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Amazon may launch device to rival Google Glass

Wednesday, July 23, 2014 - 09:53 by Sarah Collinson

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The man who helped Google to develop its influential Glass gadget has moved to online retail giant, Amazon, leading many observers to suggest that the latter organisation could be planning to release its own rival smart headgear in the near future, according to the Financial Times.

Babak Parviz was in charge of developing Google Glass with his team at Google, so now expectations are high about the arrival of a new headset, which offers similarly augmented reality functions, but is perhaps that bit more affordable.

Amazon's range of gadgets is growing, with the Kindle eBook reader sitting alongside tablets, smartphones and even TV set top boxes with this retailer's brand onboard. And, of course, the point is that these all make it easier for users to carry out safe shopping online, which in turn, lets Amazon rake in more cash from loyal customers.

Google Glass is not the only thing that Parviz has had a hand in creating, as he has also been heavily involved with the building of contact lenses that offer similarly augmented reality features. So further down the line there may be this type of product on offer from Amazon.

While this move is obviously interesting from a consumer perspective, it is also a sign that companies like Amazon are scrabbling to find the next big thing in the tech industry. Now that smartphones and tablets are established, it looks like first smartwatches and then smart headsets will be leading the way.

Reinforcing a retail brand through dedicated gadgets, while also streamlining the process of experiencing safe shopping online, is not exclusive to Amazon, as companies like Tesco and Asda in the UK have taken steps in the same direction with in-house tablets. So perhaps supermarket headsets are the next big thing.