Remember Google Glass? It's done, kaput, carted off to the graveyard of other Expensive Shit Ideas and buried next to the Millennium Dome, near the vast space left by groundsmen for the soon-to-arrive boxes of the new Sony Walkman.
But just like someone who just won't admit that their marriage is over, Google has promised a future reincarnation of its project for consumers. It will now focus on "future versions of Glass" and has ditched the division that delivered the original model in favour of building a new team that will salvage the project. Hopefully, they'll come up with a Glass 2.0 version that doesn't make you look ridiculous, doesn't incite violence and doesn't lead to unfortunate slang (see: "glassholes").
The Explorer programme launched in the US in 2013 and allowed software developers to buy Glass for £990 in the hope that it would evolve into a better product. It's likely that all those people who invested in Glass will be slightly peeved to discover that the model they thought was being nurtured has been discontinued.
Google Glass has been a PR disaster for the company, which openly admits that they didn't foresee a lot of the difficulties encountered by its users: like being banned in restaurants, bars, cinemas, and even Google's own shareholder meetings.
Jewellery designer Ivy Ross has been picked to oversee the new team along with former Apple designer Tony Fadell. Google hopes that Ross's fashion background will help Glass to overcome some of the aesthetic defects that stopped it from reaching shelves.
