Sometimes it takes me a while to wrap my head around a new idea and how I really feel about it. I try to weigh the pros and cons and figure out whether it’s an idea I would be on board with or not. This is something I find I have to do often in the mobile world as our technology is constantly changing and evolving. What started out as simple flip phones has evolved into these crazy computer slabs that we can do just about anything with. But now that smartphones have been established we’re ready to move on to the next big thing, which seems to be (you probably guessed it): wearable technology.
Wearable tech is certainly starting to make its mark in the industry, especially in regards to smartwatches. But while smartwatches are making some slow (yet steady) strides, there’s another piece of wearable tech that’s also sparked some interest, and that’s smart glasses. More specifically, I’m looking at Google Glass.
I’ve had my ups and downs about Google Glass. At first, I didn’t like the idea at all. It just seemed gimmicky. The more I looked into it, though, the more I realized that there are a lot of positives to come out of an idea like Google Glass. Would I ever buy one for myself? No, probably not; but I did start to see the potential that the idea could bring. A truly hands-free piece of wearable tech could be of assistance for a lot of people.
Despite this, though, I just don’t see the idea really taking off... yet.
I think Google Glass is a stepping stone for future generations of wearable glasses. When you look at all of the successful gadgets that we have around us today, it might seem like that they were winners from the get-go, but they weren’t. You can look at the iPad and say “Tablets have always been popular!” but they haven’t, because the iPad wasn’t the first true tablet computer as we know it. If you look back to somewhere around 2001, Microsoft came out with the Microsoft Tablet PC, which never really took off. The idea was there, but it wasn’t fully optimized to the point where people felt like they had a real need to use it.
Or what about those feature phones that started to feature things like internet, instant messaging, and music playback capabilities? They did really well (at least it looked like they did at school) but it was still just a stepping stone for the smartphone generation. None of the web or music playback capabilities on those phones were stellar, but they were there, and it was a start.
So that’s where I’m at with Google Glass right now. I really think that Google Glass is the beginning of some great products we could see in the future, but right now I think it just serves as a stepping stone for those products. That being said, I do think that one day smartglasses will take off and become a popular accessory to have, but I don’t think that Google Glass is going to be the one that makes it to the top - at least not in its current state. Who knows, maybe Apple will swoop down again and make all of the necessary changes to it that make it a highly desirable product. Wouldn’t that be something?
Readers, when it comes to smartglasses like Google Glass, what have your thoughts been on it? Do you think that Google Glass will ever actually take off in its current state, or do you think it needs more tweaking? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
