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What's the experience like? My understanding is that its not AR-like, but instead you kind of look down a tiny pixelized screen. What do you like about it? Is

What's the experience like? My understanding is that its not AR-like, but instead you kind of look down a tiny pixelized screen. What do you like about it? Is there a killer app yet? Do you think there will ever be one? Would you prefer this built into more fashionable frames?

deveac 13y ago
jxf is far more qualified to answer your question than I, but I did a quick write-up on Hubski from when Google took Glass on tour: http://hubski.com/pub?id=117777 http://hubski.com/pub?id=117777 That was just a quick, unvarnished reaction to putting Glass on and using it for a short time. Maybe jxf can critique my initial experience and speak to how it might have evolved after using it over an extended period of time.
dag11 13y ago
I'm also an explorer so I'll chip in. > you kind of look down a tiny pixelized screen It's tiny, but it's not pixelated. It's rather high-res for its size; you can't see the pixels. > killer app? For me at least, the killer functionality comes in the form of wink-to-take-a-picture. Especially when travelling, it's amazing to be able to take many pictures from your POV instantly without even having to really do anything. This leaves you with a huge amount of both significant and insignificant pictures that together tell a story.
- deveac 13y ago
  How has the voice recognition in public spaces suited you over time? Based off my brief demo, it wasn't too great. I placed it at or just barely below the voice recognition on the Google Now & Siri app on my iPhone (neither of which are too impressive atm).
  - dag11 13y ago
    I don't even try to use voice when it's windy outside; it'll hardly get it right. I fault the hardware for that. In terms of the commands, it's decent, could be better. I wish it had open-ended commands like Siri/Google Voice Search instead of being restricted to a list. Well, it sort-of does have open-ended commands by performing a "google" search. For example, in the past I've been able to say "OK Glass... Google... In five hour remind me to call Bill" and it would set a Google Now reminder. That specific feature has appeared and disappeared over time, I think they're still working on it.
  - chinpokomon 13y ago
    My experience has been very good for colloquial English. Text messages I've sent where I've used a lot of jargon or proper names, that you wouldn't find in a dictionary, Glass understandably fails. I shoot pool and even in a loud pool hall I can almost whisper my commands and Glass picks them up just fine. What is neat is that Auto Awesome will stitch together clips of my game, and at the end of the night I have a highlight of my match.
- pdx6 13y ago
  Glass's camera is really good at taking quick photos of things and people that tend to move before you can pull out your camera. This makes it a useful tool for capturing cute baby or cat moments as they happen.
pdx6 13y ago
You can think of Glass like an android screen that is always with you. If you tilt your head up or tap the touchpad on the side, it will turn on and you can interact with your voice. The display itself reflects right into the back your eye, and after a few hours of use, it becomes somewhat addictive and you'll miss it when you take it off. My favorite thing to use Glass for is driving directions. It is about on par with the Google Navigation on Android and isn't distracting once you get use to it. Want to see the next turn? Slightly tilt your head up and it appears in your vision, otherwise, navigation will read you turn by turn directions. Don't forget that Glass is Android, so if you are doing development on the Android platform, you don't have to do a lot of extra training to begin moving your apps to Glass.
jxf 13y ago
> My understanding is that its not AR-like, but instead you kind of look down a tiny pixelized screen. That's about right. I wouldn't say "tiny", though -- it's a very small form factor and it's unobtrusive, for sure, but it's not hard to shift your attention to it when you want to. It's not really "pixelated", either. The resolution is 640x360, so the apparent pixel density is extremely high when it's on a small surface. I certainly can't distinguish individual pixels, for instance. > What's the experience like? The experience is a bit like having a virtual assistant that you can access without using your hands. Imagine having a slightly smarter version of Google Now without taking your phone out of your pocket, for example. > What do you like about it? The POV recordings are super cool. I can show people what I'm working on close up and provide step-by-step directions. Normally you would need a specialized camera rig and a GoPro for that. But using it this way feels so much more natural. I helped a nontechnical friend upgrade a laptop by showing him where to unscrew and open things. I could see a lot of applications along these lines -- e.g. imagine a Khan Academy but for car repair, filmed from a Glass. > Is there a killer app yet? I haven't seen a compelling reason that would make it worth $1,500 for the average consumer. I'm optimistic, though. This is sort of meta, but I believe Glass is at least partially an experiment to discover how Glass should be used. Send it out to the most diehard people, and let them figure out how to use it and write their own apps -- then take note of that and build a business around it. "Build it and they will come" is usually a terrible strategy imo, but there are definitely a lot of developers looking at interesting ways of using it. > Would you prefer this built into more fashionable frames? I wear glasses and I find contacts a little uncomfortable, so the first generation of Glass was only a novelty for me: They were impossible to put on if you were also wearing your regular prescription frames. The new generation, with prescription lenses available, made things a lot easier. Because I'm wearing it as a purely functional item, I care less about how it looks, but I can see why people would want more attractive versions. It still doesn't feel very sleek.

