Google Exec Says Google Glass Is Too Important To Abandon
MOUNTAIN VIEW (CBS SF) – Despite the controversy and backlash over the Google Glass wearable computer, the company's executive chairman said the project is too important to scrap and that the company is working on releasing an all-new version.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Eric Schmidt said the project is a "big and very fundamental platform" for the Mountain View-based tech giant.
"We ended the Explorer program and the press conflated this into us canceling the whole project, which isn't true. Google is about taking risks and there's nothing about adjusting Glass that suggests we're ending it," Schmidt told the Journal.
Earlier this year, Google stopped sales of Glass after poor reviews over the device's bugs and battery life. The device also sparked backlash, with the device being banned in many establishments. Users also reported being harassed, with some being called "glassholes."
There was also turmoil inside Google over the device. A report in the New York Times said company co-founder Sergey Brin wanted the device released even when engineers raised concerns about kinks that needed to be worked out.