There was a time, and it wasn’t all that long ago, when we all believed that glasses with inbuilt computers were reserved for science fiction films and we would never see such technology advancements in our lifetimes. But then along came Google. Over the years Google has continually changed and progressed the way we search, but now they have gone a step further and launched Google Glass.
Google Glass look pretty much like your average pair of glasses but they allow users to display maps, pictures, phone contacts and more through a screen in the top right hand corner of the lenses. There is also an inbuilt camera to take pictures of videos of exactly what you are seeing. They even come in a range of colours (Sky is my favourite).
But before you rush out to snap them up, they are not quite on the open market as yet. It was announced last Wednesday that Google are to roll out 8,000 test pairs of glasses and have used the opportunity to turn this test launch into a competition leveraged on social media. To enter you have to tell Google via Twitter or Google+ what you would use the glasses for in no more than 50 words.
But before you rush to your social media profiles, the lucky 8,000 have to live in America, be able to pick up the glasses in person from either New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles and pay $1,500. But for a slice of the future this has not deterred thousands of techies from entering and telling Google how they would use the new technology.
But what other types of futuristic technology is on the horizon?
Apple, like Google, have also announced that they too will be entering the realms of James Bond style fantasy gadgetry as they are currently working on a wrist wearable computer, which has been dubbed the iWatch. Apple is being characteristically quiet over what the new technology will contain, but will this change the way we search for things on the go?
What does this mean for search?
As more and more people use smart phone technology to search on the go there is a definite gap in the market for the next level of technology to feed the hunger of tech geeks the world over.
With the introduction of Siri we are now well accustomed to voice activated computing and the technology of tomorrow is ever closer to today. But can a pair of glasses or a watch really change our search behaviour?
When searching for the latest gossip or breaking news a single lens or watch will hardly be the best platform to read a full article, but it may alert you to stories which can then be accessed on a different platform such as your laptop or tablet.
What it will be useful for is gaining information on your surroundings, so having a properly set up Google Places account which links to reviews and pictures of your business will be even more essential. This will be even more relevant if you rely on passing trade to drive people into your premises, such as a bar or restaurant. This kind of information will also be invaluable when you are in a new area and have no idea of where the best places to eat, drink and shop are.
Mobile optimisation is already vital in search to attract people on the go, but it seems like it may not be in the all too distant future when we will be talking about lens optimisation.
Sources
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/feb/20/google-glass-8000-prototypes-online-competition
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2013/feb/17/apple-iwatch-wearable-tech
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