If you have an extra $1,500 laying around, you're totally cool with looking like Geordi La Forge and you want to test out a gadget that could lead the way to our inevitable wearable computing future, Google wants to hear from you.
On Wednesday, Google took two significant steps toward selling Google Glass to the public: It released the first video showing the augmented-reality headset's user interface, and it launched an essay contest of sorts inviting people to apply for its Google Glass Explorers program.
The user interface on Glass looks spectacular and yet not at all surprising. All of the user interaction occurs in the upper-right corner of your field of vision. A small display presents beautifully simple white text displaying your commands, along with incoming text messages, video chat feeds, Google search results, maps and everything else Glass can do. In the video, we see that the headset takes voice commands -- "OK Glass, snap a photo" -- but it's still unclear what users must do with their hands. Regardless, it looks like a lot of fun and we can't wait to try it out.
If you want to try it out, you can wait until early next year, when Google hopes to bring Glass to market, or you can apply for membership in the über-exclusive Google Glass Explorers. The Explorers are a small group of folks, many of them app developers, putting Glass through its paces. Until now, the only way to sign up was to attend a Google I/O developer conference. But now you can apply though the miracle of social media -- write a mini-essay of 50 words or less, include the #ifihadglass hashtag and send it to Project Glass on either Google+ or Twitter.
There are already more than 200 tweets, and they run the gamut from totally hilarious to totally serious. Some of our favorites:
@Arclite: #ifihadglass it would sit in my drawer next to my HP Touchpad, Raspberry Pi, and other ill-advised gadget purchases.
@rstevens: I would be an ambassador for Cyborg-Americans, helping the Augmented find acceptance among the Unmodified Masses. #ifihadglass
@ronniegalegos: #ifihadglass I'd give em to my girlfriend who is horrible with directions. Then take them back, watch adult vids, and noooobody would know.
@damnitstrue: #ifihadglass I'd be able to capture the photographs my eyes see every second.
Winners don't actually get a pair of Google Glasses; they get the opportunity to buy a pair of Google Glasses for $1,500. But, hey -- you'd be an Explorer.
