 "Google reopens pre-orders for Glass Explorer Edition")
If you can spare $1500 (approx Rs 75,000) and have cool ideas for Google’s Glass wearable, here’s your lucky day. Google has re-opened pre-orders for Glass, but developers and enthusiasts will have to qualify after submitting their ideas to the company.
First put up for sale at last year’s Google I/O, the limited edition Glass Explorer Edition is yet to ship, but Google has increased its stock to the tune of 8000 more devices. The new round of pre-orders only applies to developers in the US. Those who wish to get their hands on the Google Glass will have to post their ideas for the wearable on Google+ or Twitter. In fifty words or less, along with up to five photos and up to one 15-second video clip, developers will need to explain their cool idea for the Glass headset.
Google Glass has been shown off in public several times
The Glass wearable will likely feature bone conduction technology instead of traditional speakers for sound and a small screen in front of the user’s eye to display information. The wearable will also feature a camera which was shown off by the company’s co-founder Sergey Brin when Google Glass was first revealed in public.
Applications are being accepted up until February 27, which means potential developers only have a week to come up with a killer Glass concept. Each person can submit up to three ideas, but the fact that you will have to publicly disclose your concept means there is a chance of ideas leaking out or bettered by other developers.
Google says it will be judging the ideas with the help of an independent jury. The FAQ page about the competition says, “An independent jury will look at all of the applications (including any photos and video) to see if they meet the application requirements. Applications will be scored based on how creative, compelling, original, useful, and influential the applications and their proposed uses for Glass are, and how broad a spectrum of user interaction they would provide.”
Potential ideas and concepts will be accompanied by the #ifihadglass hashtag so you can look out for other ideas similar to yours and make modifications, if needed. The developers who receive an invitation and qualify for the Glass Explorer Edition will have to attend a special pick-up experience in New York, Los Angeles, or the San Francisco Bay area to choose which device is best suited for their work.
Earlier this week, Google released images of the first developer “hackathon” for Google Glass, where the company gave away the device to those who had pre-ordered it. Hundreds of developers wrote code and showed proofs of concept for the wearable technology, that is widely expected to be launched officially in 2014. Recently, word got out about Google starting its own line of retail stores. One of the suggested reasons behind such a move is the opportunity to better show off the Google Glass to consumers when it reaches the market.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
