Designing and Developing for Google Glass

Chapter 2. The Glass Ecosystem: What It Is and How It Is Different

When Glass was first unveiled in 2012, the developer community was both put on notice and challenged, with Google producing a new application client that’s radically different. But Glass is more than just a set of hardware specifications or the apps that are available by default, it is a new way of interacting with your computer and with the real world.

Our main goal isn’t to give you the information just to produce Glassware—we want you to produce GREAT Glassware. Your success is our success. So let’s hit the ground running and set you off on your journey to thoroughly understanding the Glass ecosystem and becoming a Glassware-producing superstar.

What You See and What You Get

As you can tell from Figure 2-1, the maturity of the Glass design scheme has come a long way in about two years. The headset appears as a minimalist pair of glasses that have been bulked out with some additional hardware. On the one hand, the additions are sleek and almost futuristically styled. On the other hand, they are clearly noticeable and perhaps a bit bulky. Some are made even more visible because of the color choice.

Figure 2-1. The evolution of Google Glass (image courtesy of Google)

But contained in this device is a small modular bundle of technology:

• A battery module
• A micro-USB port that serves as power source, headphone jack, and data ...