In April 2013, Google made its Glass computer available to selected testers for $1,500. These participants were called “Glass Explorers” and received the early Explorer Edition rather than a finished mass-market product.
Google introduced Glass as a wearable computer with a small head-up display positioned above the wearer’s right eye. It could show information, take photographs, record video, provide directions, and respond to voice commands. The device connected to the internet through a paired smartphone and Google services.
The $1,500 price applied to the prototype testing program, which Google used to gather feedback and encourage developers to create applications. Selected entrants had to collect the device in person at a Google basecamp, where they were fitted and trained. The program attracted intense attention because it suggested that ordinary eyewear could become a computing platform.
A common mix-up is the date: Google began accepting some developer preorders in 2012, while distribution to the contest-selected testers began in April 2013. Glass later became briefly available to the broader public in the United States in April 2014, still at $1,500.