Google opens Google Glass orders on April 15th

On Tuesday, April 15th, you’ll finally have a chance to pick up that Google Glass computer/camera that everyone’s been raving about for over a year. Google announced a plan on Thursday to expand its explorer program for a limited time, giving people a chance to pick up the wearable gadget for $1,500 plus tax. However, there’s a catch: the sale ends on the same day ─ the unit is not becoming commercially available yet.

 
Google dubs Glass’ first adopters as Explorers, expecting that they will be the first to discover and exploit the device’s potential ─ a bold marketing move that has generated much hype as the glasses have been gradually sold to select individuals. Google writes in a blog post, “Every day, we get requests from those of you who haven’t found a way into the program yet, and we want your feedback too, so in typical Explorer Program fashion, we’re trying something new.”

If you’re interested in signing up and potentially acquiring a pair, click here. It’s not known precisely how many units will be available, but Google will notify those who have been selected as sales are limited. If chosen, you’ll have the opportunity to opt for the steel frame or shade variant of the glass.

The glasses have made quite the statement in the short time they’ve been around; a woman in San Francisco was harassed and assaulted for wearing the glasses and state legislation has even attempted to ban the glasses in bars and while driving.

Wired’s Matt Honan documents his experience of publically wearing the glasses as very negative, “Again and again, I made people very uncomfortable. That made me very uncomfortable. People get angry at Glass. They get angry at you for wearing Glass.” He says he’d never wear a $1,500 computer on public transit where anyone could just snatch them off your head (as a fellow New Yorker, one can hardly blame him for that).
 

There is a special form of etiquette to be followed when wearing the glasses to avoid being called a “Glasshole,” so buyers beware.