Google Glass videos are starting to pop up as the AR glasses reach early adopters. One video shows a cool perspective on a go kart race. Google has published the Glass manual online which reveals some official Google Glass specs and features.
The Google Glass manual gives a fairly detailed breakdown of what can be done with the unit. There’s a more graphical ‘Getting to Know Glass’ page available here.
The manual gives us the first official confirmation of some Google Glass specs:
- Fit
- Adjustable nosepads and durable frame fits any face.
- Extra nosepads in two sizes.
- Display
- High resolution display is the equivalent of a 25 inch high definition screen from eight feet away.
- Camera
- Photos – 5 MP
- Videos – 720p
- Audio
- Bone Conduction Transducer
- Connectivity
- Wifi – 802.11b/g
- Bluetooth
- Storage
- 12 GB of usable memory, synced with Google cloud storage. 16 GB Flash total.
- Battery
- One full day of typical use. Some features, like Hangouts and video recording, are more battery intensive.
- Charger
- Included Micro USB cable and charger.
- While there are thousands of Micro USB chargers out there, Glass is designed and tested with the included charger in mind. Use it and preserve long and prosperous Glass use.
- Compatibility
- Any Bluetooth-capable phone.
- The MyGlass companion app requires Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher. MyGlass enables GPS and SMS messaging.
The display section tells us that the display is ‘the equivalent of a 25 inch high definition screen from eight feet away’ which is a very long and annoying way to say that the Google Glass has a field of view is ~14.7 degrees (diagonally).
In the Google Glass FAQ section, it is mentioned that Glass shouldn’t be used by children under 13, along with those who have had Lasik surgery:
Like when wearing glasses, some people may feel eye strain or get a headache. If you’ve had Lasik surgery, ask your doctor about risks of eye impact damage before using Glass. Don’t let children under 13 use Glass as it could harm developing vision. Also, kids might break Glass or hurt themselves, and Google’s terms of service don’t permit those under 13 to register a Google account.
MyGlass App for Android
Google has launched a Glass companion app on Android called MyGlass.
MyGlass allows you to configure and manage your Glass device.
If you don’t have Glass, then downloading this will be a waste of time. Sorry about that. But if you swipe the screenshots to the right you’ll see there’s a picture of a puppy in pajamas. So not a total waste of time after all.
MyGlass also adds a few other features like identifying your location for turn-by-turn directions, sending and receiving SMS messages, ‘screencasting’ your Glass display, and more. The app requires Android 4.0.3 (Ice Cream Sandwich) or higher. Screencasting lets you stream your Glass camera view to your device.
As for iOS, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone, Google says that “all of the functionality of Glass is available via these devices’ Bluetooth connection, with the exception of SMS and directions.” I’m not entirely sure how screencasting could work without the MyGlass app, but I’d be happy if it did!
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