THE REAL PROBLEM WITH GOOGLE GLASS
Image via WIRED
Since Google Labs shook the nerd world to the core with its Project Glass, speculators have been eager to imagine a world of zoned-out, plugged-in meta humans that interface with everything in sight. Literally. While there has been criticism about the project—most hover around the fact that the glasses won’t be nearly as immerse and seamless as touted—there is one glaring drawback to the glasses that seems to be ignored amongst all the dorky giddiness.
They are ugly.
I know it’s just a prototype, but the current design looks like something from George Jetson’s nightmares. It’s only a small step from the pseudo-futurist look of the glasses to wearing rings on our clothes. I’m no luddite, but people live in increasingly curated, style-centered worlds. While I may want my tablets and laptops to have that sleek, brushed-metal vibe, I don’t want the thing that’s on my face to look like it came from a Sixties science fiction B-movie. Think about it: we spend hundreds, maybe thousands of dollars on eye-wear, some of which does nothing useful at all but look good. And now they want us to buy into something that we, presumably, are to wear all the time without thinking of aesthetics?
I don’t want to be superficial (OK, I do) but it’s considerations like these that can make or break a product. What do you think of the Project Glass look?
