The first official game for Google Glass has been revealed, a gamification of Google Sky that pits users of the wearable against the heavens. The title, revealed by developers dSky9 this week at Mobile Outlook 2013, challenges Glass wearers to identify different constellations against a time limit, playing against other users to compete for the fastest time.
“Upon launch, the app shows a leaderboard and videogame-like interface, overlaid atop a natural view of the stars and constellations” dSky9 said of the game. “It then challenges users to identify new constellations within a pre-set time limit.”
It’s still early days for the app. The developer’s demo video, which you can watch below, is described as a “pre-visualization” and is effectively a mockup of what players will actually see, complete with iOS icons.
However, it’s a good example of something that a wearable device, like Glass, can do particularly well when you take into account mapping digital graphics over the real-world. Although we’ve seen augmented reality smartphone games before, they’ve generally required the player to hold up their phone and look “through” the digital view from the handset’s camera, a less streamlined approach than glancing at an eyepiece just above your line of sight.
dSky9 hasn’t said when StarFinder might arrive on Glass, though as a native app it will presumably side-step Google’s own Mirror API and require some tinkering on the headset itself in order to run.
Google Glass isn’t solely about photography, but that’s inevitably the first thing you try out – and the first thing you demonstrate to people when they inevitably ask you questions. Right now there seem to be two approaches to wearables like Glass, either aiming to make the headset blend in, and not cause waves by avoiding being noticed in the first place, or by facing the privacy and photography concerns people have face-on, and opening up a dialog about how bodyworn tech is going to change things. Maybe the fact I picked Google’s tangerine-finish Glass Explorer Edition is an indicator, but I’m all for challenging the status-quo rather than hoping it will merely blend in.
I picked up Glass a little less than a week ago, and it’s already become a must-grab gadget when I leave the house. A big part of that is how closely it weaves multimedia into your daily life, not just in how you record them, but how you can then instantly share them in a way that doesn’t take you away from the moment.
The quality of the footage Glass produces is actually pretty good. The camera snaps stills at 5-megapixels and up to 720p HD video, and while low-light performance pales in comparison to the more adept smartphones, it’s still good enough to make our your subject in the resulting clip. What takes more getting used to is the actual process of filming clips, which only serves to highlight quite how much movement we make without realizing it.
Usually, with a smartphone camera, we’re pretty adept at keeping it still during filming. When the camera is mounted on your head, though, you suddenly realize that we seldom keep our heads still, nodding and turning around and generally doing things completely at odds with capturing a stable clip. It also took a little time before I learned to plan movements with my eyes before turning my head: otherwise, you dash the frame all around. That also means no nodding when in conversations with people, no looking off to the side to make sure the dog hasn’t run off, and no glancing down at your watch unless you want everybody to look at it too.
If there are compromises to be made, though, then there are advantages to Glass-style filming too. The ability to go hands-free when you’re playing with your kids, or to quickly snap off a photo when a friend is doing something goofy, without having to dig into your pocket first and unlock your phone. It’s also surprisingly useful for documenting things as you do them, from the user’s eye view. Okay, not everybody is going to be running through opening up and applying a screen protector, like I did with Glass and this Galaxy S 4 kit, but giving remote tech support to a distant relative, or sitting in as someone shows you their favorite recipe, or piggy-backing into a meeting when you can’t be there in person.
What would make Glass better? I can’t help but imagine what an UltraPixel sensor as in HTC’s One could do for low-light shots. In fact, HTC’s Zoe system, pulling together a brief video clip (3.5s versus Glass’ default 10s) and a cluster of stills, seems like an ideal match for a wearable like Glass. That way you’d have more likelihood of picking out the best-framed image of the bunch, and with fewer headaches about low-light conditions.
That HTC also manages to fit in optical image stabilization is also tempting, since that might help iron out some of the judders we can’t help but make when wearing Glass. Most of all, though, I’d like to see more battery life: right now, with mixed use, I’m seeing around four hours before Glass is demanding I plug it in, though it’s worth pointing out that it does recharge relatively quickly.
