Google may be looking to reverse the fortune of its Glass headset by making it more streamlined. Patent files have revealed a new design for the high-tech headset that features a thinner casing above the left ear, making it more inconspicuous. It follows news that Google plans to revamp the hardware on the headset next year, too, by replacing its Texas Instrument Chip with an Intel processor. Google Glass launched in 2012 to fanfare, but its price, clunky design, as well as how long it is taking to be released to general consumers have dampened this excitement. The headset costs £1,000 in the UK and $1,500 in the US, but models now sell on eBay for half this price. Developers are also said to be abandoning the platform, and even Google's Sergey Brin appeared at an event recently without the specs. A thinner design and faster processor may make it more appealing to a wider variety of people.
But Google has already attempted to make the device more fashionable with the launch of designer frames, which don't appear to have boosted its charm. Google Glass has also been criticised by privacy campaigners for allowing wearers to take photos and videos surreptitiously, so making the device itself less prominent may flame these concerns. The patent was first filed in October 2011, but was only awarded yesterday. It doesn't confirm Google is revamping the device, but it does suggest it has been looking at alternative designs since before the headset was released. Recently it emerged that the consumer version, which Google promised would go on sale this year, has now been delayed until 2015 - raising questions over its future. Of 16 Glass app makers contacted by Reuters earlier this month, nine said that they had stopped work on their projects or abandoned them, mostly because of the lack of customers or limitations of the device. Three more have switched to developing for business, leaving behind consumer projects.
'It's not a big enough platform to play on seriously,' said Matthew Milan, founder of Toronto-based software firm Normative Design, which put on hold a Glass app for logging exercise and biking.
IS GOOGLE GLASS A FLOP?
Google Glass launched in 2012 to fanfare, but its price as well as how long it is taking to be released to general consumers have dampened this excitement. The headset costs £1,000 in the UK and $1,500 in the US, but models now sell on eBay for half this price. Developers are also said to be abandoning the platform, and even Google's Sergey Brin appeared at an event recently without the specs. Of 16 Glass app makers contacted by Reuters earlier this month, nine said that they had stopped work on their projects or abandoned them, mostly because of the lack of customers or limitations of the device. Three more have switched to developing for business, leaving behind consumer projects. Recently it emerged that the consumer version, which Google promised would go on sale this year, has now been delayed until 2015 - raising questions over its future.