Seldom has a device been so reviled and praised at the same time. But is Google Glass the future of wearable connectivity or simply the toy of the self-appointed tech elite?

Is it perhaps something in between?

The display only boasts a 640 x 360 display, so web pages and images are hardly super crisp.

I’ll be surprised if the next generation of Glass doesn’t boast a display of at least 1280 x 720.

With 12GB of available storage you shouldn’t find yourself running out of space for your pictures and videos, even without the option of a microSD card.

Interaction with Glass is surprisingly straightforward. Available voice commands are shown on the display

Audio comes via either the built-in bone conduction transducer or earphones connected through the microUSB port. A mono earbud is bundled.

The transducer works well though, with audio sounding like it’s coming from a little speaker just over your right shoulder.

So, apart from shoot video and take snaps, what can you do with Glass? Well, as a handsfree Bluetooth headset, it excels.

Glass will also read Gmail messages and texts and let you reply by dictation. And you can use it to run Google Maps Navigation, something it does extremely well. And play music from your Google Play Music account, post updates, pictures and video to YouTube and your Google+, Facebook and Twitter feeds and get news and weather updates. The last few assuming you have the relevant apps installed.

Apps? Well, it’s “Glassware” to use the official nomenclature.

In due course I’d expect Glass to officially support video streaming from Google+ and YouTube, but right now it doesn’t – unless you want to start sideloading third-party apps.

Other drawbacks? Well, battery life is pretty poor. I never managed to get more than six hours of light-to-medium use from a charge and intensive video recording can easily cut that figure in half and then some. This is probably the single biggest restriction on the Glass concept.

Is Glass worth £1,000? Of course it’s not. But that’s not the same as saying that it is a developmental dead end. Get the price down to less than £500, up the display resolution to 720p, give it folding legs and increase the battery life by at least 30 per cent and Glass would certainly be something I’d consider buying

Yet another analyst firm has placed a low price tag on the hardware comprising Google Glass headsets.

Researchers with IHS said in a teardown analysis of the augmented reality platform that each headset contains a bill of materials (BOM) of $152.47.

According to IHS, Google uses parts that cost $132.47 per Glass headset, while an additional $20 charge would come from the cost of manufacturing the device. Glass is currently being offered in limited quantities at a cost of $1,500 each.

Among the costliest pieces in Glass is its frame, which IHS estimates to be a titanium casing costing $22. Other hardware includes $20 for the Glass’ LCOS panel display and $12.50 for casing, charger, USB cable, and earpiece.

IHS’s number fall generally in line with what other analysts have been estimating to be the BOM for Google Glass. An April teardown from analyst house TechInsights suggested that Glass cost hardware as little as $80, while a Taiwanese analyst believes that Google would be able to charge as little as $299 and still turn a profit.

Google, while not providing specifics on what it pays per unit, has dismissed suggestions that building Glass carries such a low cost to the company. Indeed, analysts freely note that teardown estimates fail to account for the considerable costs of research and development.

TechInsights’ Teardown.com business, which takes apart and analyzes new consumer gadgets, recently examined the insides of Glass and put a cost estimate of $79.78 on its components.

A Google spokesman called Teardown.com’s cost estimate “absolutely wrong.” He declined to comment further.

The Glass display, for example, is only a few millimeters wide, but boasts quite high resolution and could have been tricky and expensive to design and manufacture. But Teardown.com estimated that the display, touchscreen and glass cost Google only $3.

Teardown.com said its figures were a rough estimate based on a quick analysis, and are likely to change when it engages in a more thorough exploration.

Originally the Google Glass was only available to “Explorers” better known as developers. Finally Google offered a one day sale on April 15, 2014 allowing the general public to purchase the Glass for a whopping $1500. At Teardown.com we managed to get our hands on one but it didn’t last long. The teardown is underway! Stay tuned for teardown sequence photos, board shots, component identifications, and an estimated bill of materials.

Researchers reveal exactly what goes into Google’s Glass for first time
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Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2618129/How-Glass-REALLY-costs-Teardown-finds-Googles-1500-specs-just-80-components.html#ixzz30fi0MYTk