Google Glass Interviews: What It’s Really Like Wearing Glass

Announcer: The CEO of voices.com, David Ciccarelli, is making Google Glass a household name in Canada. After a major media blitz announcing that David is Canada’s first Google Glass explorer he decided it was time to give our hometown, London, Ontario, a chance to try out this new and exciting technology with an official Google Glass open house at the voices.com office. Now let’s hear from all the Google Glass open house attendees [unintelligible 00:00:28] voice over expert podcast with voices.com research marketing specialist Kyle [unintelligible 00:00:34].
Kyle: Alright, we are here with Arthur. Arthur, I hear you just had your first Google Glass experience, tell me all about it.
Arthur: It was awesome. Like, I mean, I didn’t really expect much just waited to see what happened and I was really surprised that, you know, the screen actually shows up right in the centre of your vision, just a little upwards. So it’s kind of convenient that way but one of the things I really took from it is how convenient it was. Like, you know, there’s no, you don’t have to use your hands for anything, you just kind of – well, I mean, if you do the scrolling thing then obviously you do but mostly it’s voice recognition, right.
Kyle: Yeah.
Arthur: So I think it has potential to disrupt the market so to speak.
Kyle: Now, obviously it’s a bit different, it’s not your normal glasses or sunglasses. When you first saw it, I’m sure you’ve seen pictures and videos before but when you actually saw David wearing them in person and seeing other people and yourself like how do you think the look of them is? Like is it intrusive, like would you really notice it going down the street, would you …?
Arthur: I mean, it’s not an eyesore. Actually I was telling people it looked awesome, it looked cool.
Kyle: Yeah.
Arthur: Yeah. It has a cool look to it at least that’s my opinion.
Kyle: That’s awesome. And just unfortunately time is cut short but I will ask you one more, I ask everything one this.
Arthur: Sure.
Kyle: Is even though this is kind of a prototype and David’s feedback for this whole glass explorer is going to be able to enhance [unintelligible 00:01:47] the first wave gen, do you think once that’s out and obviously we’re going o learn a lot more about it with different apps do you see yourself being one of the first ones to buy one when it comes out?
Arthur: Yeah, I don’t know, like it has so many cool features I would love to have but it’s like, you know, making that transition from like a screen, using a screen, like a touch screen phone or whatever. Like I actually saw a video about Google Glass like it being used in New York, it’s like some sort of advertising, I think. But if life really was like that commercial I would totally, totally buy it. But, yeah, I don’t know, we’ll see.
Kyle: That’s awesome. Well, thank you so much for stopping by here today and taking part in the demo and even stopping by to talk to us, we really appreciate it.
Arthur: Thank you.
Kyle: Nice meeting you.
Alright, so we’re here with Jim now. Hey, Jim I hear you had your first experience with Google Glass, tell me all about it.
Jim: It was like a step into the future.
Kyle: Was it?
Jim: It was indeed.
Kyle: What’s your first impression on how they looked, whether just, when you first saw David walk in with them actually in person or when you tried them on yourself, like or just seeing other people online, like what’s your impression there?
Jim: Well, it seemed, the design in unobtrusive. It is very much like the glasses that I wear or wore, the frameless glasses. So it’s not anything that looks terribly goofy.
Kyle: No.
Jim: Just looked an ordinary pair of glasses.
Kyle: Yeah, and it’s –
Jim: – Except for the one long arm.
Kyle: – yeah, and, like they need that so they can get the bone conduction. And that’s what a lot of people, until you actually, did you have a chance to experience that with the volumes and to be able to hear that inside your head at all or …?
Jim: No, no.
Kyle: Okay.
Jim: I didn’t hear any sound. Everything that they did was visual.
Kyle: Now, do you think that with this new technology does this potentially have the chance of changing the way that, you know, modern consumers use technology?
Jim: You know, it’s hard for us to imagine how this will integrate and what we’ll do.
Kyle: for sure.
Jim: [unintelligible 00:03:35] people were speculating what will it be like if everybody on the subway is wearing a pair of these.
Kyle: Yeah.
Jim: How will it change how we interact. And it seems as though, you know, when someone’s holding an iPhone or a smartphone and looking down and not observing the world around them, that’s very, that’s very apparent.
Kyle: Yeah.
Jim: They’re disengaged from you as a person to person contact. There’s no contact there. They’re contacting through the iPhone. How will Google Glass do that. As it becomes either part of me so then I’m still relating to you or will it be an interference between our ability to communicate directly one to the other.
Kyle: That’s a good question.
