Google Glass has seen a number of developments in recent weeks with the most significant being a wider launch of the Enterprise Edition. Meanwhile, the Explorer Editions and the Android companion app received their first updates in nearly three years. Over the weekend, Google has gone ahead and updated the iOS version of MyGlass with 64-bit support.
The Tech Block on Thursday shared an email exchange between Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller and the website’s founder Abdel Ibrahim that pokes fun at Google Glass for its perception of being an unstylish device. The emails from 2012 surfaced just days after Google announced that it will be ending its Glass Explorer program on Monday as it works on a new version under the leadership of Tony Faddell.
After being sent a picture of actor Steve Martin wearing obnoxious looking glasses in the film “The Jerk,” mocking Google co-founder Sergey Brin wearing Glass, Schiller responds to Ibrahim saying “that is very funny” and that he “can’t believe they think anyone (normal) will ever wear these things. It reminds me of the push to market video goggles a few years back.”
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From 9to5Google.com:
It looks like Google may finally be preparing Glass for primetime as a number of changes around the company’s heads-up display product were revealed today. Most notably, the Glass project will be moving from the experimental Google X group to its own unit under the leadership of Tony Fadell, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Next of note, Google will end the current run of its Glass Explorers program on January 19th, removing the current version of Glass from sale to individuals; however, the WSJ includes that businesses and developers interested in purchasing Glass can still do so through an application process. The Glass at Work program, which has continued to grow, will live on beyond the Explorer Program’s imminent demise.
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Google’s companion app for Google Glass was updated this afternoon on iOS with a few minor changes. The update to MyGlass bumps the app to version 0.8.0 and brings it closer to the generally more capable and more powerful MyGlass Android app.
First launched for Android back in May, Google today started rolling out the Google Admin app for iOS to let Google Apps & enterprise Chromebook customers manage accounts. That includes the ability to “Add users, reset passwords, manage groups, contact support, view domain setting changes” and more:
It provides the following features:
* User Management Features – Add/Edit user, Suspend user, Restore user, Delete user, Reset password
* Group Management Features – Add/Edit Group, Add members, Email all members, Delete group, View group members
* Audit Logs – Review Audit logs, Filter logs by admin, date ranges and event types
Google hasn’t made an official announcement, but the app is already rolling out to App Stores around the world for iPhone and iPad. Screenshots of the iPad app below:
Update: It’s back!
Google has just increased compatibility between its Google Glass wearable computer and iOS: the company has released its MyGlass companion app for the iPhone. The application allows users to setup their Glass, connect to WiFi networks, install Glassware apps, integrate with contacts, and mirror content from Glass to the iPhone’s display. The app is free, but it (obviously) requires the $1,500 computerized shades. Update: Looks like the app has been pulled. Google offered a mention of the app on a help document discussing the XE12 update to Glass:
Tony Fadell, the Nest CEO who was Senior VP of Apple’s division from 2006 to 2008, says that Apple built prototypes of a similar device to Google Glass but “didn’t have time” to turn them into actual products.
Interviewed as part of Fast Company‘s Oral History of Apple Design series, Fadell said:
At Apple, we were always asking, What else can we revolutionize? We looked at video cameras and remote controls. The craziest thing we talked about was something like Google Glass. We said, “What if we make visors, so it’s like you’re sitting in a theater?” I built a bunch of those prototypes. But we had such success with the things we were already doing that we didn’t have time …
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In the first videos from Tim Cook’s D11 interview tonight, the CEO discusses wearables and his view on Google Glass not having mainstream appeal, Android market share, and why Apple still only makes one iPhone. Cook also announced 13 million Apple TVs sold to date, hinted at game changing products in the pipeline, and confirmed a Jony Ive designed iOS 7 is on the way.
Head past the break for more video clips from the D11 conference tonight and over to our live blog for a recap of the entire Tim Cook interview.
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Live on stage during his interview at the AllThingsD D11 Conference tonight, Tim Cook has for the first time talked at length about his view on wearable technologies as competitors like Google and others push ahead with Glass and other wearable projects. While noting that broad range appeal with a product like Google Glass is “tough to see,” Cook said he thinks “the wrist is interesting” while calling the form factor “somewhat natural” compared to head mounted products.
Nike Fuel Band well made for the fitness category. Works well with iOS. The ones that do more than one thing aren’t great. They won’t convince a kid who has never worn glasses, a band, or a watch to wear one. There are lots of things to solve in this area, ripe for excitement. I think there will be tons of companies playing in this (won’t respond to Walt asking if Apple will). I see this as a very key branch of the tree… referring to the post-PC era.
