Google will stop selling their lenses to redesign – The World

 10:53 a.m.
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 AP .- Google will stop selling his glasses connected to the internet for the company to develop a more refined and affordable version less likely to be seen as a strange device .

The moratorium on sales to the ‘Explorer’ ‘edition of Google Glass, almost two years of existence, goes into effect on 19 January. The decision announced on Thursday coincides with the separation of the glasses Secret Google X Lab where were invented

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Now the Glass operate in the division d irigida by the executive experienced marketing Ivy Ross , whose previous experience includes step by companies focused on fashion as Gap Inc. and Calvin Klein. Ross will report to Tony Fadell, who played an instrumental role in the design of the Apple iPod and now heads the manufacturer of smart devices Nest Labs, which Google acquired last year by 3,200 million.

Google will continue to sell a version of the lens to companies that will use the device found in offices, shops and factories.

The company based in Mountain View, California, still plans to return with a new model of consumer Glass, but has not given a date for its release.

For when the glasses back into the market will face more competition from other smart devices, including a line of watches that Apple Inc. plans to release in spring.

In a message on his blog Thursday, Google equated Glass Explorer version of a child learning to walk.

“ Well, we still have some work to do, but we are now ready to get big boy shoes and learn to run, ” Google said.

The Glass look like a pair of eyeglasses, only the Explorer version contains no glass. Instead, the device has a small screen attached above the right eye so that the user can check your email, tweets or get directions without a phone within reach.

Google began distributing device $ 1,500 computer programmers and about 10,000 people at random in 2013 with the hope that the test group offered new ideas for the use of Glass and increase the enthusiasm for a way to stay connected to the Internet without using your hands.

Although they generated a lot of intrigue and publicity, Glass failed to gain global acceptance. Part of the aversion was derived from the design did one look rather strange avant-garde. The glasses also disappointed many by its potential to intrude on the privacy of others, to take pictures and videos without noticing.

“ It’s the perfect tool Stalker ” said John Simpson, project director of Consumer Watchdog privacy, a group that has been among the strongest critics of Google. “ It’s hard to see how to solve it. ”

Nearly half of consumers have privacy concerns with Glass, according to data compiled by Forrester Research.

The price also limited the demand for sunglasses when Google began selling the device to the general public last May.

“Google needs to build an image to the consumer for the product and deal with privacy issues if it wants to enter the mass market, ” said JP Gownder, an analyst at Forrester.

Google has not disclosed how much it sold the Explorer version of the Glass units.