It looks like the assembly of Google Glass won't be offshored, which may at least put a positive spin to lawmakers looking to regulate the head-mounted device upon its release.
As Google is preparing to launch its latest and greatest gadget later this year, a report in the Financial Times Thursday indicates the company plans to assemble the devices in a facility located in Santa Clara, Calif., managed by partner Hon Hai Precision, also known as Foxconn.
Assembly will take place in the U.S., but will use components supplied mostly by partners in Asia. The logic goes that Google is keeping the project close to home to be able to "tweak the process and easily add last-minute fixes," the FT reported, citing unnamed sources (via TechCrunch).
Google's latest project has been getting a lot of fanfare lately, and Sony is even said to have similar technology in the works. Google has been notifying winners of its #IfIHadGlass competition, which gives early access to Project Glass devices. Around 8,000 people will get the opportunity to get their hands — and eyes — onto the device for $1,500, months before general launch.
TechCrunch points out that Google "has a rather checkered history when it comes to making gadgets close to home." The Nexus Q media streaming gadget was announced but shut down without any explanation. Google has not made an official announcement regarding the FT report.
As reported earlier, Google Glass has not yet seen the light of day but detractors are already lining up to ban it in bars and in cars. Although the Seattle dive bar ban was more or less a publicity stunt, a West Virginia state legislator sponsored a bill that would ban head-mounted devices while driving.
