Google Glass general release not likely until 2014, Schmidt says

Most consumers will not be able to get ahold of Google Glass until next year, despite earlier promises that the smart-glasses would be available to the general public in 2013.

Google Chairman Eric Schmidt told the BBC that the general consumer release of the high-tech eyewear is still “a year-ish away.”

Glass is a device designed by Google that functions similarly to a smartphone but is worn on users’ faces like a pair of glasses. The device has a tiny display that users see out of the corner of their eye. Among its features, Glass can be used to search the Internet, hold video chats or take photos.

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The company began shipping out early versions of the glassese to developers earlier this month and in February it held a contest to select as many as 8,000 people to purchase and try out the $1,500 glasses.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who is leading the Glass effort, has said he hoped to begin selling the glasses to the general public in 2013, a message that was echoed by his team to The Verge as recently as two months ago.

But Schmidt said that before a general release, Google will first send out developer versions of the device followed by versions to winners of the company’s contest. Then, based on the feedback Google receives, the company will make modifications before releasing the final product.

Schmidt’s explanation makes plenty of sense, but after all that talk of a 2013 release, his comments are a big letdown.

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