Right now, Google Glass is stuck in this unusual middle ground, somewhere between a pre-release prototype and a finished consumer product. Certainly sales are a lot more open today than they were with early days of the Glass Explorer program, but we’ve yet to hit that tipping point where the wearable’s price drops to an approachable level and it sees the scope of its sales greatly expand. For well over a year by now, we’ve been wondering about just how that shift might happen, and a lot of the conversation has been centered around possible plans for Google retail stores. But now we’re hearing that sales of Glass might not end up taking a very different form than sales of phones, with a rumor that Glass could end up on the shelves of AT&T stores.
Since Glass won’t have a cellular connection of its own, it’s a little odd to think about a carrier getting involved with it, but we suppose this isn’t too out of line with the sort of accessories carrier stores already offer (smartwatches and the like). More than that, carrier stores already enjoy a nationwide presence all ready to be tapped into, and their staff is experienced with explaining new technology to an unfamiliar public – really, it sounds like it has the potential to be a good fit.
Now, we still don’t have an ETA on when AT&T might bring Glass to its stores (not to mention a better sense of a final price), but we’ve got to hope that it’s coming soon. Google’s got new Glass hardware options arriving later this month, right before I/O gets started; could the conference bring news of retail sales? We could be just two weeks away from finding out.
Source: @evleaks
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