When Google Glass came out in 2011, people either saw it as the best or worst thing ever. Within months of the release, the term "glasshole" developed. This led Google to announce that it was cancelling the Google Glass Explorer program. Many saw this as Google admitting defeat in regards to the Google Glass project, but is that 100 percent accurate?
Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt told the Wall Street Journal that the tech giant is not done with the device. While the press interpreted the cancelling of Google Glass Explorers as the end for Google Glass, Schmidt says that it is just making the device user-ready.
"It is a big and very fundamental platform for Google.....We ended the Explorer program and the press conflated this into us canceling the whole project, which isn't true. Google is about taking risks and there's nothing about adjusting Glass that suggests we're ending it."
According to Schmidt, Google doesn't view Google Glass as a tech fad to test and check to see how the market responds. It's a long-term project for Google that it hopes to continue pursuing, just like its self-driving car.
This isn't surprising. Rumors of Google releasing a redesigned version of the Glass have been floating around for months. This new version will reportedly have longer battery life, improved display, sound and design.
While Google may have been the first in the wearable headset market, the number of competitors that have risen up in Glass' wake will make getting the product to the customer harder. Sony, Vuzix and many others have tried developing their own pair of smartglasses.