Jim: The brilliance of this release now, the timed release is incredible. If you think about the amount of exposure that David’s garnered for Google Glass just in the past week.
Kyle: Yeah.
Jim: I mean, it’s thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars in public relations and, you know, we couldn’t buy that kind of advertising.
Kyle: No.
Jim: And when he summarized that [unintelligible 00:04:53] Google or, they’re really playing this well. But then how many of us are speculating what this is going to do and how we’re going to interact with it and what use is it really, you know.
Kyle: Well, and that’s like you said it’s been really great for Google and really great for David. Like how do you think David being from London, I mean, the first glass explorer you’re like how do you think London’s going to be affected any positive way out of this?
Jim: I think it might wake London up to the fact that there is a whole world developing in the information industry and the e-commerce industry. There are gamers, voices.com, HR, there are a number of academic, a number of online companies right here in the city that have found great success.
Kyle: Now you’re, I’ll ask you one last question, this is the one that I ask everyone before the leave is, now obviously this is more of a prototype right now and like there’s going to be a lot of feedback given back to Google. And when they launch this thing in about a year and a half do you see yourself being one of those that’ll be like one of the early adopters, one of the first ones to buy it?
Jim: No. I’ll wait and watch and see how it develops. I have an iPhone but it took me about a year and a half before I purchased one and I was working then. I’m more connected than I need to be now. I wonder if, you know, that’s why I want to stand back and see if the Google Glass – and I didn’t get a chance to ask David if he’s worn it long enough to see that it takes over your life and be a big interference with our personal connections. So I think that’s one of the things that’ll be interesting.
Kyle: Very interesting. Well, I have had an absolutely great time talking to you, I wish we could talk longer but it –
Jim: – I understand it’s time for somebody else to give their impressions of where will Google go.
Kyle: But thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you had fun today.
Jim: Alright. We did indeed.
Kyle: Thanks so much.
Alright, we are here with Camellia. Camellia, how did you enjoy your Google Glass experience?
Camellia: It was interesting. I didn’t even know what to expect so I thought it would be something different, I guess, but I was surprised to see it was kind of tiny on the little image there. So it was cool. I mean, you could, you could film as you walk apparently.
Kyle: Yeah, it’s really neat. What’s, where’d you first hear about Google Glass, was it through this or did you hear about it previously?
Camellia: No, I heard about it in the U.S. I’m from Waterloo so –
Kyle: – Nice.
Camellia: – there’s –
Kyle: – big tech over there.
Camellia: – big tech over there so and Google’s there so you find out about these things.
Kyle: Yeah.
Camellia: So I read about it, I’m not sure where and then I saw this and I came here, it’s the first time I’m actually trying them on. So it’s cool.
Kyle: That’s pretty cool and it’s kind of neat having David being one of the first Glass explorers in Canada that, here in London we get that opportunity to try it. I think there’s only about 8,000 people right now in North America to try it. Now we never talked about where you work but do you think that Google Glass could be used in your industry or line of work?
Camellia: Yeah, I’m actually running a start-up so –
Kyle: – That’s great.
Camellia: – and it’s a tech-based start-up so sure, yeah, it’s, I mean, we, we work in the language learning space.
Kyle: Nice.
Camellia: And I can totally think of quite a few different ways of using it. So, yeah, definitely, I think it’s applicable to so many technologies and areas that that’s what’s cool about them.
Kyle: Now, what we’ll do is one last question for you, the money question, when Google Glass becomes available in let’s say 18 months or so is that something that you see yourself purchasing right off the bat or …?
Camellia: Probably for the company, not [unintelligible 00:08:19].
Kyle: Yeah. So you’d probably say yes at least you see use in that.
Camellia: Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Kyle: Wow, that’s so cool. Well, thank you so much for stopping by and we appreciate you demoing that today.
Camellia: Thanks for doing this, it was fun.
Kyle: I’m glad you had fun.
Camellia: So, hey, thanks, have a good day.
Kyle: Thanks so much.
Camellia: Thank you.
Kyle: Alright, we’re here with Dinesh. Alright, so I hear that you just had your first Google Glass experience, tell me all about it.
Dinesh: It was amazing actually, like just the way it sat on your head and the way you could just switch between talking to somebody and then just go up there. And it felt really intuitive at whatever you wanted to do. So, yeah, I’m pretty excited about it.
Kyle: Now, how do you think it actually looked? Obviously you’ve probably seen it on people ahead of time whether in commercials, but actually to see it for the first time in person, have it on your face, like what’s your total impression, I guess, the way it looks on someone? Is it very intrusive you think or …?
