UPDATE:  Last year, Google envisioned their augmented reality device as an in-your-face smartphone screen. But now they’ve created something much, much better. And you can get one.

Compared to the original concept video released last April, the new interface shows radical improvements, with all the information displayed through a single pane in the top right corner and a fully integrated voice command system. These Web-connected high-tech specs will feature a number of functions, including a translator, calendar reminders weather alerts, Google image search and Google Now integration.

Google is yet to announce when general consumers will be able to buy Google Glass. The company will be accepting applications for an elite set of users who will get early access to Google Glass and offer feedback for how to better develop the hardware, its features and the overall experience.

In order to enter, Google is asking people to say on Twitter and Google+ how they would use the glasses if they were given a set. The entries must be no longer than 50 words, with the hashtag #ifIhadglass. Entrants are also allowed to use up to five photos and a video up to 15 seconds in length. The competition is open anyone over the age of 18 living in the US. The deadline for applications is February 27.

via: Ecouterre /Google Glass

Google has recently showcased the prototype of its hi-tech glasses, dubbed the Project Glass, which can be worn on the face like regular goggles, though their real function is to serve as a really cutting edge camera and social search tool.

Like other media-based pairs of glasses, Google Vision too displays all kinds of info right in front of your eyeballs including album info when you’re using the glasses to play music, Google Plus social stats, latest emails and Google Maps, also comes integrated with GPS tracking, voice command and an Android 4.0-based user interface that helps users take pictures.

The New York Times’s Nick Bilton writes that the prototype glasses that Google showed off look like a “pair of wrap-around glasses with a clear display that sits above the eye.” With the glasses set on the bridge of your nose via small pads, a clean Google UI is then integrated directly over your vision. Bilton says there are “dozens” of models, including variations that can “sit over a person’s normal eyeglasses.”

Would you use this?