So back in June 2014, I was invited to try out Google Glass at an event in London. So I made an appointment to go after work on a Friday evening, which worked out rather well because the trains were delayed from Waterloo that day. So I headed off to St Pancras station to find out “What is Google Glass”.

So I arrived at the venue and gave my details, they then promptly stamped my hand.

Fitting

I was fitted with Google Glass and was directed to make my way around the stands to try out the different features. First of all they gave you a chance to try out the basic operation. This starts with saying “Ok Glass”, and next the command you want to execute like “Take a picture”.

Language Translation Demo

The first demo was the language translation. So you could look at a sign, select the translation you want, for example German to English and it would display the sign in English for you.

Music Demo

After that the next demo involved music playing. Google glass would identify the music and display the lyrics to you. That was pretty cool I thought.

Astronomy App Demo

The final demo showed an astronomy app, this used the bone conduction transducer, which means that you can hear Google glass talking to you without headphones. This didn’t work so well because the room was quite noisy.

Finally The Photo

The final part was photos, I chose a less conspicuous pair, being the anonymous kind of guy that I am. So I enjoyed the demo which coincided nicely with delays at Waterloo.

The Shortcomings

I guess the main shortcoming is that you have to be near WiFi or have a tethering option on your mobile phone contract. Otherwise its just a glorified camera without either of these.

The frames are made of titanium and they do not fold, so you would need to buy a case to put them in when they are not being used.

Conclusion

I was invited to purchase a beta version on the explorers program, but there is a £1000 price tag. For that kind of money I would want a clear idea in my head of what kind of app I would want to develop. But it looks like “wearables” are the future. I would be interested to try the new version of Google Glass, to see how much it has moved on.

You can purchase your Google Glass here.