Consumers outside of the U.S. now have a chance to weigh in on the Google Glass debate as a newly launched beta program grants citizens of the UK and Australia the chance to finally get their hands on the wearable tech and become part of the coveted "Glass Explorers" program.
The price tag of £1,000 or AU$1,800, roughly $1,699 and $1,688, respectively, are in the same ballpark as the U.S. version that costs $1,500.
While still a not ready for its consumer release, the augmented reality (AR) headset has ignited various opinions. The presence of a not-so-discreet camera has some people weary of users of the AR device, but Glass users have praised the product for its ability to relay useful content from smartphones and display it before their eyes.
But just because Google has only now begun to offer the product outside of the U.S. doesn't in any way mean beta tests of Google Glass have only occurred stateside. Despite reports Google would deactivate devices used by third parties or non-U.S. residents, several reviewers in the UK and other regions have had extended hands-on time with the product.
The UK version of Google Glass will include apps tailored for UK residents and will reportedly offer better voice recognition for individuals who speak "native," or British. One UK reviewer complained of the device's inability to make sense of his voice commands, which made it difficult for him to draft text or specify a destination via voice.
To make clear its focus on delivering a product adapted for the UK, Google released a promotional trailer that showed Google Glass in use by British citizens. Glass delivers voice notifications in British English and correctly recognizes input voiced in the same dialect.
Google has primed itself to give Glass a heavy push, as eight of its top researchers and engineers were scheduled to deliver presentations on Google Glass over the course of the company's developers' conference this week.
While Google Glass has no confirmed date for a consumer release, the product has been expected to be made available sometime in late 2014.
