Google Parent Alphabet Tries Again With Eyeglass-Mounted Device

By Laura Stevens 

Google parent Alphabet Inc. is relaunching Glass, its head-worn computer, targeting corporate customers after its initial version flopped because of privacy concerns.

Dubbed Glass Enterprise Edition, the product has been in testing at about 50 companies, including Boeing Co., General Electric Co. and Volkswagen AG, Alphabet said Tuesday.

The new device, which is designed to snap on eyeglass frames and display information, videos and images in the line of a person's sight, allow workers to see instructional content. They can also use the device to broadcast what they are viewing back to others for real-time instruction.

The product's previous version cost $1,500. The price of the new product will vary based on the needed software customization, customer support and training, the company said.

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Google was targeting companies, quietly distributing the new glasses to partners in 2015 for testing.

Google has struggled with privacy concerns in recent years as both regulators and consumers took a closer look at its usage of data stemming from search results, email and its initial release four years ago of Glass.

That version of the glasses prompted a widespread privacy backlash because users could record video in public places without others noticing.

Google sold the device to the public in mid-2014, but sales were small amid complaints about privacy, technical shortcomings and a lack of obvious uses. Executives have since admitted that the device was released before it was ready for consumers. Google halted sales of the device in 2015 and moved development of the project out of the limelight.

For the new Enterprise Edition, Google said it had upgraded the design, the processing power and battery life. The camera takes clearer pictures, and a green light turns on when the camera is recording.

Deutsche Post AG's DHL unit was one of the early business use case tests for the glasses.

The company used them for employees fulfilling online orders in warehouses, allowing them to receive real-time instructions about where to find items and where to put them, according to Google.

The new glasses will be sold through a network of "Glass Partners," firms that provide training, integration and customer support to businesses.

Write to Laura Stevens at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 18, 2017 13:40 ET (17:40 GMT)

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