After Google disbanded its Explorer Program for Google Glass, many fans were left pondering what would become of the device that couldn’t quite find its niche. While many people believed the project to be defunct, news hit in March that Google was actually getting ready to talk about its plans.
What It Isn’t
To say that Google Glass was met with a bit of contempt from the public would be an understatement. The initial program required users to be invited, and then they would need to fork over $1500 for what is essentially a developer kit. Not many people had access to them due to the limitations set forth by Google, and a lot of the explorers found themselves in situations where they were met with hostility due to Google Glass’ ability to record video nonchalantly.
It seems that Google has taken notice of this and isn’t tailoring the Enterprise Edition to meet the same expectations users might be expecting in this 2.0 version. In fact, it’s not really a significant upgrade from the original dev kit at all.
What is Is?
Tony Fadell, project lead on the Google Glass project, has stated that most people won’t even be able to tell the difference between the Explorer Program editions and the Enterprise Editions unless they owned the former.
The Enterprise Edition has been built to be more durable for the workplace. The side housing the device’s internals is built to be stronger in order to withstand typical drops and bumps. Google has also managed to make the Google Glass “more” water resistant, though it hasn’t stated to what degree. The device also looks just a bit more industrial, which is where the device is probably more suited for anyway. The biggest change; however, is that Google Glass is now foldable.
Internally, the prism in front of the lens is larger so the user has a better viewing experience. Google has also thrown an Intel Atom CPU for better performance and improved battery life.
So How Do You Get Your Hands on a Pair?
The device is still in production, but the current plan is that Google will be distributing the Enterprise Edition through its certified list of Glass for Work partners. This means that the general public still won’t be able to get their hands on these, but then again, this version of Google Glass still isn’t as consumer friendly has it will be when it launches on a massive scale.
Currently there is no set release date for the Google Glass Enterprise Edition, but be sure to check back for more details as they come.
