Movie stars were all over the place this weekend. But what was the big news? Google Glasses. The internet in your eyewear is here, and it’s real. There was much talk about Google Glasses this past year. About a year ago, they were revealed, and there was talk we’d see them in 2013. I did, on Friday, at CAA agent Josh Lieberman’s annual cool cool cool party at Soho House in West Hollywood.
Two guys from Google were at the party–which was chockablock with stars from Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Lawrence to Axl Rose and Bradley Cooper. The guys sat in the front dining room, far from the madding crowd, wearing the glasses and showing them to anyone who was interested. Enter yours truly. The demo reminded me of being at the 1964 World’s Fair and talking on a speaker phone. Here is the future, whether you like it or not.
Steve Lee showed me how the Glasses work. It’s very simple. There’s a speaker in them, so you give them voice directions and they look up stuff on the internet for you. A sort of slide mouse built into the right temple can guide you once the internet comes up in a transparent screen on the right lens. You can read your emails, messages, check Maps to see where you are and what’s going on around you. We didn’t make phone calls, but I do think that’s going to be in there at some point.
Some people, age 35 and up, came by and sniffed at the whole thing. And I, a little older, don’t see the point in this either. Plus I already wear glasses. (Not sure how this will work if you do wear glasses unless you’re supposed to put your prescription in them– they are really for 20/20 eyes so far.) But you will see kids and young twenties take to this instantly. And then, a new generation will only know this way of living. A brave new world.
Lee says the glasses are going to out to developers now, and should be on the market by early 2014. A starting list price would be about $1500. But you know that the price will drop once Google Glasses take off. Nevertheless, they will remain a high end purchase. “You’re not going to be seeing this for $199,” Lee joked.
But you know, like wow, man. We are getting closer and closer to brain implants and all kinds of sci fi stuff. Minority Report, here we come. Now if I could just program my DVR.
