Evolution of Google GLass
Google Glass, which has evolved radically in the last three years, costs Google just $80 in components, despite selling it to customers for $1,500 Google

Earlier this month Google put its high-profile Glass project on sale to the general public for the first time. It cost $1,500 (£888).

Now some of those who bought the head-mounted piece of technology may be looking for a refund after an initial teardown revealed the price of the components used to build Google Glass could cost as little as $80.

The news comes from teardown.com who got there hands on the much talked about device during the April 15 one-day sale.

Having ripped the device apart, the company priced each component individually coming up with a total price of $79.78. The website does add a caveat though, saying the build cost "is an estimate only since the device has not been fully analysed - final estimate is expected to be different."

Google Glass Teardown
Teardown.com

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Thomas Gallant, a spokesman at the research firm said: "Now that the Glass is part way through the full Deep Dive Teardown analysis we will have a better understanding of what each component costs."

Component cost

The most expensive individual component listed is the processor ($13.96) which is an OMAP4430 chip from Texas Instruments. Next on the list is the 16GB of flash memory which comes from Toshiba at a cost of $8.18.

The eponymous glass is one of the most sophisticaed parts of the device, yet teardown.com says it costs just $3.

Related

The price of course fails to take into account the cost of manufacturing process - which is likely very tricky for this device - as well as the cost of reasearch and development.

Google launched the original Google Glass one year ago, making it available only to Explorers - developers and enthusiasts who would use the device to build apps for it.

Google has been quiet about a potential launch date for a consumer version of Glass - with some early fans recently voicing skepticism about its future - but we could be set to hear more at Google I/O at the end of June.

One of the key factors for the potential success of Glass when it goes on general sale will be the price. Google has given no indication of pricing so far, but a price tag of $1,500 will likely all but the most ardent tech fans off.

On the other hand a price of $80 is probably a little on the low side for Google.