Google Partnering With Ray-Ban, Oakley To Create Cooler Google Glass Options
MOUNTAIN VIEW (KCBS) - Google has joined forces with the parent company of Ray-Ban and Oakley - in an effort to make its Google Glass Internet connected eyewear cooler looking.
The alliance with Italian eyewear giant Luxottica Group, announced Monday, represents Google's latest attempt to make wearable technology look less geeky.
Luxottica will develop frames equipped with Google Glass, a computing device that includes a thumbnail-sized screen above the wearer's right eye to view Internet content. The $1,500 gadget also includes a camera that can take hands-free pictures and video.
Google Glass is still in the testing stages - and has only been available to a select group of people it calls its "Explorers." Even so, the eyewear has already been stigmatized and even banned at some Bay Area restaurants. The company has even released guidelines on how to avoid acting like a "Glasshole."
A floating showroom for the device - known as the Google Barge - has also created buzz and backlash after appearing off of Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay.
