Google shows you how to use Glass in new video
Google has released a video showing you how to use Google Glass, its revolutionary augmented reality glasses.
Wondering how Google Glass manages to show you all the information you want, literally right in front of your eyes? In a new video, fans can see just how you control the Big G's sci-fi augmented reality specs.
On the right-hand side of Glass is a touchpad that runs half the length of the glasses' arm. This is primarily how you control Glass. The interaction is very similar to how we've become used to controlling tablets, using a mixture of taps, extended taps and swipes. You tap to turn Glass on, for example, and then by swiping along the pad, you can move through the home screen menu, dubbed the 'timeline'.
All the information in these menus comes in the form of cards, which will be familiar if you've used Google Now. Past events are to the right of the screen, while current and future events are to the left. Like on a tablet, you tap to select an item, and hold for more options. You tap to see a photo, for example, and hold to send it to a friend over Google+. Swiping down takes you back, returning you to the timeline or turning Glass off.
All of this seems very intuitive, and it'll be interesting to see just how easy it is to use. We've seen and heard a lot about the voice commands that can be used to control aspects of Glass, described by Google's own Eric Schmidt as "weird", though whether you can use voice commands to navigate the menus hands-free is yet to be seen.
Glass runs on Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich, which will be a rather elderly version of Android by the time Glass is released -- current Android devices are running 4.1 or 4.2 Jelly Bean, and the next iteration, 5.0 Key Lime Pie, is set to be announced in the near future.
Selected specs include a 5-megapixel camera, capable of taking 720p video, 16GB of storage and 1GB of RAM.
Google Glass Explorer sets have already been sent out to developers and other lucky people, with the futuristic glasses set to go on sale later this year, at an estimated cost of around £1,000. Pictures taken by those already fortunate enough to have Glass, including sci-fi genius William Gibson, made their way online yesterday.
Are you keen to explore with Glass? Or will it be a waste of money? What would you rather splash a grand on? Let me know in the comments below or on our spectacular Facebook page.