Google unveiled “Project Glass” earlier this week, an undertaking that it hopes will bring eyewear equipped with heads-up display technology to the masses. The new glasses currently in development include an integrated transparent display that projects images and data in the wearer’s field of vision. HUD technology such as this could allow users to pair Google’s glasses with a smartphone and view data while the handset remains tucked away, or they could operate as a standalone product with an integrated chipset and embedded flash memory. The project has stirred up a healthy amount of intrigue within the media and among consumers, and Google’s competition has apparently taken note.
White is currently meeting with supply chain companies in China and Taiwan, and he shared several insights from meetings in Taipei in a note to investors Thursday night. White observed an overall optimistic tone during his first day of meetings as companies prepare for a seasonal ramp-up in production. This is sharp contrast to the tone White observed in similar meetings late last year.
“Our meetings today indicate that Google glasses (a.k.a., Project Glass) already has competitors working on similar initiatives to improve consumer’s mobility around Internet access,” White wrote. “We expect to be hear more about projects such as this and others in the coming years. This could drive a new wave of innovation across the mobility space.”
Project Glass, an enterprise at Google’s highly secretive Google X lab, released photos and posted a video to YouTube on Wednesday to preview the search company’s long-rumored foray into building a better pair of specs.
The video, ominously titled “One Day …” depicts what a day in the life of a Google glasses-wearer would be like. Shown literally through the eyes of a hip downtown New Yorker, the video starts with the glasses booting up. A series of icons flash into his field of vision, Terminator-style. He checks his calendar and the weather, chats and shares photos with friends in his circles (remember that week we were all active on Google+?) and listens to music.