Dinesh: It’s not really that intrusive. I think, you know, people will not be used to it cause it’s so like revolutionary.
Kyle: Yeah.
Dinesh: But it is a pretty cool. You can see how awesome it would be just being completely hands-free and being able to do things you want on your phone. You know, you’ll be able to talk to somebody and, you know, do something at the same time.
Kyle: Now, like you were just talking about the mobile phones, like obviously right now it’s hooked up through Bluetooth, but do you think like with more integration and if the Glass actually had, it turned into a bit of a phone thing themselves you think this could actually take over more mobile phones in the future? Or do you think there’d still be a place for mobile phones?
Dinesh: I think it definitely does have a place but like with normal headsets it’ll have the same kind of problems, you know. Like most people don’t like using it cause you kind of look weird in the sense out in public talking to yourself, right.
Kyle: Yeah, I guess so.
Dinesh: But besides that, it’s, I can see definitely like at least grabbing a share of it for sure because it’s just so easy, just so easy. I mean, as its, you know, capabilities grow I’m sure it’ll take over a lot more.
Kyle: That’s awesome. Now we got last question for you. I ask everyone this one. When Google Glass becomes available in about, let’s say, 18 months to the consumer market do you see yourself as being one of the first ones in line to purchase one?
Dinesh: Probably. I mean, I’m assuming its capabilities are going to be a lot better than it already is and right now I can see a lot of potential and a lot of things I really like that I would probably use, you know. So, and as somebody who wears correctional, who needs like eye correction and stuff so it would make sense.
Kyle: Thank you so much for stopping by, I really appreciated it. I hope you had fun demoing it out and just make sure, you can now tell everyone that you’ve tried Google Glass, one of the first ones in Canada.
Dinesh: It’ll be all over my Facebook, it’ll be all over it.
Kyle: That’s cool, thank you so much for stopping by.
Dinesh: Thanks, man, thank you.
Kyle: Alright, we are here with Doug. Now, Doug, I hear you just had your first Google Glass experience, tell me all about it.
Doug: It was awesome.
Kyle: Was it?
Doug: I was blown away. David was right, there’s, there is a certain wow factor to Google Glass when you first put it on. Especially, my first thought was, I wear glasses, I wear glasses for reading and I wasn’t too sure how that was going to affect using Google Glass.
Kyle: Yeah, how was that?
Doug: It was very clear. And I was pretty excited cause David was like flipping through all the different things you can do.
Kyle: He was going pretty quick.
Doug: And I was, I was, yeah, it was a real blast. And then, looked at the bone conduction for the sound.
Kyle: Yeah, wild, eh.
Doug: So you don’t have like a speaker, ear bud flipping out of your ear, anything like that.
Kyle: Feel it right back there.
Doug: Yeah. You just hear this in your head. And it’s, it’s quite the experience. I found one of my own little experiments, you know, you put them on, was not to stare at the image but I was looking around and noticing how it disappeared.
Kyle: Yeah.
Doug: Okay, so if you are, it’s, the image, the crystal sits basically above your eye somewhat and when you look around it virtually disappears out of your vision. And I’m sure if you were actually doing it every day tasks or, you know, just working away you’d be totally oblivious to it until you went to it, you know.
Kyle: And I think that’s a common misconception a lot of people are having, they think it’s right in your line of sight and you think it’s going to be very distracting and that’s it’s, it’s just going to be like another smartphone if you were walking down it’s just going to be obtrusive. But it’s really not.
Doug: Right.
Kyle: They’ve done a good job.
Doug: I was like, like I say, I was totally blown away by the quality of the image, hearing that sound, right, by just this thing lightly pressing against the bone behind your ear.
Kyle: Unfortunately time is a little bit short but I got one more question for you.
Doug: Sure.
Kyle: When Google Glass, like it’s not set to even hit stores for another year and a half or so.
Doug: Right.
Kyle: Now when that does happen, when all these changes have been made, do you see yourself being one of those first ones in line to be able to pick one up?
Doug: I can see all the advantages and it’s just going to be a matter of okay when I see the final price tag that’s going to weigh against my needs at the time.
Kyle: Absolutely.
Doug: The way I see it right now is very positive, you know, it’s a very positive outlook. I would love to get my hands [unintelligible 00:13:33].
Kyle: That’s cool. And it’s such a long wait too but at least –
Doug: – It is, it is, but by then we’ll be looking at if there are going to be like apps generated or something.
Kyle: Yeah, you’re going to know a lot more.