deveac 13y ago

jxf is far more qualified to answer your question than I, but I did a quick write-up on Hubski from when Google took Glass on tour: http://hubski.com/pub?id=117777 http://hubski.com/pub?id=117777 That was just a quick, unvarnished reaction to putting Glass on and using it for a short time. Maybe jxf can critique my initial experience and speak to how it might have evolved after using it over an extended period of time.

dag11 13y ago

I'm also an explorer so I'll chip in. > you kind of look down a tiny pixelized screen It's tiny, but it's not pixelated. It's rather high-res for its size; you can't see the pixels. > killer app? For me at least, the killer functionality comes in the form of wink-to-take-a-picture. Especially when travelling, it's amazing to be able to take many pictures from your POV instantly without even having to really do anything. This leaves you with a huge amount of both significant and insignificant pictures that together tell a story.

deveac 13y ago
How has the voice recognition in public spaces suited you over time? Based off my brief demo, it wasn't too great. I placed it at or just barely below the voice recognition on the Google Now & Siri app on my iPhone (neither of which are too impressive atm).
- dag11 13y ago
  I don't even try to use voice when it's windy outside; it'll hardly get it right. I fault the hardware for that. In terms of the commands, it's decent, could be better. I wish it had open-ended commands like Siri/Google Voice Search instead of being restricted to a list. Well, it sort-of does have open-ended commands by performing a "google" search. For example, in the past I've been able to say "OK Glass... Google... In five hour remind me to call Bill" and it would set a Google Now reminder. That specific feature has appeared and disappeared over time, I think they're still working on it.
- chinpokomon 13y ago
  My experience has been very good for colloquial English. Text messages I've sent where I've used a lot of jargon or proper names, that you wouldn't find in a dictionary, Glass understandably fails. I shoot pool and even in a loud pool hall I can almost whisper my commands and Glass picks them up just fine. What is neat is that Auto Awesome will stitch together clips of my game, and at the end of the night I have a highlight of my match.
pdx6 13y ago
Glass's camera is really good at taking quick photos of things and people that tend to move before you can pull out your camera. This makes it a useful tool for capturing cute baby or cat moments as they happen.

pdx6 13y ago

You can think of Glass like an android screen that is always with you. If you tilt your head up or tap the touchpad on the side, it will turn on and you can interact with your voice. The display itself reflects right into the back your eye, and after a few hours of use, it becomes somewhat addictive and you'll miss it when you take it off. My favorite thing to use Glass for is driving directions. It is about on par with the Google Navigation on Android and isn't distracting once you get use to it. Want to see the next turn? Slightly tilt your head up and it appears in your vision, otherwise, navigation will read you turn by turn directions. Don't forget that Glass is Android, so if you are doing development on the Android platform, you don't have to do a lot of extra training to begin moving your apps to Glass.

jxf 13y ago

> My understanding is that its not AR-like, but instead you kind of look down a tiny pixelized screen. That's about right. I wouldn't say "tiny", though -- it's a very small form factor and it's unobtrusive, for sure, but it's not hard to shift your attention to it when you want to. It's not really "pixelated", either. The resolution is 640x360, so the apparent pixel density is extremely high when it's on a small surface. I certainly can't distinguish individual pixels, for instance. > What's the experience like? The experience is a bit like having a virtual assistant that you can access without using your hands. Imagine having a slightly smarter version of Google Now without taking your phone out of your pocket, for example. > What do you like about it? The POV recordings are super cool. I can show people what I'm working on close up and provide step-by-step directions. Normally you would need a specialized camera rig and a GoPro for that. But using it this way feels so much more natural. I helped a nontechnical friend upgrade a laptop by showing him where to unscrew and open things. I could see a lot of applications along these lines -- e.g. imagine a Khan Academy but for car repair, filmed from a Glass. > Is there a killer app yet? I haven't seen a compelling reason that would make it worth $1,500 for the average consumer. I'm optimistic, though. This is sort of meta, but I believe Glass is at least partially an experiment to discover how Glass should be used. Send it out to the most diehard people, and let them figure out how to use it and write their own apps -- then take note of that and build a business around it. "Build it and they will come" is usually a terrible strategy imo, but there are definitely a lot of developers looking at interesting ways of using it. > Would you prefer this built into more fashionable frames? I wear glasses and I find contacts a little uncomfortable, so the first generation of Glass was only a novelty for me: They were impossible to put on if you were also wearing your regular prescription frames. The new generation, with prescription lenses available, made things a lot easier. Because I'm wearing it as a purely functional item, I care less about how it looks, but I can see why people would want more attractive versions. It still doesn't feel very sleek.