Pandora's app for Google Glass launches Wednesday, putting the top Internet radio provider's stations just a voice command away.
Glass, Google's $1,500 head-mounted, voice-activated computer, became available for public purchase in May but remains a niche device. Pandora's head of business development, Ian Geller, said the point of the Glass app was to see how wearables and radio work well together -- and where they flop.
"We can live in a world where people will have a closer connection to their music because they're wearing it somewhere on their bodies," he said. "It's less about us than about making bets on winners. We're trying to figure out the ultimate use."
Built by Pandora out of an internal hackathon project, the app plays music for wearers in three possible ways: through a built-in speaker and bone conduction, no headphones required; with a single earbud included in the device's kit; and with a double-earbud accessory like a micro-USB headset.
Wearers access their personalized radio stations. Voice commands can select an existing station and create a new one, while tapping the touchpad can "thumb-up" and "thumb-down" tracks as well as pause, skip and stop songs.