Not all of Google's endeavors have been successful. The company's smart eyeglasses, the Google Glass, have been subjected to speculations of the device being a flop. The company pulled out Google Glass from the market in January this year. Recently, the company has been reported to refocus the device and make business users the target market of the Google Glass.
News about refocusing the app have surfaced in June, and over the following months, the device seems to be in the works, with reports of new features also making their rounds in the internet. It's apparent that Google has not really given up on the eyewear, and the company has even teamed up with some eyewear companies to come up with new models of the Google Glass. Now, the IT giant is taking another step further towards giving the device a new lease on life. It has just renamed the smart eyeglasses to Project Aura.
Not to be confused with Project Ara, the team behind Project Aura will still be headed by Google Glass leader, Ivy Ross, according to a Wallstreet Journal report. Sources say that while Ross still leads the project, she will now be reporting to Nest Head, Tony Fadell. However, this has not yet been confirmed as of this writing. The Project Aura team is comprised of engineers who have formerly worked with Amazon.
The engineers who have worked in Amazon have reportedly come from the online retailer's roster of laid-off employees, majority of whom worked in the company's Lab126. They are part of the team which developed Amazon's first smartphone, the Fire Phone. The device was a failure, and the team was blamed by the company.
Google's initial version of the Glass has received flak amongst users because of privacy concerns. Taking videos with the device is said to be noticeable by other people. The original Google Glass has been priced at $1,500 before it was pulled out in January. Now, the search giant is distributing the Glass to business and health industry for further testing and evaluation.
