c/o Creative Commons/PCWorld
Two months ago, Google pulled the plug on the original version of Google Glass, effectively ending its Explorer initiative. The tech giant then assigned Nest CEO Tony Fadell to Glass as it sought to reboot the unsuccessful wearable, and while details on the new, retooled Glass are still quite murky at the present, new quotes from Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt suggest that the company wants to make sure Glass becomes a success the second time around.
According to Schmidt, Google Glass is a “big and very fundamental platform” for the company, and at this point in the game, the connected eyewear is still in the development stage. Previous quotes from Google suggest that Glass did have some success in the enterprise space, and that the reboot may also be geared toward the enterprise, as opposed to average consumers.
In that same interview with The Wall Street Journal, Schmidt once again debunked rumors that Google was planning to cancel Glass for good. “We ended the Explorer program and the press conflated this into us canceling the whole project, which isn’t true,” he said. “Google is about taking risks and there’s nothing about adjusting Glass that suggests we’re ending it.” Schmidt added that Fadell’s involvement in the Glass reboot is mainly to “make (the device) ready for users.”
The original Google Glass was released last year but failed to make a dent in the market due to several reasons, including emphatic feedback from watchdog groups worried that Glass may secretly shoot videos or photos, and the device’s premium $1,500 price tag. However, Glass did indeed prove quite useful as a business device, with doctors using the wearable to check patient charts as one prime example.