{"id":8527,"date":"2014-03-25T13:51:31","date_gmt":"2014-03-25T13:51:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=8527"},"modified":"2014-03-25T13:51:31","modified_gmt":"2014-03-25T13:51:31","slug":"google-and-ray-ban-deal-to-offer-more-stylish-glass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=8527","title":{"rendered":"Google and Ray-Ban deal to offer ‘more stylish’ Glass"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sergei<\/a>
Sergei Brin wore Glass at New York Fashion Week last year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Google is teaming up with the designer firm behind Ray-Ban and Oakley in an attempt to make its wearable technology desirable beyond the “geek” community.<\/p>\n

The tie-up with Italian eyewear designer Luxottica will create “avant-garde” design according to the fashion firm.<\/p>\n

Google hopes it will put Glass at the forefront of the “smart eyewear market”.<\/p>\n

But many remain sceptical about its future as a mainstream device.<\/p>\n

Glass is a piece of wearable technology that includes a thumbnail-sized screen above the wearer’s right eye to view internet content. The gadget also includes a camera that can take hands-free pictures and video.<\/p>\n

Combining Luxottica’s well-known brands with “the cutting edge technology expertise of Google” could “give birth to a new generation of revolutionary devices”, said the eyewear company’s chief executive Andrea Guerra.<\/p>\n

“The first collection generated by this partnership will combine high-end technology with avant-garde design,” he added.<\/p>\n

Google is to use the 5,000 stores that Luxottica runs in the US to help sell Glass once the device is released on the general market.<\/p>\n

There were no details about price or availability.<\/p>\n

Cheaper version<\/p>\n

Critics point out that Glass remains beyond the reach of many consumers with its $1,500 (\u00a3900) price tag.<\/p>\n

“The price needs to come down and I think that when they launch a consumer device it is going to be much cheaper,” said Nitin Bhas, a senior analyst with Juniper Research.<\/p>\n

But he thinks tie-ups such as these will also be crucial.<\/p>\n

“Google needs multiple frames to make Glass look more stylish and move it beyond the tech-savvy audience,” he said.<\/p>\n

IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo added: “Nobody will pay $1,500 for this type of device.”<\/p>\n

He estimates Glass will fall to between \u00a3300 and \u00a3500 ($495m to $825m) and come with additional features.<\/p>\n

Mainstream hopes<\/p>\n

It is not the first time that Google has attempted to get interest in Glass beyond its core geek audience.<\/p>\n

In January it announced that versions of the headset would be available in prescription glasses and sunglasses – known as the Titanium collection.<\/p>\n

Google has so far only sold Glass to a select group of test subjects known as “Explorers.” More than 10,000 people have bought it to date.<\/p>\n

As early adopters, they have not always had an easy ride when wearing the device with some wearers earning the dubious title “Glassholes”.<\/p>\n

Cecilia Abadie was pulled over and given a traffic ticket for wearing the device while another user was removed from a cinema and accused of using the gadget to illegally copy the film.<\/p>\n

Recently Google issued guidelines on Glass etiquette, urging wearers not to be “creepy or rude (aka a ‘Glasshole’)”.<\/p>\n

Last week it attempted to dispel “Glass myths” including privacy fears.<\/p>\n

“If someone wants to secretly record you, there are much, much better cameras out there than one you wear conspicuously on your face and that lights up every time you give a voice command, or press a button,” it said.<\/p>\n

Google appears to be committed to next-generation wearables.<\/p>\n

Last week, it unveiled a version of its Android operating system designed specifically for such devices.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Google is teaming up with the designer firm behind Ray-Ban and Oakley in an attempt to make its wearable technology desirable beyond the “geek” community. The tie-up with Italian eyewear designer Luxottica will create “avant-garde” design according to the fashion firm. Google hopes it will put Glass at the forefront of the “smart eyewear market”. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[18],"class_list":["post-8527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-dr-akwasi-osei"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}