Envisioning the Future of Smart Glasses
Someday I’m going to write a book about why market research is as useful as star signs and casting the i ching. Techmeme turned up this survey in which it’s implied that Google Glass is headed for the shelf with the Palm Pre simply because consumers today would choose a smart watch over smart glasses. But few consumers really grasp the potential for augmented reality applications, whereas they think of a smart watch as a small smartphone. Smart watch apps are tweaked phone apps; Glass apps are still being conceived. Smart glasses use very different interaction mechanisms in new classes of applications as well as controlling old apps differently. You could, for instance, get a map with directions on your smart watch; you’ll be able to follow arrows to your destination with glasses. If smart watches are the way of the future and glasses a technology footnote then why are people lining up to pay Google $1500 for test rigs? And why is Time magazine following the beta program? Don’t sell smart glasses short. Apples and oranges? This is asking North American consumers whether they want an apple or an ackee, and it doesn’t tell you much about the future of the market for fruit.
Nor should you let the constant references to Google Glass lead you to believe there’s only one play out there. Smart glasses and augmented reality devices are on drawing boards all over the world (say the New York Times and PC Authority, for instance). Smart watches will mature as a product first, but don’t throw out your Timex. You’ll have space on your wrist again once Glass and its rivals hit their stride. If you have an app out there, you should make sure its responsive enough to work nicely on a smart watch; but if you want to call yourself an innovator, think about how your app could be used in the geo-located, high definition, hands-free, augmented environment of the Glass user.