Doug: [unintelligible 00:13:43] more functionality. That’s going to be worth the wait. I mean, cause like [unintelligible 00:13:49] basically a prototype they’re exploring. So not just technically how these things are, you know, can be handled and what they can do for us but I think the social nature of introducing them into a group of people too.
Kyle: Yeah, absolutely.
Doug: That’s going to actually, it might be interesting to look ahead five, 10 years to, you know, walking down the street and seeing this as a commonplace thing.
Kyle: Yeah, [unintelligible 00:14:16] think about it.
Doug: People wearing these, of course, not knowing if you’re on camera.
Kyle: Yeah.
Doug: Or they’re just looking at the weather.
Kyle: Yeah.
Doug: But it might be interesting if you could see five years down the road.
Kyle: That would be cool.
Doug: Just to see the number of heads bobbing up and down the street with these probably far miniaturized versions of Google Glass.
Kyle: Yeah, I imagine.
Doug: I think it’s great.
Kyle: Well, Doug, thank you so much for coming by and talking with us today. And thanks for trying the demo out.
Doug: It’s been a pleasure.
Kyle: Very nice meeting you.
Doug: Thank you.
Kyle: Thanks so much.
Alright, so we’re here with Mark. Mark, I hear that you just had your first Google Glass experience, tell me how it was.
Mark: It was a lot shorter than I was hoping it would be.
Kyle: How was the actual interface though, like trying it out, actually to have it on your face, one of the first people?
Mark: It was light which was really nice. I mean, it didn’t feel heavy on my face which is is probably going to be pretty important.
Kyle: Absolutely.
Mark: And the interface itself make sense, the swipe-y motion. And I can’t think of a better way that you would control that right now without getting in something like a [gauntlet] maybe.
Kyle: Yeah.
Mark: Or [unintelligible 00:15:18].
Kyle: Now, like smartphones, for example, one of the things, do you think, I know it’s really early in the game but do you think this may have a chance of surpassing and taking over smartphones one day?
Mark: I think they’ll [unintelligible 00:15:28] given enough time. I think that it’s all going to converge into one device.
Kyle: Yeah.
Mark: That’s inevitable. I mean, that’s what happened with the computer, that’s what happened with tablets. I mean, it’s just, yeah, it has to happen eventually.
Kyle: It’s only a matter of time probably until you start seeing something like this.
Mark: Yeah, I just do wish that the screen was bigger though, that we had more room to work on stuff. Especially augmented reality is a big thing I can see use for this.
Kyle: Yeah.
Mark: It’s just, with a screen that small you’d not be able to show like overlays, say.
Kyle: Yeah.
Mark: On top of [unintelligible 00:15:57].
Kyle: Well, and yeah, that’s the thing is I think they’re just testing it, they don’t want to be too distracting right now cause, but again that’s all like amazing feedback for someone to hear. Cause I totally agree, I wish there was more in front of you. I know there’s a couple of companies that are also working on more like full 360 view.
Mark: [unintelligible 00:16:16], dangerous.
Kyle: Absolutely.
Mark: I mean, they’ve experimented that with cars in the past and it’s been removed because they, the government was a bit too worried about how much in your face it got, you know.
Kyle: Yeah.
Mark: Hopefully we don’t get that kind of situation though.
Kyle: No. Do you see yourself as being one of those that would buy it right away or would you wait a little bit or what’s your thought on purchasing Google Glass?
Mark: My thought is I have student loans today.
Kyle: Fair enough.
Mark: You know, I got priorities. But, you know what, once it can, once you can [unintelligible 00:16:47] with my smartphone say, I mean, or I would [unintelligible 00:16:51], eventually. It’s just for now I’m going to stick with buying the already pricey electronics and textbooks and fun things that are soaking up my cash.
Kyle: So if the price tag wasn’t so high maybe yes, but.
Mark: It really is a price tag with me but then again I’m a lot younger than most early adopters and a lot less financially well off. Alright.
Kyle: Yeah. Alright, well, thank you so much, Mark, we appreciate you stopping by today and I hope you had fun at least in the demo and thanks so much.
Mark: Good to meet you, man.
Kyle: Good to meet you too.
Alright, we are here with Zelda. I hear that you just tried on Google Glass for the first time, how was your experience?
Zelda: Pretty phenomenal, such a little toy with such great potential. It’s pretty wild.
Kyle: It was pretty cool. Now did you get a chance to take any pictures at all or at least go through them?
Zelda: Yeah, we walked through, we took pictures, activated voicemail and fun stuff.
