Google Glass May Feature Intel Chips In 2015

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
The Texas Instruments processor currently featured in Google Glass will be replaced by one developed by Intel starting in 2015, the Wall Street Journal first reported on Sunday.
According to WSJ reporters Alistair Barr and Don Clark, unnamed sources familiar with the matter confirmed the switch would take place in the newest version of the device, which is due out next year, and marks the Santa Clara, California-based chipmaker’s push to become more involved in the field of wearable technology.
Representatives from all three parties involved declined the Journal’s request for comment, but Barr and Clark said Intel is planning to promote Google’s optical head-mounted display system to “companies such as hospital networks and manufacturers, while developing new workplace uses for the device, according to one of the people.”
“Google launched the Internet-connected eyewear in 2012 as a consumer gadget, but it was criticized by privacy advocates and widely regarded as nerdy. But Glass shows early signs of catching on as a workplace-computing device,” the reporters wrote. “Through a program it calls Glass at Work, Google is working with software developers… to encourage use of Glass in industries such as health care, construction and manufacturing.”
As VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi explained, the device allows consumers to view the Internet or take pictures while wearing it on their heads. While the price tag and the image problems have hampered sales, the Mountain View, California-based company’s decision to bring in Intel has been called “a positive signal” by Kevin Spain of venture-capital firm Emergence Capital Partners.
Even with the increased focus on workplace uses of Google Glass, the tech giant still reportedly views it as primarily a consumer device, Barr and Clark said. Over 300 Google employees work on Glass, but less than five percent of those are involved with Glass at Work, a person familiar with the business told the WSJ reporters. That source also said that Intel’s involvement would most likely not change that focus.
“The new alliance is both fitting and rather unusual, given how the companies each have their own struggles in that specific corner of the market,” said JC Torres of Slashgear. “On the one hand, you have Google and its smart spectacle. After a period of hype, enjoyed mostly by the technology-lowing crowd, Glass has started to mellow down to the point of becoming worrying… people are starting to wonder if Google Glass will ever become a serious consumer product.”
“On the other hand, you have Intel. The chip maker has a kingdom on desktops, laptops, and servers, but it has failed to win the hearts of the mobile device market. No matter how much they try, they have not been able to come close to competing with the rival ARM architecture in that space,” he added. “Time for Plan B, which is to try and make headway into wearables, a market that is still too new to have a clear winner.”
The Intel chipset that will be used in Google Glass has not been revealed, and as such, Torres noted that it is not yet known how the wearable technology will benefit from the switch away from its TI architecture. However, he said that reports indicate one of the benefits will be the much maligned battery life of the device, as Intel’s chip is expected to improve the current one-day average performance of the current TI chip.
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