Google Glass Goes on Sale to the Public Again

Google has once again put its Glass headset on sale to the public, but this time it appears to be a permanent deal.

Last month Google put its head-mounted wearable device on sale to the general public for the first time. That was a one-day-only offer and Google said it almost ran out of stock of Glass following "overwhelming" interest in the device.

Now the company has "decided to move to a more open beta" by once again offering Google Glass for sale to the general public at the same price of $1,500.

As previously, Glass will only be available to those living in the US.

Google says the device is still considered to be in beta and that those buying it now are part of the Explorer Program which Google began when it first launched Glass in 2012. Since then over 10,000 people have received Glass as part of the program.

"We're ready to keep meeting new Explorers, and we can't wait to hear all your experiences and feedback to continue to make Glass even better, ahead of our wider consumer release.," a post on Google+ said.

That consumer release is expected later this year and we are likely to hear more about it at the company's Google I/O conference at the end of next month.

The major sticking price for many will be the high price, though Google has admitted that the consumer version will be cheaper, though how much cheaper is unknown.

Teardown

A teardown of Glass last month showed that the component parts of the device cost as little as $80 - though that doesn't take into account the manufacturing process or research and development costs.

Glass is a head-mounted display which connects to your smartphone and displays information on a stamp-sized glass prism suspended slightly above your eye line.

The voice-activated device can be used to make and take phone calls, send messages, get visual and audio directions and capture images and video.

There have been numerous issues surrounding privacy raised following the launch of Google Glass, particularly around wearers surreptitiously capturing images and videos of people without their consent or knowledge.

Google says it is very clear when Glass is being used to record something as a red light is visible in the display, and a noise is made when someone takes a photo.

Earlier this year, Google released a Glass etiquette guide that urged users to not be "creepy or rude (aka a 'Glasshole')", following several reports of users getting into trouble with the device.