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Tuesday, March 04, 2014 10:57 PM >>>


I, Glasshole

Tuesday,  03/04/14  10:48 PM

Yesterday I took possession of my very own Google Glass, while attending the 2014 US and Canadian Association of Pathologists conference in San Diego.  I wore it for the second half of the day, before I had even charged the battery :) and found it was an amazing conversation starter; everyone wanted to know "is that a Glass" or "wow how do you like it?"  (and even, "how do people react when you're wearing it?" :).

I charged the battery overnight and this morning had a chance to play with it a bit, and so far I like it a lot. 

Some early observations:

  • The out of the box experience is great.
  • Hardware fit and finish is beautiful, Apple-like in quality.  Looks better in person than in pictures.
  • The display is easily readable, and doesn't intrude into your field of view unless you want it.
  • The touch strip on the side of the Glass is a good way to interact.  After a bit of practice seems quite easy.
  • Voice recognition is good although I haven't pushed it.  "Ok, Glass" is always recognized for me (this is the prefix to tell Glass to expect a command), and "take picture" or "record video" seem to work well.
  • Glass is a lousy Bluetooth headset.  At least so far.  I have not been using the optional in-ear speaker/microphone which I'm told works a lot better.  Must try it although that makes the whole thing a bit more intrusive to wear.
  • Pairing with my iPhone was seamless.  At that point the Glass can use the iPhone's cell connection for Internet access.  Otherwise you have to connect to a WiFi network which is painful unless you're at home or in your office.
  • The software is kind of basic at this point, there isn't too much you can do.  I've just started exploring.  Longer term there will be Apps for various specific functions making it a lot more useful.
  • I can't wait to develop something for it!  A great reason to dive into Android development.  (The Glass is a "vanilla" Android device, albeit one with a slightly weird form factor.)
  • Yes, of course we are building an eyesFinder App :)

Right now the question isn't "why do you have one?", it's more "what would I like it to do?"  Stay tuned!