Google Glass Is the Future — and the Future Has Awful Battery Life

zacharye writes "The concept of wearable tech is really buzzing right now as pundits tout smart eyewear, watches and other connected devices as the future of tech. It makes sense, of course — smartphone growth is slowing and people need something to hold on to — but the early 'Explorer' version of Google's highly anticipated Google Glass headset has major problem that could be a big barrier for widespread adoption: Awful battery life." Also, a review of the hardware. The current Glass hardware heads south in less than five hours, which doesn't seem too short relative to similarly powerful devices, but since it is meant to be worn all the time you'd think it would have a large enough battery to make it at least 8 or 10 hours.

Re:Google glasses

[0100010001010011]

You have no reasonable expectation of privacy in public.

Re:Google glasses

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, in many places in Europe, it's illegal to record other people in public places. There's some amount allowed if the person is "public person" (ie. celeb) but not otherwise.

Re:Rev. 1 hardware, people

[hedwards]

I used to work in security and I'm well aware of where the cameras are located, and I'm definitely not being recorded every step of my trip to Starbucks. What's more, any cameras that I am caught on are unlikely to be looked at by anybody ever. They're recording in case something happens. And rarely if ever do businesses around here pool those tapes or otherwise share them. In most cases the footage is deleted within a month, provided they aren't specifically retaining a section, because storing footage with no value for years is expensive.

What's more, they don't generally change their position, they're where they are, and what they see is relatively fixed. Whereas with Google glass and such, the cameras are constantly moving and unpredictable. What's more once the footage is uploaded, it's much more likely that it will be seen by people at large.

Just because you don't get the situation, doesn't mean my views are paranoid, it just means that I'm well aware of the situation and have done actually thinking about it.

Re:Rev. 1 hardware, people

[chowdahhead]

They're using an OMAP SOC for the explorer editions. TI stopped development and is phasing out manufacturing of mobile chips. For Google to deliver the millions of Glass devices that they anticipate, they must find another hardware solution. That's a pretty good indication that the current hardware isn't final. The 4430 is overkill anyway, and a more purpose-designed SOC should be more cost-effective and yield improved battery life.

Re:Google glasses

[foobsr]

Given Google is in the US, I'm going by US based laws

American asshole.

CC.