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Whipping out a smart phone and prodding the screen is second nature to most people nowadays. Well Google’s Sergey Brin has been giving it some thought, and thinks it’s far from the best interface for a mobile device.
Making a surprise appearance at the TED Conference, Brin took out his mobile and looked down at it. Like most people, he said, this is how he spends much of his time. “We often question if this is the way you want to connect with the people in your life,” Brin said, The Verge reports. “I feel it’s kind of emasculating. You’re just rubbing a piece of glass.”
Of course, Brin was there to big up Google Glass, so he’s bound to criticise bog standard mobiles. But he’s not the only one in the Brin household who feels that way. His wife still uses a BlackBerry with a QWERTY keyboard, because she doesn’t like the featureless feel of a touchscreen. I guess she won’t be switching to the Z10 anytime soon then.
Google Glass, Brin said, aims to integrate communication more into your life, instead of confining it to a rectangle you carry in your pocket. “The cellphone is a nervous habit,” he said. “I whip this out and look as if I have something important to do. [Google Glass] takes that away.”
Brin also repeated that Glass will be on sale this year, as we’d heard previously. Questioned about recent eBay listings that were selling Google Glass for $15,000, Brin said, “I wouldn’t trust those eBay posts.”
Glass is said to cost around a grand when it hits shop shelves later this year. If you’re excited, you’re in good company, as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg can’t wait to get a pair on his boat race.
Are you looking forward to Google Glass? Will it render the humble handset irrelevant? Or will it be an overpriced novelty that never takes off? Let me know in the comments, or on Facebook.
Image credit: James Duncan Davidson
