Google Glass creates opportunities app-plenty for start-up developers

Australian app developers Appster have one of the few Google Glass devices in Australia and see the technology as offering huge potential for start-up app developers.

Appster co-founder Mark McDonald told StartupSmart wearable technology such as Google Glass was destined to be as disruptive as mobile computer devices such as smartphones were to desk top computers.

“Wearable technology is going to be huge,” he says, adding the device will work best for people who are on the move doing different things.

Google Glass is being tested by developers around the world and is expected to be commercially released in 2014.

McDonald says there are “first mover” advantages for developers that create apps for Google Glass, noting it was a similar time to the early days of the iPhone when there were few apps available.

He says the device will be “awesome” in the business-to-business space, enabling training videos to play in the corner of a worker’s eye while they carry out they what they’re learning with their hands.

However, he’s not convinced that the average consumer will be wearing them down the street any time soon.

“The debate is whether Google Glass will become fashionable enough,” he says.

McDonald says Google Glass, which responds to voice commands and swiping hand actions, feels like wearing an ordinary pair of glasses.

His favourite feature is that it plays sounds against the wearer’s cheek, rather than directly into their ear through headphones.

McDonald says Appster is working on apps for the device, but declined to go into detail.