While some of the early Glass Explorers are more tech enthusiasts than actual developers, it is still important to realize that the glasses are in fact targeted towards developers, and not true commercial use. Because of that, they have a few special rules that come with that high $1500 buying price.

Specifically you can’t resell, transfer, give or loan Google Glass out. That’s a bit harsh though, as you paid a lot for the Glasses – and you probably have a long list of folks that want to try it out. Luckily, Google has changed its stance on the whole “loaning” part of its Google Glasses policy.

Here’s what the newly revised FAQ says about loaning:

Can I loan Glass to someone else?

A: Yes. The philosophy of the Explorer Edition is “one device for one person,” but we understand that there are situations where you might want to loan the device to a family member, friend, or colleague. Please don’t sell, rent, or otherwise make a profit off the device. That’s not allowed, nor is it in the Explorer spirit.

In other words, you can now allow friends and family members to take Glass for an extended spin, days, weeks, whatever have you… as long as you aren’t charging any dough to them, that is.

What do you think of Google Glass, hope to someday soon get your hands on it, or is it merely a fad item that will see a loss of interest in time?

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Whether it’s the future or not Google Glass is here and it appears like the search giant wants full control of its new tech. The company began shipping their wearable computer this week and released details about the device, when they also unveiled rules regarding what developers could and couldn’t do with the glasses.

One of their rules is that the developers won’t be allowed to resell or loan the $1,500 device without Google’s permission. Deactivation will be Google’s answer to those developers who have plans to make some money with their devices. This is what the company has to say regarding ownership and use:

“You may not resell, loan, transfer, or give your device to any other person. If you resell, loan, transfer, or give your device to any other person without Google’s authorization, Google reserves the right to deactivate the device, and neither you nor the unauthorized person using the device will be entitled to any refund, product support, or product warranty”.

And there are more rules that the developers must follow. Placing ads on the device is prohibited and charging users to download apps for the eyewear is also not allowed. Google’s current terms of service are specifically meant for the Explorer program. The company may or may not bring these restrictions on the final product available to consumers.

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Protests are still going on against Google Glasses, but the search giant is going ahead with their plan and will start manufacturing their wearable computers. Following Apple’s plans to invest $100m in American manufacturing and President Barack Obama’s actions to promote the same, Google is going to make their glasses in the US.

The Google Glasses are going to be produced in a Foxconn factory in Santa Clara, California. At first, the numbers manufactured will be small. If it is found to be a success, the product could be mass produced in China, with the components produced in Asia and assembling happening in California. Moving the manufacturing from the far east to the west for the small scale production will allow them to closely monitor their product for making improvements.

They are planning to churn out prototypes each with a price tag of around $1500 to 8,000 people. Worried about that price tag? Well, Google might go lower than that price, although the “Made in USA” tag will keep the price pretty high (remember Nexus Q?).

So, are you interested in getting one for yourself? Or are you having mixed feelings?

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From watches to glasses and even a twitter bubble t-shirt, wearable technology is poised to be the next big thing. Google has been making a push for their Glasses with models, videos, and a whole lot of Sergey Brin.

Although Google’s augmented reality head-mounted display is making good press and being received well, Steve Mann had mixed feelings.

On one hand, it’s immensely satisfying to see that the wider world now values wearable computer technology. On the other hand, I worry that Google and certain other companies are neglecting some important lessons. Their design decisions could make it hard for many folks to use these systems. Worse, poorly configured products might even damage some people’s eyesight and set the movement back years.

It’s astounding to me that Google and other companies now seeking to market head-wearable computers with cameras and displays haven’t leapfrogged over my best design (something I call “EyeTap Generation-4 Glass”) to produce models that are even better. Perhaps it’s because no one else working on this sort of thing has spent years walking around with one eye that’s a camera.

If you do not recognize him by his actual name, Steve Mann is the “father of augmented reality and wearable computing”. He is also General Chair of the IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society.

Google recently closed a Glass Explorer Edition pre-order competition on Twitter. It was open to the public and all you had to do to enter was tweet your idea to #ifihadglass. Google and Sergey Brin hinted at a 2013 release with developers already receiving their glasses.

Did you enter to become a Google Glass Explorer? How do you feel about Google Glass and wearable technology? Let us know in the comments below.

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You’ve probably heard of Google Glass before. The unique headgear computer is all about making our lives easier, giving us hands-free recording of life’s big events and much more. As Google’s Glass marches closer to commercial release we’ve seen a few would-be competitors but now it seems that Huawei could be throwing itself in the ring as well.

Huawei’s CEO of Consumer Products, Richard Yu has now suggested the company could eventually introduce their own pair of advanced glasses, though not likely for another 5-10 years.

So is this just ‘talk’ or is something already in the works? Based on his words, I would say they are actually testing something, even if just in the prototyping stages. “We are doing a lot of research and we are doing a lot of development in our labs. I wish we could show you what we are working on for over the next five to ten years, including glasses.”

Either way, five years away means it will debut quite a bit after Google’s Glass finally starts rolling around in a big way.

What do you think of the idea of glasses-based computing? Can Google start a revolution that helps this product line take off, and if they do, does Huawei have a shot at following in their footsteps?

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Now, because the video was shot with the camera on the glasses themselves, we still have no real idea what the prototype looks like at this point. That said, we can see the video quality that the glasses can capture and I’d say that it’s comparable to something like the Flip MinoHD. The sample video is with the employee jumping and flipping on a trampoline, so those with motion sensitivities might want to skip this.

I did notice a couple of moments where the video pauses or hiccups briefly, but this is a prototype and this is the first video sample. That said, since the glasses do appear to stay fixed on the Google employee’s head as he does his flips, at least we can say that Project Glass offers a decent fit for active types.

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