Google Glass, released in February 2013, is a wearable
computer, concisely described in common language. As the name suggests,
“Google” developed it in the "Project Glass" research and development project
with the view to develop a ubiquitous device that matches to a computer,
comparing to most of the features. It has a touch pad at the sidebar. The
device has the feature to accept voice commands to perform a task. Head mounted
display (HMD) is an innovative feature of the device and allows you to bring it
in use as a monitor. These were some facts, with crystal-clear presentation.
Now, let us dive in deeper and come up with the real usability that it offers
to the customers.
Talking about the hardware, the device has a continuous
titanium band with two arcing grippers. The sidelines of the band have plastic
assembly at the right. The circuits of the device including the battery reside
in these plastic housings. One part of the plastic housing rests behind the
ears of the wearer and contains the battery and a bone conductive speaker. The
second part of the same is at the front and capsules the camera, processor and
the display assembly. The right side of the glass for the reason that it
carries all the equipments may seem to shift lower when you wear it for a
while. The glass does not come with a lens(for visibility problem persons). This makes it unsuitable to someone
who has already been wearing one due to eye vision issues. Google is however
planning to come up with lens fitted models.
The test model of Google Glass for vision problem people can fit on most of the eyeglasses but will
rarely do that comfortably. Even if it does, it will partially block the vision
through your right eye lens due to the plastic assembly. Dozens of people with
eye sight problems who tried the lens fitted model, faced difficulty focusing
on the display. Therefore, it needs to adjust the focal depth of the glass
before bringing it into the mainstream market. Some other restrictions with the
usability of the device include inability to adjust display brightness and
volume, switch off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, modify default screen timeout and
enable a silent or DND mode. Furthermore, the device seems to be very fragile
and the level is increased by the refractive display at the front which is
advised not even to be touched. The bands do not fold like traditional glasses
and makes it a hectic accessory to carry when not in use.
The bottom line would be that Google Glass is no doubt an
innovative product launched by Google, but the hardware and usability features
are to be reconsidered. A second mind thought might also suggest you like it is
just a part of discomfort that any newly invested gadget may have for the
customers and you will get used to it.
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