This past weekend I had an interesting message pop into my inbox. You could say that this message was almost missed because it was via a service I receive dozens, if not even hundreds of emails from each day. Something about the sender struck me as odd and I opened it to find a 140 character message that may change almost every aspect of how we operate Living the Dream as we go forward.
In fact, I was even torn on sharing it because the very thought of having this opportunity is somewhat terrifying to us. But what is this opportunity? After a few days of deliberation, we've decided to make it public.
We received an invitation to be one of the first 8,000 people to purchase the new Google Glass in their Explorers Program!
But before we get into why this has anything to do with our site, and why we are hesitant on the entire idea, we need to take a step back. Over the course of the last few days since receiving this message we have realized that hardly anyone we've talked to even knows what Project Glass is, or why being one of the first 8,000 people to spend $1,500 on them is a good idea.
Google Glass - Move Over Smart Phones
I do not claim to be an expert in all of the uses of the new Google Glass technology. In fact, the extent of my knowledge is about as much as the Google Glass website displays on their easy to read walkthrough. (The walkthrough also contains tons of amazing photos that we've decided to not risk reprinting on our site here. For photos, we recommend you click the link!)
To put it simply, Google Glass takes the "smart phone" concept and compacts it all onto a pair of glasses. Rather than having a large device in your pocket you would instead have a tiny chip infront of your eye that projects out a screen for you to use at your leisure.
While Google Glass does not actually have a phone feature that we can tell right now, the real perk of the technology is access to all of the other features that a traditional smart phone has. Those features are all put into one of the tiniest electronic devices on the planet, projected onto a unique viewing screen, and integrated all with a hands-free, voice activated controls system.
Augmented reality, meet consumers. Consumers, meet the future.
But what are these awesome features that are included? While the user developed "app" system sounds like it will be alive and well on Google Glass, the following are some of the more interesting Google backed features we have found during the course of our research. Keep in mind that the entire system is voice activated as you read these:
- Take photos and videos with only saying the word.
- Upload said photos and videos to social media instantly.
- Get walking and driving directions via the built in GPS.
- Update and receive calendar reminders and notifications as you go about your day.
- Use a smart Q&A system to get answers to burning questions.
- Translate any phrase and projecte it audibly in an instant.
- Use Google Hangouts while sharing your view with your friends and loved ones (while seeing them in your eye piece).
- ...and those are just a few that have been announced.
Why it Will Revolutionize Travel
From the list of features we outlined above, there are many unique items that have a great place for travelers. The last two in particular are the ones that are most interesting to us as travel writers and the biggest reason we are even considering buying Google Glass in the first place.
- Translate any phrase instantly - Think of the number of times you have asked for directions when traveling the world only to get a blank stare from someone who doesn't (and shouldn't have to) speak your language? For us this is a very difficult issue well beyond your typical "where is my hotel" question. You see, Angie has a life-threatening nut allergy. Everywhere we go we must carry printed cards with translations for every tree nut there is in every language we may encounter. Having the ability to project this out could be quite a game changer for our travel lifestyle.
- Google hangouts - Have you ever wanted to show your friends and family an amazing sight somewhere in the world while you are standing right in front of it? Sure, you could do it with a wifi connection and a laptop, but who carries their laptop to a famous landmark? Pop on Google Glass and you could bring the world's top monuments to your friends and family back home all with a not-so-simple pair of glasses.
Which now brings us to our dilemma.
Google Glass Also Terrifies Us
After reading our above description, you may be pretty gung ho about a travel blog using and abusing the Google Glass features. But there are a few unsettling facts that we have to come to terms with if we decide we are going to acquire these for our writing.
First, there is the price. $1,500 + tax and the requirement of having to go pick them up in New York City, Seattle, or San Francisco at a yet-to-be-determined date. When it all is said and done, we'd have to drop over $2,000 just to buy them.
Second, there is the exclusivity. Everyone seemingly wants a Google Glass. With the exclusivity of only 8,000 people in the USA getting the ability to buy them, that means there are over 7 billion people in the world who do not have the opportunity. Suffice it to say, our safety when traveling both abroad and domestic is a concern we have talked about more than once in the past few days. Until these babies are mainstream and available at a price everyone can afford you can be sure neither of us would be wearing them 24/7. Not to mention the hefty insurance policy we'll have to take out for them.
Finally, there is the need. Angie and I do not like to be connected when we travel. That is part of the reason we differentiate ourselves from others. We do not own smart phones, even when we are at home. We don't Instagram. We don't Tweet every 20 minutes. We do real time blogging on our social media accounts, but only when we are near our computers. Part of the reason we love travel is because we get this breather from technology. Now were looking at skipping smart phones altogether and going to the most integrated piece of technology on the planet in one swipe of a credit card; and that is quite possibly the most terrifying part.
We are now wrestling with ourselves if the benefit outweighs the cost and the potential negatives that we described above. We're going to be having numerous more discussions about the technology before Google lets us know when the purchase date is, but we need your input. Would you like to see posts on Living the Dream featuring Google Glass? What do you like about the technology? What do you dislike? Comment below and let us know. Your input will really help the decision making process!
