Google Glass seems to be a hot topic these days; the tech media looks like focusing on Google’s new Glass run by the Android operating system.
Truth: Glass requires an operating system; Android being Google-owned operating system is an embedded OS, which is run on ARM processors and diminutive memory. What the device is required to do is delivering Bluetooth/Wi-Fi connectivity, control both video and audio & which basically is Glass for you. It’s not supernatural but a reduction and design-savvy Android device.
The benefit of using Android is that it simplifies the process of connecting it to any portable device be it iOS, Blackberry, Android, Windows. This is a sensible way of thinking – there is not much money in hardware and Google knows that as well so they are trying to reduce the cost of its Nexus devices and encourage app development.
The other good thing about this is as the “first” device it may stop the other competitors from creating it. Google is getting many other top hardware developers on board and therefore it definitely looks like a winner. Android being open source Google also profits from the app store, not just the device.
Actually, I haven’t come across too many apps that run on the Glass processor at the moment. The heavy lifting is done by the Smartphone; some of that would be “client cloud computing”. “Glass” is just the interface like the “watch” and “wrist-pad” etc. To carry on developing Glass as a conception a lot more needs to be done within miniaturization, power, and battery technology increasing the wearability of the product to at least 30 days.
Android is already spread in cameras, smart TVs, video game consoles, fridges, portable media, etc. Android Key Lime Pie will be taking us further from mobile devices to desktops.
The important thing is for it to remain open source and inspire the android app developers to imagine and create.
