber cover, in which a cardboard box with a headset fixed in it on one ear is inserted.
The presence of this headset is the main difference between the second version of Google Glass and the first. The headset is connected to the Micro-USB connector. Interestingly, the headset wire is not wrapped in silicone, as usual, but a thin cord is threaded through. Moreover, the lace has a margin in length (the excess is hidden at the base of the earpiece). Thus, the length of the wire can be adjusted.
The microfiber case itself can be used to carry glasses, although this should still be done with great care.
At the bottom of the box, we see a Micro-USB - USB cable for connecting to a computer and a charger, the 5V 1A charger itself (of course, with an American plug) and a white envelope.
The envelope contains spare silicone tips for the nose pads (4 pieces), as well as a folded flyer with answers to questions (mainly questions in the spirit of "Can I wear Google Glass everywhere?" or "Can I ride a motorcycle in Google Glass?") .
In addition to the large box, we also received a small oblong box that contained sun lenses that can be attached to Google Glass. When shopping for glasses on Google, there are several lens options to choose from.
The lenses are attached using nose pads that wrap around the base of the lenses. Similarly, Google Glass can be used with other glasses.
Design
Google glasses are very elegant and compact. It cannot be said that they are beautiful in themselves and cause a desire to possess exactly the appearance, but they definitely do not cause any rejection, and on a person they look like a futuristic accessory that fits perfectly into any style of clothing.
No wonder Diane von Furstenberg used Google Glass in her New York Fashion Week show.
The body of the glasses consists of two parts. The first is a solid rim, due to which the glasses are kept on the user's head.
The inner side of the bezel in contact with the skin is plastic (hard smooth matte plastic), the outer side is metal, which also has a positive effect on appearance, and durability (and yet the gadget still gives the impression of being rather fragile).
Two metal nose pads with transparent silicone tips extend from the metal part of the rim, with the help of which the glasses are held on the user's nose.
The rim of the glasses is not symmetrical: its left end (if you wear glasses) is thin, and the right end turns into a large plastic block, inside of which a part of the electronic filling is placed.
This block is located behind the user's right ear when the goggles are on. It has a bone conduction speaker (sound is transmitted through the bones of the skull in the form of vibrations), it looks like a button labeled Glass. But in fact, this button does not involve pressing it (when the glasses are on, this is difficult to do).
Another button - now metal and supposed to be pressed, is placed on the rim from above, above the right eye. With this button, you can take a picture with the built-in camera. However, there are more convenient ways to take a picture (we will talk about them later).
When the user puts on glasses, he has a prism in front of his right eye, onto which the image is projected. When we turn on the glasses for the first time, we are asked to adjust the placement of the glasses on the head and the position of the head in such a way that we see the whole picture and quite clearly.
The head bends slightly, by a few degrees, but this is quite enough to find the optimal position relative to the eye. And a sensor on the inside of the retractable head can detect eye movements, such as blinking.
You get used to the screen pretty quickly, and even an illusion is created that you see it with both eyes, but in fact the image is only in front of one eye. And consequently, you have an increased load on your right eye.
In general, the design of Google Glass impresses not so much with its appearance (although it also), but with the concentration of engineering ideas. A projected mini-image, a speaker that transmits sound through the bones of the skull, a built-in camera, an eye-tracking sensor ... This is truly a look into the future.
Smartphone pairing and MyGlass app
The glasses connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth. Google Glass requires the MyGlass app from Apple to be installed. App Store(devices with iOS 7 supported) or Google Play Store (requires a smartphone running Google Android 4.x). Since Google Glass is only officially sold in the US, a US account is required in the App Store. If you do not have it, then you can get it in the following way. Select the USA as the country in the store settings, find MyGlass, click on install, then register with an American address (use Google Maps). Since the application is free, the data credit card you can not enter (in the case of paid applications, it is the credit card data that is the main stumbling block, since Russian cards cannot be used here). We tested Google Glass with the iPhone app.
Let's see what the application's interface is. To see the application menu, you need to click on the icon in the upper left corner or swipe from the left border of the screen. The first menu item is Device. It is also open by default. Here we see the device name, model number, smartphone connection status (connected or not), time and place (on the map) of the last connection. At the bottom, Add WiFi Network. It is needed in order to connect glasses to WiFi networks.
This is done in the following way. Click on Add Wifi Network, select an available Wi-Fi network and see the QR code. Next, you need to go to the glasses menu in Settings / WiFi / Add Network and look at the QR code on your smartphone.