I’m also excited about the camera potential when Glass spreads. Right now, it’s a one-way thing, since most people don’t have Explorer Edition units yet. But, when that changes – and I do believe it will, despite the Glass naysayers – it’ll mean we can effectively split ourselves between multiple places, switching between physical and virtual presence as we jump in and out of other Glass-wearers’ headsets.
Still, as I said, there’s more to Glass than its camera. Next up I’ll be looking at the practicalities of slinging an Android computer to your head, and whether wearable tech really does offer more than just a capable smartphone. Meanwhile, if you have any Glass questions, ask them in the comments!
Fitbit‘s Flex activity tracker has gone up for presale in the UK, the wrist-worn exercise and sleep monitor expected to arrive on British arms at the tail-end of May. Launched in the US on Monday, the Flex – which we reviewed earlier this week – is one of the more affordable of the latest batch of trackers, undercutting Nike’s FuelBand and Jawbone’s UP.
In fact, the Flex comes in at £79.99 (in the US, it’s $99.99) complete with two sizes of wristband and a wireless dongle for your computer. Alternatively it will sync via Bluetooth 4.0 with your iOS or Android device, though you’ll currently need either a Samsung Galaxy S III or a Galaxy Note II if you’re a Google OS user.
That’s down to different implementations of Bluetooth 4.0 on Android devices, which means most of the current line-up of phones simply won’t work with the Flex. Fitbit tells us that should change in the near future, however, and at least with the USB adapter you can get your exercise data off the band whenever you’re near a computer.
We also had some issues with sleep tracking mode, with side-by-side comparisons between the Flex and the UP suggesting the Fitbit version was seriously underestimating the length of time we were asleep. Still, it’s more comfortable than the Jawbone model. Presales kick off today at Fitbit’s site and Amazon, with retail store availability from May 27.
Sony’s subtitle glasses have been a long time coming. The US rollout began more than a year ago, but the gradual launch has left hard-of-hearing Americans with few modern closed captioning options at the movies. They’ll have a much easier time of it as of this month, as Regal will be providing the glasses to nearly 6,000 theaters before May is over. While the wide-scale deployment is coming later than the original first quarter target, it should be a welcome upgrade for viewers who’ve had to either deal with clunkier subtitle systems or stay at home. The Sony solution still won’t be ubiquitous, especially when it sells for $1,750 per pair, but there’s now a better chance that at least one captioning-friendly theater will be within reach.
Google is considering Glass boutiques where the public could try out the wearable, it’s reported, better explaining the Android headset by giving live demonstrations. A project closely involving Google co-founder Sergey Brin, according to whispers passed to Business Insider, the Glass-centric retail locations would push not only the concept of bodyworn computing, but the Glass brand specifically.
BI warns that the tattle comes second-hand, with their source having spoken to someone who supposedly is working on the retail project within Google. However, the idea of bringing Glass out of the lab and right into the public eye seems a likely one, since the concept takes more explaining than a smartphone or tablet.
That public relations smoothing is going to be particularly necessary with something like Glass, which is already prompting privacy concerns given the ease with which wearers can snap photos and video. One common criticism of the headset is that there’s no specific indication when filming is taking place; Google did not include a red light or other notification on the front, for those around the wearer to see, and the only giveaway for video capture is that the eyepiece is active.
As early reactions to Glass in public suggest, there’d be no shortage of visitors to Google’s stores should they ever open their doors. Whether many of those curious enough to step in would actually buy Glass – or, in fact, whether Google would even be offering Glass for sale, depending on where it’s up to with the eventual consumer version – is questionable, however. Google has previously said that it expects the mainstream Glass to be considerably more affordable than the $1,500 of the current Explorer Edition targeted at developers.
