Google Glass Contest Announced
Google announced Wednesday it will hold a contest to determine who will get a chance to buy the "Explorer" version of augmented-reality Google Glass for $1,500.
Participants must submit a 50-word essay on what they would do with the glasses, which users can verbally command to take video and pictures, get directions and send text messages.
Entries must be submitted by next Wednesday on Twitter or Google plus and include the hashtag #ifIhadglass. Google said it will offer the glasses to "bold, creative individuals."
Google did not say how many pairs of glasses it will sell through this contest. It has already sold some prototypes to computer programmers at a company conference last June.
The company released a video of people using the glasses while skydiving, riding a roller coaster, and horseback riding to showcase the versatility of the device.
Google Glass is one of a new wave of products that make technology wearable. Apple is also in the process of developing one of these products: a watch that can perform many of the functions a smartphone can.
One of the major hurdles Google admitted it will have to overcome is making the glasses fashionable. The New York Times reported that Google is in talks with the trendy-eyeglass maker Warby Parker to help it design a product that makes wearers look less like cyborgs.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin said before the company can release a mass-market version of Google Glass, some bugs must be worked out and the battery life has to be extended. Brin also said he expects the final product to cost less than $1,500 but more than a smartphone.
