Google Glass not quite available for everyone yet
You may have heard the rumor floating around that Google Glass was finally available for everyone, but that is not quite true. While the Google Glass store is open and seems to have been taking orders, all models are currently sold out. Google states that the store is operational for the sole purpose of allowing Explorers to finish up their purchases from the April 15, 2014 sales to buy Google Glass at the $1500 price point.
In an email to Yahoo Tech, a Google spokesperson stated, “this link [to the Google Glass store] was created to accommodate potential Explorers who were still in the pipeline from last week’s sale. We’re shutting down shortly.”
The email also stated that Google would be continuing to find ways to expand the Explorer program in the coming weeks and months. Most likely, the majority of people will have to wait until the end of the year to make their Google Glass purchase.
You’ll just have to keep waiting
Many are speculating the initial limited availability was a deliberate move by Google to get excited Explorers to test out the product and provide feedback. As a result, of limiting the feedback pool, the device received plenty of criticisms about its polarizing design, poor battery life, and steep price tag. One could speculate that if they had offered the device to a greater number of people, at a lower cost, they may have gotten a better sampling of opinions.
Google recently released an update (XE 16.1) last week to Glass firmware, upgrading it to Android KitKat. This upgrade was supposed to help boost battery life. Sadly, the update seems to have caused more problems than it solved. The company is still in the process of pushing through an XE 16.1.1 update to fix problems caused by XE 16.1, which bricked several Glasses.
Regardless of how you feel about Google Glass, it is going to be a while longer before everyone is given the opportunity to try it out.
