Google Glass For The Masses Has A Catch

Reuters Market Online

QUESTION :

So you're happy about this deal?

LANCE ULANOFF, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, MASHABLE:Yes. Many will love- you know, this is the thing. I went in for the fitting and they actually work with you and I'm like, "I wear regular glasses. What are you going to do?" And they made it work but still, I look a little odd. So having it as just one device is going to be a great boon for me and the millions of others who must wear glasses.

QUESTION:

These glasses, while super cool, do have a reputation for being a little nerdy. Does this make them more mainstream, will it make it more mainstream?

LANCE ULANOFF, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, MASHABLE:

Well, first of all, it's a connection to something that so many people, you know, a lot of people have vision insurance with this company. So this is kind of fresh broadening of the Google Glass program. And it has to potentially make it cooler with one caveat. I don't know if they're going to get cheaper yet. And unless they get cheaper, they're $1,500 to start and then there's the cost of the prescription lenses, a ton of people aren't going to just go marching in to get Google Glass. So that's the kind of hump they still have to get over.

QUESTION:

I mean, they're still very expensive. How much difference do the new styles make? Will people start going in to get them? Will the computer part of it be a little bit more incognito?

LANCE ULANOFF, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, MASHABLE :

You know, I have to say- I'm going to take this off for a second because the computer part really is confined to basically this. So there's always been this concept that you could really attach them to those regular glasses. And even though the glasses that we've seen from Google and their designer, they're nice looking but they're pretty limited. You know, eventually, there will be some way of just clipping these on to whatever frames you want. But this is a good first step because once they've made the deal with VSP, that means, you know, the sky is the limit. They can start to work with them to extend the brand, to extend the product into other frames.