Google Glass tech specs', er, tech specs revealed
Google says Glass will have a a 5-megapixel camera capable of 720p video, 16GB of storage, and will vibrate the bones in your head.
Google Glass, the exciting/terrifying new tech specs, have some official tech specs. Specifications, that is, not spectacles. They are spectacles. Technical spectacles. Glad we cleared that up.
In an official support page spotted by 9to5Google, the Big G lays out what you can expect from the specs. There's a 5-megapixel camera capable of 720p video, 16GB of storage (12GB of which is usable), and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
Battery life is pegged at "one full day of typical use". But "some features, like Hangouts and video recording, are more battery intensive," the software behemoth warns.
Instead of earphones, Glass will use a method called bone conduction -- effectively vibrating the bones in your ear through your head, which is then transmitted to your brain by your cochlea as sound. Panasonic, which showed off a pair of bone-conducting headphones at CES earlier this year, reckons it makes the sound much clearer than is possible with the tiny drivers you get in earbuds.
To connect Glass to your phone, Google will publish an app called MyGlass, which enables GPS for maps and directions, as well as text messaging. MyGlass requires that your phone has Bluetooth and is running Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich or higher, which shouldn't be a problem for anyone splashing out a grand on facewear. Google has previously confirmed it will also work with the iPhone.
Google doesn't reveal what resolution the display is, but promises it'll be like looking at a 25-inch high-definition TV from 2 metres away. In the right arm of the glasses is a tiny projector that bounces light off a little prism and into your eye. The beauty of it is you can see through the prism too, so the graphics are overlaid on your normal vision. There's a useful diagram explaining it here.
Adjustable nosepads and a durable frame "fits any face", the specs page says, and it'll come with extra nosepads so you can pick the most comfortable ones. It'll come with a micro-USB charger too. "Use it and preserve long and prosperous Glass use," Google says. Because it's from the future, see?
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