Instead the store proposal, if true, could be more about marketing and user research than actual sales, getting the public comfortable with wearables rather than necessarily pushing them to open their wallets. Meanwhile, it would also cement the “Glass” name as the new brand of Android-powered headsets, which would undoubtedly come in useful as Google rolls out its own consumer iteration, or potentially licenses the technology to third-parties like Samsung and others.
Currently, Google invites Explorer Edition buyers to its experience locations in San Francisco and New York City, where they’re fitted for the headset, shown the basic features, and walked through the initial setup of pairing it with a phone and such. Our own Vincent Nguyen picked up one such unit recently; stay tuned for his hands-on impressions over the coming days.
Nike‘s second-gen FuelBand fitness monitor will include heart-rate tracking and Bluetooth 4.0, insider sources claim, as well as the ability to feed motion data into third party applications. The sports company is already field-testing the new wearable in casings disguised to look exactly like the first model, Gear Live‘s tipster suggests, with a boost in responsiveness among the improvements mentioned.
According to what was reportedly some brief hands-on time with the FuelBand 2, Nike has fettled the speed that the LEDs react, meaning the band shows data more swiftly than the existing version. The use of Bluetooth 4.0, just as on the Fitbit Flex we reviewed earlier this week, means longer battery life, and Nike has apparently built in auto-synchronization too.
However, Bluetooth 4.0′s potential for always-on connectivity without draining the battery too quickly means that Nike can apparently open up the FuelBand 2′s sensor stream to other software. The updated API will include accelerometer data, it’s claimed, so that games and other apps can track user movements and positioning and use them for control and other features.
Meanwhile, there’s also said to be a heart rate monitor – selected from an option on the band, and used by pinching the sensor against your wrist – and the ability to check battery status from the FuelBand 2 itself. Whereas Nike said back in February it had no plans to release an Android app, the current word supposedly from the company’s campus is that an app for Google’s OS is, in fact, in the pipeline.
Nike launched the first Nike+ FuelBand back in early 2012, one of the first wrist-worn activity monitoring gadgets to reach the market. Since then, it has seen rival devices from Fitbit and Jawbone, among others, though Nike has resolutely stuck to its premium pricing: the FuelBand costs $150, versus the sub-$100 tag on the newest Fitbit Flex, for instance. Exactly when the new FuelBand might launch is unknown, and it’s unclear if it will have features not unofficially previewed, such as sleep tracking as supported on both the UP and Flex.
Although more than a few runners track their progress through apps like RunKeeper, it’s doubtful that many of them like reaching for their smartphones just to check their pace. Thanks to an updated RunKeeper app, they’ll only have to look at the Pebble smartwatch on their wrist. Both Android and iOS users can now glance at the Bluetooth timepiece for vital stats, such as pacing, or start and stop their runs. Only a handful of us will have the needed combination of app and wristwear to justify the update at the source links, but don’t despair if you’re not part of the Pebble flock. RunKeeper’s staff say they “look forward” to supporting wearable technology as a whole, which should let many more athletes keep their eyes on the path ahead, and their hands out of their pockets.
Pebble and its developer partners have been working at a manic pace in recent days, and they’ve just released a flood of status updates that prove they’re not easing up. Along with confirming that the first red watches have shipped inside of the past week, Pebble is now claiming one of its first notable golf apps through an updated version of Mobile Software Design’s Freecaddie. Would-be PGA stars can check the hole distance and par when paired up with an Android phone, with iOS support due soon. At least some owners can look forward to a bright future, too. An SDK update within the next month will allow two-way interaction between apps and watches, albeit only with Android devices in any realistic way — iOS releases bound for the App Store won’t support bi-directional use “at this time.” That’s certainly an unfortunate discrepancy, although we may be too busy perfecting our swings to notice.
Google Glass is all the talk in the wearable technology industry. The headset, which will be work as glasses and allows users to do everything from get directions to snap photos and capture video, is arguably the most exciting device to be entering the technology space.
Wearables are new to quite a few folks. Although they’ve seen (and perhaps used) pedometers or those wristbands that track their movements, the average customer has never really thought about wearing glasses that would allow for communication and all of the other features Glass boasts. And thanks to some smart marketing on Google’s part, quite a few people are now saying that they’d jump at the chance to buy Google Glass when it hits store shelves.
