Google Glass is an incredible product, it's proof that we have now reached the required level of technological skill to produce a truly wearable smart device. It's powerful, light, easy to use and features some great technological innovations including a bone-conducting microphone/headphone.
It's also £1,000. Lets just take a moment to think that through. £1,000 for a product that was finalised in 2012. That's a hell of an ask for people to buy a product that by today's standards is pretty old.
Glass is the first of its kind, but the fact Google never bothered to try and update the hardware shows that they clearly just don't know what to do with it. Oculus Rift is now on its second major iteration, with third versions already being shown off.
Why then is Oculus able to advance so quickly when Google is not? Well without directly asking Google we'll have to speculate but my blame would be at the Explorer program. It makes them expensive, exclusive and pretty much prices anyone that isn't a developer/hardcore fan out of the market.
Google's been letting people buy Glass for some time now, but the results are that there just aren't that many apps. Why? Well for a start there's no real user base that would warrant it and secondly just look at Glass in the news. It's definitely appeared in the news but the topics haven't always been positive. There's a reason the term 'Glassholes' exists.
From a macro perspective it appears as though socially, we just aren't ready for Glass. Its privacy implications and pretty basic performance have made it nothing more than a 'wow factor' product. Even if they'd lowered it to a reasonable price the legal issues would have just become even worse. At least this way legislators have time to talk it through, rather than any rash decisions being made.
Ultimately, it's for this reason that Android Wear, not Google Glass is the technology I'm most excited about. Wear is Google at its inspirationally finest, it's simple, intuitive and merged with the frankly stunning-looking Moto 360, it's the wearable that will work. Legal issues? What legal issues, it's a watch. Just better.