Google Brings Forward Google Glass Launch Date

Other big Glass news arrived 16 May at this year’s Google I/O Developers Conference, where Glass-enabled Facebook and Twitter apps were launched so that early Glass testers can use the devices to hook up with their favorite social media platforms.

Twitter announced its new app for Glass in a post on The Twitter Blog, highlighting the app’s ability to let users easily share photos and connect with others using the 140-character messaging platform. Glass users of the Twitter app will also be able to keep up with people they follow on Twitter using notifications for mentions, direct messages and tweets from specific users.

To obtain the Twitter app for Glass, users can visit the Google MyGlass Website and turn on the app.

The new Facebook app is also available now, allowing users to upload photos to their timelines and add descriptions with voice. Other new Glass apps that are scheduled in the future include Tumblr, CNN and Elle, which are still in development.

Developer Delivery

In March, Google began demonstrating some of the cool third-party apps that were first made available for the first Glass devices that have been shipping to early users. Among them were a news app that delivers headlines and photos from The New York Times, an email app and a note-creation app for Evernote.

Earlier in May, the first software updates for the eyewear-mounted computers were distributed by Google, including new features such as incoming Google+ notifications for users. The new Google Glass XE5 software update features a host of improvements, such as crash reporting for the devices, incoming Google+ notifications for direct shares, comments and Google+ mentions, and increased speed for transcription of queries and messages.

The first Google Glass preview units began shipping in April to developers who signed up at the original June 2012 Google I/O conference to buy an early set for $1,500 (£990) for testing and development.

In February, Google expanded its nascent test project for Glass by inviting interested applicants to submit proposals for a chance to buy an early model of the eyewear-mounted computer and become part of its continuing development. In March, Google also began notifying a pool of applicants who were selected to purchase the first 8,000 sets of Google Glass when they become available for real-world use and testing later this year by consumers. Those selected applicants are beginning to receive their units in waves.

Each Google Glass device includes adjustable nose pads and a high-resolution display that Google said is the equivalent of a 25-inch high-definition screen from 8 feet away. The glasses also boast a built-in camera that takes 5-megapixel photos and video at 720p. Audio is delivered to the wearer through their bones, using a bone-conduction transducer that previously had been revealed in earlier reports.

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Originally published on eWeek.