Ask HN: Are Google Glasses the Next Segwey?

1 points by zw123456 ↗ HN
Cool technology is not always commercially successful. Very Cool, yes, but will it be as widely adopted?

4 comments

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The name of the product should be:

Googleasses.

The wearer, thus, is dubbed a Googleass.

I mean, come on, this product is hyper-dork. The implementation would be fine as an accessory handheld app or something...but the facial strap-on, like Bono or Madonna concert appendages is ludicrous to propose.

Wait...maybe it was intentional post-post-post-modern comedy?

They are aesthetically obtrusive, so I doubt they'll have any kind of mass adoption.
Segway did solve a problem for many people, but I don't see what Google glasses solves. It sure solves several Google problems (more ad displays) but that isn't the users' problem.

I also agree with Brin, not using Google Glasses is emasculating, it turns you into a know-it-all, jackass.

The current incarnation isn't going to go anywhere much, but as a precursor of what's coming they're significant.

I could be wrong on this, but I'd say that the current startup-stage competitor to Google Glass (or to where Glass will go) is actually the Pebble watch, and if they can manage the technical hurdles and acceptance Glass will probably be the winner.

The other notable thing that's wandered across my screen recently is Thalmic's Myo armband. THAT'S a company that's ripe to be acquired. Consider a mobile computing device (call it a "phone" if you prefer) with a remote display ("Glass") and an invisible input method that can be controlled just by unobtrusively moving your fingers while holding a loose fist (Myo). It's the kind of thing the MIT augmented reality folks have been working on for years, but where the only visible piece of it is a bit of facial bling that will soon just be integrated into hipster glasses (or BCGs).