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How has Glass transformed your daily routine? Is it easy to decouple Glass from prescription glasses? How long is the typical battery life in your experience?

• jxf 13y ago
  > How has Glass transformed your daily routine? I wouldn't say that Glass has been transformative for me in an everyday way. It's just enabled new kinds of interactions that I wouldn't have thought about before. To take one example, I feel that I'm much more likely to use Glass to film myself doing something when I want to show someone else how to do it. I've used it at a whiteboard quite a number of times and I've found that to be extremely helpful, especially when I'm sharing my ideas or work with others remotely. Before Glass, I probably would take a picture of the whiteboard and email it with some thoughts. > Is it easy to decouple Glass from prescription glasses? On the initial version of Glass, you couldn't really wear Glass and your own prescription glasses at the same time. It just wasn't comfortable. This was a huge drawback for me since I wear glasses, so the first version was sort of a bust. The v2 Explorer model supports custom lenses, and those lenses are very easy to add or remove. They fit snugly into a tight metal/plastic brace embedded into the top frame. It's very easy to remove or swap them. However, the lenses are expensive (iirc $400) and it's unclear to me whether they're covered by health insurance. > How long is the typical battery life in your experience? How long does it take to recharge? Battery life is pretty abysmal. It's maybe ~120 minutes of active use, tops. I'm using "active use" here to mean swiping, recording, taking pictures, etc. It will last for a whole day if you just occasionally wake it up to ask for directions, take a recording, et cetera. It charges pretty quickly, but I haven't actually timed it. I'd guess 0% ⇒ 100% can be done in a couple of hours or less. > Has slow internet connectivity been an issue (via cellphone or Wifi)? Not that I've found. Slow Internet doesn't affect any Glass more than it does your cellphone. You can still take pictures, record data, et cetera. > Would you recommend Glass to someone who likes tech, but doesn't feel the need to be married to it? I think you definitely have to be a gadget nerd to pay $1,500 for this and feel like it was a good idea. The novelty wears off fast (which is partially a good thing since it's a testament to the engineering design that it feels so natural). If you're not going to actually carry Glass around and wear it a few times a week, you're not going to get much value out of it. It's kind of pointless to put it on at home. I should mention that I walk a lot (almost everywhere: work, the gym, the grocery store, etc.) and usually don't drive unless I'm leaving my city. Hope that was helpful!
  • Bahamut 13y ago
    Definitely was - I do do a lot of long distance running, but I'm hesitant on laying out $1500 + cost of lenses. I think I'll hold off a little longer, but I could see myself purchasing one at some point. Thanks!
    • jxf 13y ago
      FWIW, one more data point on this: I haven't tried using Glass while working out. I always leave it at home when I go to the gym, mostly because I just assumed that getting my sweat all over it isn't great for its longevity. It doesn't feel very rugged (but I've accidentally sat on it quite a few times with no apparent harm).
• chinpokomon 13y ago
  I've been a Glass Explorer since December, so I can provide my experience as well. I don't know that Glass has transformed my daily routine so much as it has given me other options. Most of what a I do with Glass could be accomplished with other devices, but with Glass some things are more convenient or less distracting. Navigation and Hangouts/SMS being the two most significant features. The fact that I can listen to a message and respond to it completely through text-to-speech and voice recognition is tremendous and I rarely need to use the monitor for most tasks. I don't have prescription lenses, but as I understand with those models, it is part of the frame and not something you can detach. I have the sunglasses visor, and that is easy to add and remove as long as you have removed them from your head. The battery has always charged quickly for me, but with my usage I can get through the day without needing to recharge. Therefore I'm recharging over night and it has never been a problem. I do have an external battery pack that I carry with me and if I'm going to be wearing Glass in excess of my typical usage, I find I can recharge Glass while I'm wearing the device but I have to sacrifice using the ear buds as they occupy the same micro USB port. Wi-Fi works but usually I'm tethered to my phone over Bluetooth. I have T-Mobile and good coverage in my area, so I've not had a lot of issues with slow data and can't comment on that. I think if you want to feel like your getting your value out of it, you would want to fully embrace it. If you have that sort of disposable income, it isn't even a question. If the price makes you any hesitant, you might not feel you are getting a good ROI. For me it was and has been worth it.
  • alttab 13y ago
    I'm not undervaluing the development opportunities. For $1,500, you can also get an idea of its capabilities and tinker with your own Android apps. The prospect of doing that in a green field (the way iOS felt 6 years ago) again is worth the cash.