Google Glass has gone on sale in the UK as a prototype for £1,000, as the internet giant prepares the augmented reality eyewear for general release in the next year.
The company’s Explorer Programme is now allowing any UK resident over the age of 18 to purchase Glass online – but it is still described as being in the test phase.
Glass connects to the internet through a paired smartphone and displays messages to the wearer on a small transparent screen positioned in the corner of their vision.
It will cost £1,000 and can be worn with or without prescription lenses.
Google is keen to stress that the device is still a work in progress but hopes that it represents the future of computing – offering users hands-free access to the sort of information and apps available through a smartphone.
Google is asking Glass users for their feedback on the functionality of the £1,000 device.
The company has not released any sales figures so far, but it is estimated there are as many as 300,000 users of the glasses in the US.
At the UK launch, Marketing Director of Google Glass Ed Sanders said: “One of the reasons we’re here in the UK is the country’s spirit of innovation. The consumers, developers and inventors in the UK have a very rich heritage of embracing new technology.
“Glass is not a finished product yet and part of the spirit of the explorer programme is so that we can work closely with developers and consumers in the UK at a local level to find out what will take the product forward.”
Google will not say how many units are being sold as part of this launch but it is expected to be a similar number to that of the initial US Explorer Programme which is estimated to have sold tens of thousands.
Google has faced criticism for its device with some states in the US moving to ban motorists from using them whilst on the road. There have also been fears of an invasion of privacy.
In January this year San Diego resident Cecilia Abadie was given a ticket for wearing Glass while driving and in the same month Columbus-based software engineer Tiberiu Ungureanu was ejected from a cinema and detained by police for wearing Glass while watching a movie.
Since its launch in the US Google has been working hard to demonstrate all the potential uses for the technology, including setting up a charity named Giving Through Glass that invites non-profits to show how they’d use the device to help their causes.
In the UK Glass has been trialled by the University of Newcastle to aid individuals suffering from Parkinson’s, helping them to access the web through voice commands when tremors stop them from using a computer and providing reminders to take their medicine.
The researchers found that although reactions to Glass were “generally positive” there were lingering concerns – including that the device’s high price tag might make wearers a target for thieves, and the worry that the technology might simply make users dependent on others in new ways.
However, some firms are open to people using Glass on their establishments.
British Airways said its customers could wear Glass at any time on board its aircraft, as long as they put it in flight safety mode when necessary.
Tesco said it had already developed a concept Glass app that could be used in its stores.
And Waterstones added: “As a bookshop it is difficult to see how Google Glass eyewear could cause us or our customers any difficulty beyond, of course, some mild ridicule.”
A spokeswoman for Google noted that Glass lights up when it captures images, and that its battery limits it to taking a maximum of 45 minutes of video at a time.
Along with the launch of the UK Explorer Programme, new applications are being released, including astronomy app Star Chart and fitness game Zombies Run.
Watch this video showing Glass being used in London here:
View the official UK Google Glass page here