Google Glass hackathons coming up in SF and NY
The tech giant is throwing two events to let developers have an "early look at Glass" and become familiar with the wearable platform's software.
Google announced today that it is throwing two hackathons for developers to get to know and work on its Google Glass project. The people allowed to participate in the events are those who agreed to fork over $1,500 for the developer edition of the wearable device.
"It's the first opportunity for a group of developers to get together and develop for Glass," Google told CNET.
The hackathons are slated to be two days long and take place in San Francisco on January 28 and 29 and in New York on February 1 and 2. Those developers attending the events will be able to have an "early look at Glass" and "have a device to use while on-site."
Google first debuted the titanium-framed glasses headset during its Google I/O conference in June. At the time, the wearable platform had video and audio capability, a built-in compass and accelerometer, and was controlled by head movements. Babak Parviz, the head of the Google Glass project, said in a recent interview that the company is currently also experimenting with voice commands, a touch pad, and a phone call feature.
Google has yet to announce a release date for the developer edition of the device but it's expected sometime this year. A release for a product geared toward the general public probably won't be available until 2014.
CNET contacted Google for more information. We'll update the story when we hear back.