Well? Do you, punk?
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is talking about the next stage of its Glass Explorer program. If you want to join, you can get an invitation to be among the first to buy the second-generation units. Read on to find out how.
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As Sharon Gaudin reports, v2.0 is coming:
The company announced...that over the next few weeks all of its...prototype testers, will be able to invite three people to join the program [along with] the original 8,000 Glass testers....
Google also announced that [current] Explorers won't have to buy new models of Glass. ... They can exchange their prototypes for the new versions. [But] only Explorers who purchased Glass before Oct. 28 are eligible...they'll have 60 days to register for the exchange. ... The company said it will notify testers in November. MORE
Or is it v1.1? Ron Amadeo sounds excited:
The next version of Glass will finally be compatible with...prescription frames. [It] will also include a mono earbud, likely replacing the terrible bone conduction speaker....
Mono-only sound remains a bit of a disappointment, as listening to music on Glass would be a very useful feature. MORE
The Google Glass team weighs up the feedback, saying it's "learned a ton":
Glass Explorers from Fargo to Fairbanks, and from Houston to Honolulu, have been sharing their feedback...helping shape what Glass will become....
We want to say “thank you” for all the amazing feedback we’ve been getting, so...Explorers will have a one-time option to swap out their existing Glass for a new one [which] will allow your Glass to work with future lines of shades and prescription frames, and we’ll also include a mono earbud....
In addition, we’ve been experimenting with ways to expand the Explorer Program. ... Explorers will have the opportunity to invite three friends [who] can have it shipped to their home, office, treehouse or igloo. MORE
But Matt McGee has #firstworldproblems:
All of a sudden we have two big decisions: ... Who gets the three Glass invites...and whether to trade-in the original Glass for Google Glass 2.0....
The invitee has to buy Glass at the regular Explorer price of $1,500 plus tax, and can either visit one of the Google Glass base camps to pick it up, or have it shipped. ... If you can, go to the base camp. It’s worth it. MORE
And Travis Pope confesses: [You're fired -Ed.]
The company also used the occasion to post a new promotional video [which] depicts different scenarios that a Google Glass device would be useful in. These include displaying the date and time and getting accurate information about landmarks and things around users.. MORE
So when is the new Glass going to be released? Chris Velazco offers a clue:
Google Glass is still a ways off from its general launch date — expect it to land some time in 2014 on some sort of Google barge....
With any luck, Google will have tweaked the internals a bit too, as the existing loadout is getting pretty long in the tooth. ... In an age of incredibly high-powered...smartphones, current Glass owners are walking around with the equivalent of a Galaxy Nexus on their heads. MORE
Meanwhile though, smartr says the emperor is naked:
Consumers will look at Glass and pass. The few who will buy it will later realize how much of a gimmick this is. ... I’ve yet to see any useful application of it in real world...they all end up to be a “POV-recording-is-awesome” sort of story....
It has not proven itself to be anything more than just a fantasy [for] geeks who are out of touch of what the future holds and consumers need. ... If the future is Glass then we are in deep ****. MORE
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