Google will likely restrict the mainstream sales of its Glass Glass amid its high price and concerns over the disclosure of personal information, the China Business News reports.
On April 10, Google announced that it would open online sales of its Google Glass Explorer for just one day on April 15. Priced at US$1,500, or 9,300 yuan, sales were restricted to US nationals, with some interested Chinese buyers commissioning US residents to purchase the smart eyewear for them, the paper said.
Google Glass is a wearable computer which displays information in a smartphone-like hands-free format. Wearers communicate with the internet via language voice commands.
Chinese household appliance retailer Suning Commerce Group will begin introducing Google Glass in the near term by inviting consumers to experience the product in its shops in 10 major cities in China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Tianjin. But the company will not sell Google Glass for the moment, said one unnamed Suning executive.
Very few people have been able to get their hands on the tech so far, and there is no official sale channels for the products in China, the paper said. Meanwhile, the smart eyewear is controlled by voice commands and Google currently does not offer a recognition system in Chinese. Suning will thus decide whether to introduce mass sales for Google Glass according to the market reaction.
On Taobao, one of China's website, there are more than 100 online stores selling Google Glass prototypes, with the second-generation product selling for between 8,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan (US$1,300-US$2,400) each, while Chinese internet giant Baidu is testing Baidu Eye, a product similar to Google Glass, at its Silicon Valley laboratory, sources said.
Since announcing the product in 2012, Google has obtained around 2,000 orders and about 8,000 people have joined the Glass Glass Explorer Program since last year. However, its high price is restricting it from becoming a mass market product, while privacy is another concern. According to a recent survey by Toluna, about 72% of the people surveyed refused to wear Google Glass because concerns over disclosure of personal privacy.