Kyle: It’s absolutely wild how in, it can connect to phones and everything. Like do you see it, I know you guys didn’t get a ton of time but do you think that this could one day replace mobile phones?
Zelda: Without a doubt.
Kyle: Really, eh, you think so?
Zelda: It’s wild. It, yeah, hands-free, head’s up, it’s, for sure, it’s great.
Kyle: People aren’t bumping in the streets, you don’t have to worry about texting and driving, it’s just right there in front of you. I guess with David being the first one in Canada to be an explorer, do you think that has any impact here in London in the area specifically?
Zelda: Oh, for sure, some great buzz in the technology circles and I got friends in Toronto all, you know, wondering what’s going on and all excited about me coming to see and do it. And they’re at work so weren’t able to make it.
Kyle: Ah, that’s unfortunate.
Zelda: Yeah, so and it’s just going to spread across Canada, across London, so yeah, great for marketing, great for [unintelligible 00:18:25].
Kyle: Now, are you from London here, are you from Toronto?
Zelda: I bounce back and forth between the two.
Kyle: Nice.
Zelda: So September I’m suddenly back into London –
Kyle: – Nice, oh, that’s great.
Zelda: – [unintelligible 00:18:32] for now I’m in Toronto.
Kyle: Do you think that Google Glass could impact your industry like [unintelligible 00:18:38] on a regular basis at work or …?
Zelda: Yeah, so I’m moving into the not-for-profit sector.
Kyle: Oh, nice.
Zelda: So having access to technology easier is much, much appreciated, that’s for sure.
Kyle: That’s awesome. And we’ll do one last question for you. When Google Glass becomes available in about, let’s say, 18 months or so to Canada, is that something you would actually see yourself buying right off the bat or at least for business?
Zelda: Yeah, I think it has applications for business and for pleasure. And getting rid of a cell phone and replacing it with something like a pair of glasses would be fantastic.
Kyle: That’d be pretty cool, eh. Well, thank you so much for stopping by. We really appreciate having you. I hope you had fun and maybe tell all your friends about it now.
Zelda: Sounds good.
Kyle: Alright.
Zelda: Cheers.
Kyle: Nice to meet you.
Alright, we are here with [Rajin] and I believe you just demonstrated Google Glass for the first time, did you not?
Rajin: Yes.
Kyle: Now, how was it, did you enjoy using it?
Rajin: Yes, very lightweight, very sleek.
Kyle: Yeah, cause –
Rajin: – really impressed.
Kyle: – it, we were talking about it earlier, did you see the flexibility?
Rajin: It was, yeah, it was very nice to put on and, yeah, the light metal, it was like it wasn’t even on.
Kyle: Yeah, it’s absolutely – what are your first thoughts, like when you first put it on, you first saw the screen up there, what were your first thoughts when you [unintelligible 00:19:48]?
Rajin: Well, I think it’s quite a ways up. Cause I did think it was going to be lower in the eye, so it was quite a ways up.
Kyle: A lot of people think that.
Rajin: So I could still see straight ahead but then sort of look up and see this like little screen happening. It was so fun.
Kyle: Yeah, and did you get a chance to scroll through the pictures and ..
Rajin: Yes, yes.
Kyle: It’s pretty wild.
Rajin: He let me go through and see the Eiffel tower, not the Eiffel tower, the CN tower.
Kyle: That’s cool.
Rajin: Just terrific.
Kyle: Now, do you think Google Glass is, now that you’ve had a chance to demo, I know it was only a little bit, do you think that they could have an impact on the consumer market?
Rajin: Oh, definitely, I think it’s the next up and coming – like I saw it when I was at Cineplex, you know.
Kyle: Oh, yeah, yeah.
Rajin: [unintelligible 00:20:23] Cineplex, right.
Kyle: Actually I saw that too.
Rajin: As soon as he – and I went that is so great. And I can’t believe I tried it.
Kyle: Well, thank you so much for stopping by.
Rajin: Thank you so much.
Kyle: It was a pleasure to meet you.
Rajin: It was a pleasure to meet you.
Kyle: And I hope you had fun.
Rajin: Oh, yeah, I did.
Announcer: Thanks for listening today. It’s been truly an honour for the voices.com team to share this experience with our community. And to open our doors to give lots of one on one demonstrations with this new and exciting technology. If you have any more questions about Google Glass or would like more information you’re welcome to email me at [email protected]. That’s A-S-H-L-E-Y @voices.com. Or give us a call toll-free at 1-888-359-3472. Keep in touch and thanks for listening today.