Sony Outs Clip-On Smart Glass Module For Sports

Google Asks Glass Developers To Start Working On Android-Based Apps Ahead Of Glass Development Kit Launch

It looks like Google is about to unleash a new wave of more powerful applications for Google Glass. Currently, Glass developers can only build apps that are essentially web-based services that talk to the user's hardware through a set of relatively limited APIs. At its I/O developer conference earlier this year, Google announced that it would soon release its so-called Glass Development Kit (GDK), which would let them build Android-based apps for Glass that can run directly on the device.

So far, however, Google hasn't launched the GDK. Instead, Google today encouraged developers who are waiting for the GDK to start working on Android apps for Glass using the standard Android SDK (API Level 15) to try out their ideas.

As Google notes, developers can use the SDK to access low-level hardware to render OpenGL and use stock Android UI widgets, for example. Developers can also access the accelerometer of Glass through the SDK.

Glass, after all, runs Android 4.0.4, so it's a pretty well-known platform for many developers. To help newcomers get started, though, the company also released a number of sample apps (a stopwatch, compass and level) today that highlight some of the things developers can do with Android on Glass. Over the next few weeks, Glass team member Alain Vongsouvanh writes on Google+ today, the team will also use these sample apps to "demonstrate the migration path between a traditional Android app and a full Glass experience."

For Glass to reach its full potential, developers need better access to the device's hardware, so it's nice to see Google moving ahead with this. It's still a bit of a surprise that Google hasn't released the GDK yet. And the fact that it made today's announcement indicates that it could still be a few weeks out. If you're a Glass developer, though, now is probably a good time to start thinking about how you would use Android on Glass.

Google shows off apps for Glass

We’ve all seen the Glass demonstration videos from Google, but the app driven ecosystem we live in today demands that there be a little more than Google juice flowing through the headset. During a recent SXSW presentation, Google took to the stage to show off early app partners for the launch of Glass.

The core concepts surrounding Glass focus on being able to deliver short bursts of information as the core content system. Similar to how notifications are delivered in Android, Glass can only display small blocks of text or icons in the tiny projector screen. This design also ensures that there’s never enough information on the screen to take your attention off of things, like the road in front of you. Google has made it clear in the past that the bulk of Glass apps would be based on RESTful services, so almost everything you’ll be doing with those apps will require a data connection. Google’s presentation gives a deeper look at what you can expect from the experience in general.

Photos and video are an integral part of Google Glass. Using your voice or just touching the side of the headset, you an capture the world around you from the perspective of your eye. Once the photo is taken, you can share it through services like Skitch or Path. Instead of forcing you to do those things right when the photo is taken, the option is added to your timeline. These apps are stripped down, super simple versions of the those used on smartphones and tablets today. You can share to existing groups, or in the case of Path, you can interact with shared photos through Path emoticons that now take up the whole screen.

When text messages and emails come in to Glass, you are offered a brief pop up on the headset with the information. You can choose to have the text read to you by Glass, or hover for a moment while you scan over it. When you want to reply, you can use your voice to populate the fields. This same setup can be applied to any service that displays text on the headset. For example, when demonstrating The New York Times app for Glass, the user is shown the headline for the article with the featured image in the background. When you find an article you like, you can tap and have it read to you. Sharing options from here are similar to Path or Skitch, with simple minimal feature sets.

In their presentation for developers, Google made it clear that this was the way they expected all apps to function. Their presentation focuses on distraction free presentation setup where the information is made available to the user as a timeline based on when the events occurred. If you have too many notifications or do something to pollute the user’s timeline, your service will likely be uninstalled quickly. So it will be interesting to see how many developers use or abuse Glass for their app.

Now read: Photo shows how Google Glass will work in direct sunlight

Some People Are Filming a "Documentary" Using Google Glass in New York Right Now

There's a lot of really weird stuff that happens on any given day in New York City. Which is why I like to take the occasional day off during the week just to walk around and take in my surroundings. Take, for example, this random video shoot I came across of some grungy folks equipped with Google Glass in the Lower East Side.

When asked if they were shooting a commercial for Glass, the production guys told me they were helping out with a "documentary" and that it wasn't a commercial. Bullshit. I mean, Glass isn't available to the public yet (duh) and there aren't even very many Google employees who have them in New York.

Now, this isn't the first time Glass has been spotted in New York but it's the first time I've personally come across it here. The other time was at I/O last year when I tried on Sergey's own personal pair. It was underwhelming given the demo mode was embarrassingly dated, as Brin told us before a few of us donned the glass-less Glass.

Anyway, my feeble attempts to glean any more knowledge about this shoot were thwarted by the fact that, well, I knew what they were and I was asking too many questions. Also, #ifihadglass I would have snapped some higher quality shots than the ones here in this story because, you know, when there's a creepy dude circling around with this phone out, you tend to go and hide in the production truck.

There were four or five Glass wearers, most of them cyclists, sitting in front of Frank's Chop Shop waiting for... something. They milled about for a few more minutes and quickly descended into the tattoo shop next door to shoot their "documentary." And thus ended my brief encounter with Glass in New York, which was quickly followed by an insistent homeless or psychotic person—or both?— who wanted to shake everyone's hand.

We'll see in a few months time if they were shooting a doc or another commercial about some grungy older cyclists getting tattoos in New York. Honestly, if nothing else it's just refreshing to see someone use Glass for something other than a skydive.