Google Glass is finally shipping out to developers who signed up for the Explorers program at last year’s Google I/O. While they have fun with what could potentially become the next big thing, consumers just have to sit patiently and wait. How long will that wait be though?
In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Google’s Eric Schmidt said that Google Glass would be “probably a year-ish away” for consumers. Previously, the company said that a consumer version of Google Glass would be available this year and for less than the current price of $1,500.
So, what does Schmidt’s statement mean? It means that nothing has changed. Google Glass will probably hit consumer markets late this year or early next year. It’s really hard to say because a lot can happen between now and then. Developers may discover errors with the software, hardware and more that Google could not have discovered on its own. Any number of problems could emerge in the coming months that could push the consumer release of Google Glass back.
That being said, most people seem to have enough confidence in Google to do this right. Google Glass is a huge gamble and the company can’t afford to screw this one up. History is full of revolutionary products that get one little thing wrong thus damning it to an eternity of irrelevancy.
Besides Glass, Schmidt also touches upon his new book, driverless cars, his North Korea visit and more. You can listen here.
[h/t: The Verge]