'I have barely taken it off since getting it other than to sleep': Google Glass owner
An early adopter has compared the significance of Google Glass with the launch of the Apple II computer and the first iPhone and believes that the key to the headset's success will simply come down to price, not privacy.
Technologist Robert Scoble claims that he will never be able to "live a day of [his] life from now on without it (or a competitor). It's that significant." In his widely publicized and debated post on Google+ he goes on to say that privacy is not an obstacle to the success of the Google headset and that its popularity will hinge on price alone; in Scoble's view a retail price of $200 would guarantee that the device is a global hit. In fact, he compares owning the device to the launch of the Apple II computer in terms of its importance in the history of consumer technology and to the launch of the first iPhone in terms of the excitement it has generated.
Scoble's two-week review of the headset, in which he lauds the headset as "much more social than looking at a cell phone" since they don't require him "to look away from you to use Google, or get directions, or do other things," comes as discussion in the tech press heats up regarding the issue of privacy and Google Glass. Writing in ZDNet, Tom Foremski suggests that the much hyped device will ultimately fail because: "it won't be socially acceptable to be video or audio recording people around you without their permission, or to be online constantly without others knowing. It's just creepy, and people won't put up with people who wear them in their company."
Scoble himself unwittingly underlines the device's potential for surreptitious, nearly-instant recording in his own review: "I continue to be amazed with the camera. It totally changes photography and video. Why? I can capture moments. I counted how many seconds it takes to get my smartphone out of my pocket, open it up, find the camera app, wait for it to load, and then take a photo. Six to 12 seconds. With Google Glass? Less than one second. Every time. And I can use it without having hands free, like if I'm carrying groceries in from the car and my kids are doing something cute."
Foremski meanwhile points out that thanks to the proliferation of social networks and other virtual community platforms, people who once loved having their pictures taken are becoming increasingly concerned: many individuals are far more wary about being recorded in any way, what is done with that content, and where it is published. A context that Foremski sees as not compatible with Google Glass, which he labels as belonging to the realm of the "socially sidelined." The debate continues.
