Google Glass Enterprise Edition spotted in the wild?

posted by Ben R. / Mar 20, 2016, 3:39 PM

Google Glass Enterprise Edition spotted in the wild?

Not so long ago, Google Glass completely gripped the tech world. Many speculated on a future where the general populous would sport head-mounted gizmos, though the device always seemed better suited to cops or plastic surgeons. After much fanfare, Project Glass duly faded into the abyss, and the last we heard, a special Enterprise Edition of the face computer was being somewhat secretly distributed to, well.. enterprise users. Little has been heard since, but now an interesting eBay listing has what appears to be the newer version auctioning for a cool $2600.

You only have to look at the smartwatch arena to realize that wearable tech is still in relative infancy. But while Apple, Samsung and others have joined the established Pebble in decorating our wrists with gadgety splendor, Google Glass once looked primed to forge a new category of its own. To now tout Glass' renaissance would surely be premature, particularly given that Google no longer sells the first edition. But one eBayer appears to be selling what can only be described as an unspecified Glass model.

Google has never made a song and dance of the Enterprise Edition, thus rendering it something of an enigma. Secretive products tend to get the pulses of hardcore geeks racing, though, and if you ever wanted a proper look at the Enterprise Edition in the flesh, the eBay listing spotted by 9to5Google may provide some relief.

As we saw in an FCC filing at the end of last year, the Enterprise Edition includes a couple of design tweaks over the standard model. For example, a new hinge system has been put in place to cope with the rigors of a working environment such as healthcare. To add further ruggedness, the device is waterproof. There's a camera LED that shines when the shooter is in use.

Though not too dissimilar to the standard Glass, the Enterprise model houses an Intel Atom processor and better wireless thanks partly to the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band. The chip also provides better heat management, while Google is also thought to have improved battery life.

It's unknown where Google intends to take Project Glass from here. Given that it's been largely underground for well over a year now, there's a chance that the search giant will soon abandon it completely, if it hasn't already. The company has already stressed that the product did not evolve as was hoped, though stopped short of publicly confirming its demise. This listing – from a pawnbroker, no less – at least serves as a reminder that the Enterprise Edition is out there.

Check out the images below and let us know of your thoughts in the comments. And hey, if you do have a few thousand to blow on a 'gently used' but potentially rare piece of tech, you can throw in a bid of your own by hitting the source.

Is this Google Glass Enterprise Edition?

source: eBay via 9to5Google

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11 Comments

1. Arch_Fiend

Posts: 3948; Member since: Oct 03, 2015

When a cool pair of smart glasses come out i'm totally getting them.

posted on Mar 20, 2016, 3:43 PM 2

7. sgodsell

Posts: 7036; Member since: Mar 16, 2013

At $2600 its way too much money. However if they could get them down to less than $500. Then I would be on board. Something else I would jump on board with is Project Ara (modular phone). What ever happened to that project? Where is it going? They were suppose to have devices out in the wild by now. I hope that project hasn't been put on the back burner.

posted on Mar 20, 2016, 10:09 PM 2

8. vincelongman

Posts: 5653; Member since: Feb 10, 2013

Its clear hardware isn't ready for AR Especially for something so tiny like Google Glass IMO Google would be better making bigger and more capable like Microsoft's Hololens (even Hololens is still $3000), until hardware is ready There's finally going to be more info about Project at IO in May Hopefully its a market pilot

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 12:38 AM 1

9. belovedson

Posts: 1060; Member since: Nov 30, 2010

I remember when nice pair of glasses cost around six to eight hundred dollar. I would totally upgrade for smart glass designed glasses outfitted with proper optics over the regular pair I'm using

posted on Mar 21, 2016, 2:51 AM 1

2. Arch_Fiend

Oakley should make some smart glasses like Tag Heuer made a smartwatch.

posted on Mar 20, 2016, 3:45 PM 3

3. artificialintelligence

Posts: 166; Member since: Dec 05, 2015

$2600? Do you know how many more important things one can do with $2600

posted on Mar 20, 2016, 5:09 PM 5

4. S-R-K

Posts: 304; Member since: Mar 15, 2016

wth ripoff.

posted on Mar 20, 2016, 6:29 PM 0

5. ibend

Posts: 6747; Member since: Sep 30, 2014

the design totally of balance, right part used for that huge device, while left part only have thin metal bone.. cant they put something like extra battery for that left part, to balance something.. (still ugly tough..)

posted on Mar 20, 2016, 7:32 PM 0

6. Jackdaw

Posts: 66; Member since: Mar 10, 2016

"The company has already stressed that the product did not evolve as was hoped" How about bring it back to the market for £300-400 and let it spread. Instead of a £1000 and whining.

posted on Mar 20, 2016, 8:10 PM 0

10. SamDH1

Posts: 419; Member since: Apr 21, 2015

Everyone here seems angry and confused. Google Glass still is not for "everyone", hence the giant price tag. It's clear you guys want one, that's why you're all angry with the price, but the glasses are, like you all have also said, in very early stages, hence the high prices. They stated many moons ago that the price will eventually be for the consumer, but the Explorers edition and the Enterprise Edition are not for the consumer. And no, Google shouldn't make a hololens. Clearly you all also need to know that this is not AR, this is a notification hub with extra bits and pieces (speaker, camera, gps etc), for your face. I love my Google Glass EE, but it's got a few things to sort out before the consumer version is ready. This new edition moves in the right direction though.