Google this week game a select group of software designers their first look at the Google Glass high-tech head-mounted construction. The developers had to pay $1500 for the device and sign a very strict non-disclosure agreement that does not allow them not only to show the hardware to anybody or discuss it, but even to test drive it outside the Google's events.

For the first time, Google showed off its Google Glass augmented reality glasses to a group of people from outside the company. The Glass Foundry events (in New York and San Francisco) were wrapped in a cloak of secrecy so substantially that no leaks have been made by anyone since early this week, a rather unbelievable situation for today. Apparently, Google decided to adopt Apple’s tight secrecy approach to its projects. The developers were only allowed to use the Glass on-site during the events.

Google Glass which the company demonstrated a year ago was a wearable construction with 0.5” (1.3cm) display, a camera, battery, speaker, wireless chips and antenna. It is unclear how does the new Google Glass look or work.

Target applications for the Google Glass include, among other things, taking and sharing photos, checking appointments, accessing maps and the Internet as well as some other, like e-mail, notification center, information updates and so on.

"I just think it would allow you to be more interactive with your environment because you're always sort of staring at your phone and you're never realizing what's around you," said Ritu Kumar, an owner of the Google Glass, in a conversation with ABC.

One of the main problems of wearable computers is input method as devices do not have keyboards or touchscreens, whereas voice recognition causes a lot of difficulties and cannot be used in many scenarios (e.g., in public places). Another question is about user interface as well as necessary capabilities in general. Finally, a plenty of technologies have to be developed - including displays, batteries, microprocessors, memory and other - to create such devices. All-in-all, Google has a lot of work to do.

If Google succeeds in creation of wearable systems with displays incorporated into glasses, then it will be able to further broaden availability of its services that will be present not only on PCs or mobile devices, but virtually everywhere.

Tags: Google, Google Glass, Glass, Android