Google Project Glass: What Would It Make of Apple and Facebook? (Image: bfishadow, via Flickr / CC)

Google has recently unveiled yet another mobile gadget to take up the future and make people pass on those smartphones. Google presents augmented reality glasses; a project that they dubbed “Project Glass”.

Along with the unveiling of “Project Glass” was the release of a concept video on YouTube and an announcement that the search giant is to begin public tests of the gadget very soon.

Project Glass: The Videos

The concept video depicted a whole day – set in the future, from waking up in the morning to going to bed in the evening – in the life of a person who uses Google’s augmented reality glasses. He wakes up in the morning and the glasses wake up with him. It updates him of the day’s weather, gives him a time check, and reminds him of the day’s schedule. All through his day, it gives him easy access to maps and routes, a friend’s location, taking photos and sharing them, and even picking up and turning down calls are more convenient than how it is for us now. He makes the glasses do all these through voice commands. But, somehow, his life seems kind of lonely. A reminder served by the glasses in the morning for a “date” later in the day turned out to be a video-chat, still, through the augmented reality glasses.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c6W4CCU9M4

Recently, a video response in the form of a parody of the concept video posted on YouTube, and instead of Project Glass, they quipped it “Project Dangerous Glasses”. In the video, the man is trying to do all the stuff that the man in the original video does with the help of Google’s glasses except that things do not quite work out well because the augmented reality glasses has him confused and distracted all the time. He ends up falling face down on the pavement.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma8NbpCvSwo

As the two videos show, Project Glass does have a lot of potential into success when it launches, but its chances are flopping down because of people who are not ready for the technology, or the technology not excellently delivering what it promises.

What more does Project Glass promise?

However, there is also something else notable. In both videos, the user did not pull out a smartphone or a tablet nor did he log in to any social networking site. The reasons are there for us to see. He did not need to use any device other than the glasses for stuff like communication with people through text messages or voice calls and even video-chatting because all that stuff and more are already packed into the glasses. As for the social networking sites, we expect the glasses to come with Google+, of course.

What could that mean?

That means that if Project Glass is to succeed, and it most certainly will, there may not be any more need for Apple’s iPhones and iPads or any other devices of the like nor of social networking sites other than Google+, such as Facebook and Twitter. This could either come to them as a threat or as a challenge.

What can Apple and Facebook do in the face of Project Glass?

For one, they can work together to create something that can compete with Google’s augmented reality glasses. For instance, Apple can produce a device that levels up with Project Glass’ portability and intelligence features among other services that it could offer, and say they have Facebook to be the new device’s built-in social network in the same way that Google+ is to be with Project Glass.

Of course, it is not belied to us that Apple and Facebook are not exactly on friendly terms now, but collaborating for a common cause is never such a bad idea either. And who knows? Together, maybe they have better chances of doing greater things.

About Francis Rey Balolong

A coffee junkie who spends most of his time writing about the latest news on social media and mobile technology. I would definitely consider myself a nerd (in the coolest most hipster way possible). That being said, I love technology, music, writing, and all things mobile. Follow me: Google+ Twitter

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