Google Glass Sales To End From Next Week
The current version of the headset is being discontinued so the technology giant can focus on future versions.
Thursday 15 January 2015 20:38, UK
Google is halting sales of its Google Glass eyewear while it redesigns the product.
The wearable headsets - which can be used to surf the web, check emails and record video - will be discontinued from 19 January.
The Google Explorer programme was launched in the US in 2013 and in the UK last June.
Under the plan, Google's Glass team will move out of the Google X division and become a separate undertaking.
The project's current manager, , will report to Tony Fadell, chief executive of the home automation business Nest, acquired by Google a year ago.
In a Thursday blog post, Google likened the Explorer edition of Glass to an infant learning how to walk.
"Well, we still have some work to do, but now we're ready to put on our big kid shoes and learn how to run," Google said.
The device costs $1,500 in the US or £1,000 in the UK and comes in five different colours.
It has sparked concerns over privacy and safety - bars and cinemas banned the technology, while drivers were warned not to wear the gadgets behind the wheel.
About half of all consumers had privacy concerns about Glass, according to data compiled by Forrester Research.
"It is a perfect stalker's tool," John Simpson, privacy project director of Consumer Watchdog, said.
"It's difficult to see how they solve that."
It was also blamed for a after he spent 18 hours a day wearing the device.