But I’d ask all of those people to truly consider what they’re saying. Yes, Google Glass appears to be a nice-looking device for those who don’t mind wearing an oddly shaped lens on one eye, but for the rest of us walking around town, doing so doesn’t exactly tell the world that we’re the most fashionable people.
Aside from that, I just don’t see the value in all that Google is promoting with Glass. Sure, it’d be nice to look at directions through one lens, and having the ability to snap a photo or record video is great and all, but I can do that with my smartphone. And when I don’t want to do any of that, I can just slip my smartphone into my pocket and not worry all that much about it getting damaged.
Google Glass, on the other hand, looks like an expensive, broken piece of tech waiting to happen. As those of us who wear glasses know, it’s not that hard for them to get all kinds of screwed up in our pockets or when they fall off the coffee table. When it’s a $100 pair of glasses, that’s not such a bad thing. But if we’re talking about Google Glass, which could be exceedingly expensive, it’s a much, much different story. And I just don’t see how Google is going to sidestep that issue.
“Wearable tech is niche, and not even Google can change that”
Beyond that, I guess I’m not sold on the whole wearable technology craze. Yes, I know analysts are saying that the marketplace will grow in leaps and bounds in the coming years and billions of dollars will be spent, but I’m not convinced. Save for a few products, wearable technology is still very much a niche product category. And I don’t think that even Google can change that.
To me, Google Glass is more a novelty device than something that can truly be groundbreaking in the technology world. It’s a neat idea and it’s something that I can see people getting excited about, but does it really deliver value in practice? Theoretically, it’s cool, but I just don’t see it actually appealing to people who want the latest and greatest execution of wearable technology. On that front, I think Google Glass will fall short.
So, I’m not really sure Google Glass is worth it. I suppose I’ll be able to make a final decision when I know exactly how much Google Glass costs. But until then, I’m not expecting too much value.
Security concerns around Google Glass and what data access those casually – or nefariously – picking up your wearable might have has prompted the first DIY lock system for the headset, Bulletproof. Resembling the standard Android lockscreen, but adding some head-detection smarts to prevent you from having to swipe in a code every time you want to use Glass, Bulletproof is the handiwork of Explorer Edition owner Mike DiGiovanni.
As others have observed, Glass lacks any sort of locking system, which means that when you’re not wearing it – or supervising it – it’s possible that anybody could pick the wearable up and start digging through your data. That’s potentially not the most worrying exploit, however; as arch-tinkerer Jay Freeman pointed out this week, with the right software and a microUSB cable, a well-placed hacker could install surveillance malware onto your Glass and joyride every app you use, every photo and video you take, and potentially even track your location when wearing the headset.
DiGiovanni’s app addresses that concern in a straightforward way. Since Glass has no keypad, it uses a combination of user-customizable swipes and taps on the trackpad on the side of the eyewear to enter an unlock code. That access then stays valid all the time you’re actually wearing Glass.
Take it off – or have it pulled off your head, whether by a thief or someone keen to try it themselves – and Glass automatically re-locks.
Since Google isn’t exactly keen on native apps running on Glass at this point, preferring web-based services that hook up through the Mirror API, you’ll need to do a little modification if you want Bulletproof on your headset. As it’s a native Android app, Glass needs to be put into debug mode, and then ADB used to install it. You can find the source on GitHub.
Glass has thrown wearables security back into the spotlight in recent weeks, as issues of privacy and data management become increasingly discussed as more of the headsets work their way into the wild. Much of the concern voiced has been about what goes on in-front of the camera, particularly since the Explorer Edition units lack any sort of clearly visible indicator that recording might be taking place. At present, only the glow of the eyepiece could be used as a sign that Glass is capturing video; some have suggested that Google should have fitted a red LED on the outside, or even a sliding cover that could entirely block out the lens.
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