If the glasses and the smartphone are connected via Bluetooth and connected to the same Wi-Fi network, then the Screencast feature becomes active, that is, duplicating the image from the glasses screen to the smartphone screen. This is what allowed us to take screenshots of the software interface of the glasses themselves. But back to the iPhone app. The next menu item is Contacts.
Here you can add contacts from your smartphone that you would like to make available on the glasses. I don't understand why the glasses can't automatically use all the contacts in my Google account and I have to add them manually. But for now, this is the situation.
Go ahead. Active Glassware is the applications that are installed in your glasses. And, accordingly, Glassware Gallery is a catalog of applications. At the time of writing, there were a little over fifty of them. These are all major Google services (Gmail, Google+, Hangouts, Google Play Music, etc.), Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, Tumblr, Path and other (mostly well-known) projects.
In order to add an application to glasses, just go to the application card and move the switch from Off to On. The application will appear on Google Glass in a second or two.
The last menu item - Help - is clear, as for Screencast - this was mentioned above. Finishing the conversation about the application, we note that so far its interaction with glasses is very limited, the potential here is huge. But, apparently, Google assumes that developers will create applications not only for glasses, but also for smartphones that allow you to exchange some information with glasses (for example, transfer data about the route traveled during the day, photos taken and video, in general - here you can come up with a lot more.
Management and functionality of Google Glass
So, what can Google Glass do and how to use it? By pressing the small power button on the inside of the right temple and putting on the glasses, we will see an instruction teaching how to use the gadget. There are two main control methods: voice commands and touching the touch panel on outside right ear (three types of gestures are supported: swipe back and forth, swipe down and short touch).
The start screen shows the time and communicates the main voice command that starts any interaction with the glasses: ok glass. After saying it, we will get to the menu where you can choose one of the actions: launch Google Now, take a photo, take a video, get directions, send a message or make a call.
By launching Google Now, we can interact with it in much the same way as with Siri, that is, ask questions in any form and receive answers to them.
For example, How old is Barack Obama?
Needless to say, only English is supported. As well as in the Google Glass interface. And often this becomes a stumbling block. For example, the record a video command was successful for me and my colleagues only in about 40% of cases (even after intensive pronunciation training), while the take a picture command was always recognized correctly. But - let's move on.
The take a picture command allows you to take a photo using the camera, and the record a video command starts recording a video. At the same time, the video is recorded only for 10 seconds, but if you touch the touch panel, the video will be recorded until you stop it (with the ok glass command) or until the memory / battery runs out.
We will return to the possibilities of shooting with Google Glass.
The next menu item is get direction. Paving a route using Google Maps is an interesting and promising thing, but here and now it is less convenient and useful than a similar function on a smartphone / tablet.
Two modes are available here: navigation and overview of the entire route. The second mode is of little use, because you simply cannot see any details. Imagine that you have a route from the Moscow Ring Road to the center of Moscow. You see just a long curved line, and it is not clear which streets it goes through (on a smartphone, you can zoom in on any fragment, and the resolution of modern flagship smartphones allows you to display much more details).
As for the navigation mode, this is an extremely promising thing, but in the current implementation it does not greatly benefit from the usual navigator and even rather loses.
There is a problem with both hardware and software. The hardware problem is that the screen is not directly in front of the two eyes, but just above the right eye. Therefore, it is necessary to look at it. Therefore, if you are driving, you will not be able to follow the road and look at the screen at the same time. In order to remedy this situation, it is necessary to position the screen directly in front of the user's eyes. In this case, the user will always look through the glass. Well, then - it's clear: the picture with navigation icons (arrows, warnings) should be superimposed directly on the real road. This is an augmented reality technology that is already quite common, but has not yet reached the mass consumer. It is assumed that augmented reality technology will be one of the trump cards of Google Glass, but this is not yet the case.
Rounding out the list of basic features of Google Glass are phone functions. You can make a call, receive a call or send an SMS message (the latter only works on Android).
However, here, too, it was not without problems. If the name of your contact is written in Russian, you will not be able to call him or send an SMS in any way, since the system does not recognize Russian speech, and there are no other ways to select the desired subscriber.
We also note that the audibility of the interlocutor during a conversation is not bad, but the interlocutor does not hear you very well, the sound is like from a barrel. As for text messages, if there is no way to correct what is written, this seems to be a very risky way to communicate.
Management during telephone conversation carried out using the touch panel.
In conclusion, we invite you to watch our video review of Google Glass 2.0 Explorer Edition:
In the second part of the article, we will study the Google Glass settings, consider the possibilities of taking photos and videos, and also summarize and reflect on the future prospects of this class of devices.