Cook did note that “people want wearables to be light, unobtrusive, reflect their fashion/style” and that it would take some convincing to show people ‘why it’s worth wearing them’:
An iMessage notification sent to Glass
Adam Bell (@b3ll), a well-known developer for many software platforms, has figured out a way to route all notifications from an iOS device through Google Glass. The implementation, even in its early stage, seems to work quite well. Bell notes that all notifications, such as iMessages and Tweets automatically are shown via the Google Glass interface. Video and more details below:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFWG51nGmGA]
Businessweek covers a talk given by Apple (and former Google) board member Bill Campbell who “held court” on Friday at the Mountain View headquarters of Intuit, where he serves as chairman. Notably, he discussed former Apple execs Tony Fadell who now runs Nest and Ron Johnson who just got fired from JCPenney. Of Nest, he pre-announced new products, saying
“You would think that people would yawn at something as boring as a thermostat,” Campbell said. “So, I’ve been surprised at how it has done and is doing. It will be the first of many products that come out of that company, which has a brilliant CEO and engineering team.”
Of Ron Johnson‘s exit at JCP, he said, “You have to keep your current business going while you experiment with a new one. He didn’t do that. He just put a bullet hole in his current business.”
GOOD ADVICE.
But perhaps most interesting for those yearning for an iWatch, Campbell told the business software company
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Since the old iWatch rumor reared its head again in December, there have been a few more reliable sources adding weight to the idea that we could see a smart watch from Apple this year. Over the weekend, The New York Times, which said essentially the same thing in 2011, followed up the rumors with a report that Apple is working on a curved glass watch prototype running iOS. The Wall Street Journal quickly followed with more information, claiming Apple and partner Foxconn are now testing wearable, watch-like devices.
While many have speculated what Apple might include in an iWatch, such as Apple employee #66 and founder of Apple’s Human Interface Group Bruce Tognazzini, all we get from reports is “curved glass” and “iOS”. Apple has clearly been testing wearable prototypes with several patents dating as far back as 2009, describing potential integration with wristwatches and iOS devices. By taking a look at the technology for watches that Apple is already experimenting with through the many publicly available patents, we put together a list of some of the features the company could very well include in an Apple-branded smart watch.
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IEEE’s Rod Furlan just explained how he built his own Google Glass-like prototype with an iPod touch.
Google’s Sergey Brin revealed at the 2012 Google I/O Developers Conference in June that a pair of beta, or “Explorer Edition”, Google Glasses cost $1,500 and would start shipping to I/O attendees in 2013, but Lee realized the components to such a headset display must be readily available if Google was able to start developing one. And so, he decided to build his own—admittedly rough—version.
After promptly selecting an iOS-enabled, head-mounted Myvu video display, Lee tried to find an onboard computer:
I settled on a fourth-generation iPod Touch. I had to “jailbreak” it, which eliminates limitations built into the iOS software by Apple. Once that was done, I could mirror the Touch’s main display to the microdisplay using its composite video output. This choice of onboard computer meant that for a point-of-view camera (used to record images and video), I needed one that could communicate via the iPod Touch’s Wi-Fi or Bluetooth wireless interfaces. I used a Looxcie Bluetooth camera, which is small enough to be mounted on the side of the frame once you strip it from its plastic shell; you can order it online for around $150. (I’m already building a second iteration of my prototype around a Raspberry Pi. This will allow more control over the camera than is currently possible with the iOS apps that work with the Looxcie and better integration of sensors such as accelerometers.)
Lee tested the prototype once the assembly process was over, and he noted his world immediately changed forever:
My world changed the day I first wore my prototype. At first there was disappointment—my software was rudimentary, and the video cable running down to the onboard computer was a compromise I wasn’t particularly pleased with. Then there was discomfort, as I felt overwhelmed while trying to hold a conversation as information from the Internet (notifications, server statuses, stock prices, and messages) was streamed to me through the microdisplay. But when the batteries drained a few hours later and I took the prototype off, I had a feeling of loss. It was as if one of my senses had been taken away from me, which was something I certainly didn’t anticipate.
Lee continued to give insight into how Google Glass and his iOS prototype could provide immense value. Unfortunately, he only corroborated his post with a few illustrations and no images. Go to IEEE for more details.
This article is cross-posted on 9to5Google.
Today, a patent application published by the US Patent & Trademark Office, and then discovered by Patently Apple, covers methods of increasing pixel density for high-resolution display technology in a head-mounted display. This is not the first time an Apple patent related to head-mounted displays has surfaced. As far back as 2009, Apple won patents related to an iPod video headset display. It also won a second patent just this year related to the Google Glass-like technology. Unfortunately, this is not a design patent. So, the Google Glass-like design in the drawing above only relates to a general concept for the device covered in the patent:
