According to a
new report that emerged a while back, it may not be too long before Google Glass supports users
of the iPhone to the degree it currently integrates features with the company’s
own Android platform, allowing those in ownership of the Apple smartphone to
access pivotal functions such as SMS and navigation. Having gone to pick up a
pair of Glass spectacles from the search giant’s New York offices, TechCrunch‘s
Frederic Lardonois was told by company representatives that Glass will soon be
able to process these features "independent of the device the user has
paired it to," meaning iPhone users will also be able to get in on the
act.
TechCrunch also speculates that these features may also work
without any kind of companion app, which would certainly be a bonus. Whilst the
tech world is certainly braced for Glass to supplement a smartphone, working
alongside a handset rather than replacing it, it’s always good to see Glass
doing as much of the leg work as possible.
At this point in
time, Glass does work with iPhone via Bluetooth, but features like turn-by-turn
navigation and text messaging are currently restricted to Android users only.
With navigation being one of the marquee features of this entire project for
obvious reasons, the news will certainly appease iPhone-owning Glass users, and
although we’d expect most developers to own an Android device because, well,
they’re developers, now they won’t have to make any choices based on
restrictions.
TechCrunch‘s report also tries to dispel the speculation that Glass
can connect to the Internet independently. As wonderful as this would be right
off the bat, it’s something we’re not going to be seeing at least for the time
being, and all Web connections to Glass are currently achieved via a smartphone
device’s cellular connection.
This will
require a tethering / hotspot add-on in your contract, which is usually not
included in any data plan as standard, so as well as shelling out in excess of
$1,000 for Glass, you’re probably going to be paying for a monthly tethering
package if you don’t already.
Still, it’s good to see that despite
the market rivalry, Google recognizes that close ties with Apple’s iPhone will
be an important part of Glass being a success, and with a consumer release date
scheduled for early next year, I, for one, cannot wait to see the general
market response. [Source]
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