Google Glass to Get An Independent Division Headed by Nest’s Tony Fadell
Between the frenzy of latest flagships and CES launches, Google Glass has been missing the action for quite sometime now. But not anymore, because Google is shaking its wearable up with some major changes.
The Google Glass team announced in a post to its Google+ page, that Glass is “graduating from Google[X] labs,” presumably still marching toward a “real” consumer launch. The Explorer program will come to an end on January 19th which is just three days away.
According to the post, the research project will move to own division. This new standalone Google Glass group will be led by Ivy Ross, who will report to Tony Fadell, the head of Nest Labs, Inc. The development process for the head worn wearables has been a bit slower than some might have expected when it comes to available glassware(apps for glass)but it was strong nonetheless and it seemed to give off a promising future.
Google Explorer Program has spanned years and seen plenty of awesome, annoying, and controversial moments as Glass has looked for a place in the hearts and minds of tech consumers. Many tech enthusiasts believe it has a place in the broader wearable ecosystem including fashion, medicines, navigation, research etc.
Google is also discontinuing consumer sales of the current Explorer Edition of Google Glass, beginning January 19. Google Glass will still be sold to approved developers and companies for both use and further development of the Glass ecosystem. This points again to the new version of Google Glass that will be arriving in 2015, though it is still unknown when it will arrive and whether it will be powered by an Intel Chip or not.
