Although many fellow British journalists cannot wait to get their hands on the eyewear augmenting information in our lives courtesy of Google and partners, not everyone appears to share the same amount of enthusiasm – and the cause appears to be lack of style.
The research comes from VoucherCodesPro who polled 1,512 adults on their opinions due to a huge rise in web searches regarding Google Glass.
Firstly, participants were asked “Would you be interested in owning Google Glass once it’s released?” and the results were ‘yes’ – 29%, ‘probably’ – 21%, ‘probably not’ -28% and ‘no’ – 22%.
It’s interesting to see that the outcome of each question so close – but what isn’t stated is factors such as age which may make a difference. From personal experience younger generations appear more excited for the prospect of wearable computing; whereas older generations are less keen.
For individuals who responded “No” or “Probably not”, the surveyors asked the further question ‘Why wouldn’t you be interested in the product?’ to further understand consumers’ thoughts. It’s worth noting that respondents were allowed to choose multiple answers, but the most popular were:
- Aesthetically unappealing – 57%
- Concerns about data gathering – 51%
- Too geeky – 42%
- Too visible (theft fears) – 39%
- Anticipated high price – 28%
The highest reason cited as to why consumers wouldn’t want Glass is due to being “aesthetically unappealing”. In a previous article I’d posted on ‘Is wearable computing the future?’ I’d stated: “Maybe I’m alone in preferring function over fashion” … clearly I am!
Concerns about data gathering was the next highest response; this is a very solid point, and one which Google would do well to put a large focus on reassuring potential customers their privacy is protected with no chance of third parties exploiting the devices for malicious purposes.
It’s not all negative responses though, Larry! (You know, if you happen to be reading). Of respondents who are interested in Glass; 58% said that they were “excited by the possibilities”, 44% said that they liked to “embrace new technology” and 36% liked any “time saving devices”.
George Charles from VoucherCloudPro made a very good point on the results: “Since their invention, standard glasses have often been subject to playground ridicule and it appears that some people carry that stigma into later life.”
He added: “Then there are those who fear an infringement of personal privacy. Google Glass has the potential to record everything that a person does. And even if you’re not wearing them, the person next to you could be. The Big Brother potential holds more terror for me than mockery surrounding how it looks.”
Are you excited for Google Glass and the possibilities made available by wearable computing? Or are you, like many of the surveyed Brits, less than enthusiastic?
