While everyone is waiting for the official release of Google Glass, expected some time before the end of 2014, Google announced Monday that prescription frames will be available for the wearable technology device. The prescription frames cost $225 on top of the $1,500 fee to enter the Glass "Explorer Program."
Google released four styles -- Split, Thin, Bold, and Curve -- of the prescription frames that will also be available in eight colors. For those using the headset during outdoor activities, the company also rolled out new tinted shades in the form of Edge and Classic available for $150. At the moment, Glass users can experiment with different frames, shades, and colors and come up with 40 possible combinations.
"If we had a nickel for every time someone has asked about prescription lenses for Glass ... well, we'd have a lot of nickels. So we want you to be the first to know that the Titanium Collection is here, with a handful of new styles for Glass so you can make it your own. Whether you wear prescription glasses or just want a new look, we've got four feather-light titanium frames designed just for you. And if you need prescription lenses and have vision insurance (such as VSP), your policy might even help cover your new frames. Explorers can access the Titanium Collection tomorrow afternoon, along with two new styles of twist-on shades," the company wrote on the official Google+ page of its wearable smart glass.
The involvement of optical insurance provider VSP confirms reports in November that Google has been working with other companies to bring the device to optometrists.
"Our goal is to have 6,000 doctors trained by the end of the year, throughout the country. We have 200 trained so far," said VSP VisionCare president Jim McGrann.
McGrann says optometrists capable of fitting prescription frames into Google Glass are only located in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco for now, but they will soon have professionals trained in other cities.
With the much awaited prescription frames in the picture, will users feel more comfortable wearing the device?
"That's hard to say - there's no getting around the fact that you have a camera strapped to your head, but at least it's attached to a piece of wearable technology that's been around for hundreds of years instead of a half-dozen months. To my eyes - both wearing them and looking at them - they look better. But make no mistake, this is still Google Glass, and you're still likely to get into some awkward conversations," wrote Dieter Bohn of the technology blog The Verge.
