As noteworthy company Research In Motion is struggling with keeping afloat and preventing more people from selling used BlackBerrys for something better by considering split-and-merger options and thereby diminishing its size, another prominent company is looking to expand into other ventures that just scream “future-tech.”

Google Glass Explorer Edition

Google showed off its Google Glass Explorer Edition last week at the Google I/O conference. The gadget is the first official prototype to come out from Google’s Project Glass R&D program, which aims to develop Augmented Reality devices worn as, well, glasses.

For those not in the know, Augmented Reality is the application of electronic devices in visual real-world tandem with one’s actual surroundings. Simply stated, it’s HUDs and user interfaces on a (preferably) transparent screen, superimposed on an actual environment. Think Iron Man’s workstation and you’ve got a clear picture of it.

These AR devices are designed to let a user interact with the world while at the same time staying connected to the World Wide Web; or at the very least – and if plans push through – allow users to do things they can do with PCs offline (the now more possible eventual appearance of Virtual Reality video games particularly rocks my boat), albeit understandably with limited functionality and/or a different user interface.

Design and features

Accordingly, the Google Glass weighs less than most sunglasses. It has a titanium frame, making it very light and comfy. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise since Google employee Isabelle Olsson used to be an eyewear designer. It has a touch pad panel at the side for controlling purposes, and a button at the top for shooting photos and videos very much akin to webcam buttons.

Actual specs are undisclosed as of the moment. All that is known is that the nifty device has a camera, radio channels for data communication, a speaker, a microphone, and an internal gyroscope that indicates a user’s position and faced direction.
Although future iterations will most probably render these AR glasses everyday necessities much like cellphones are now, for the moment their functions are limited to accessing Google+ hangouts, playing video files, taking pictures, filming home movies, and sharing files. There are also speculations that a Google search may come up with for the next prototype, but don’t take my word for it.

Availability

The Google Glass Explorer Edition is currently only available to software developers who were able to attend Google’s I/O convention, going for $1,500 apiece and deliverable by early 2013. As for the mainstream market, we will all just have to wait a bit longer.
This is exciting news indeed, as AR’s possibilities have been teased at us quite a number of times already. What once was considered a flight of fancy just a decade ago is now something that is nearing reality. Imagine having Tony Stark’s workstation right in your very basement: Such a thing could come true give or take a few years, and the Google Glass is only the beginning.

Megan Cunningham is a young Web Enthusiast, Graphic Artist, Blogger and contributing author of Cash4Laptops.com . You can catch her on Twitter @Meganbility