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Google Glass NOT DEAD. We're just making it 'ready' says chief

Eric Schmidt says weird technospecs were never dumped

Google's executive chairman Eric Schmidt has complained that the end of the Google Glass Explorer program was misunderstood as being the end of the entire Glass concept, “which isn't true”.

Following the announcement that Google had shelved the Glass Explorer on January 19th, the assumption was that the techno-specs have seen their day.

According to the Wall Street Journal, however, Schmidt has declared that the technology is too important to lose.

The Chocolate Factory regards the Glass as a long-term project. "That’s like saying the self-driving car is a disappointment because it’s not driving me around now," Schmidt said. "These things take time."

Google Glass, however, had been losing momentum since it was first unveiled in 2012. By late last year it was apparent that most of the developers making apps for the goggles had given up.

When Google shuffled the Glass project out of its Google X research lab and into its own little unit, suspicions that the whole thing was being kicked into the long grass were widely aired. The project's glorious leader, Ivy Ross, remained head of the Glass team, but found herself under the direct supervision of Tony Fadell.

Schmidt told the Wall Street Journal that the entire Glass product had been put under Fadell’s watch "to make it ready for users."

The New York Times has previously quoted one of Fadell's advisors on the likelihood of the product's swift readying for users: "Tony is a product guy and he’s not going to release something until it’s perfect."

The ad giant's interest in wearables persists outside of its technogoggles. Last week it announced that it will be making smartwatches with TAG Heuer. ®

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