Reports are circulating that Google is extending its Glass Explorer program to subscribers of Google’s arduously-named Google Play Music All Access on-demand music service. This makes perfect sense, since Google recently added music-control features to Glass. We love the idea. Managing music playback while on the move can be cumbersome. Not that we’re complaining about first-world problems, but where there is room for product refinement, we like to see it happen.
Wearable tech has been a natural platform for mobile music ever since small MP3 players were strapped to users’ wrists. We have long admired the Oakley series of MP3 sunglasses. Specialized wearable music devices might always enjoy a niche market, but including music on broader platforms is where the big players operate.
Anyone receiving a Glass Explorer invitation must pay the pre-release price of $1,500, which has always seemed steep for the privilege of beta testing. But Google is in the driver’s seat with a unique, high-buzz product with a long, anticipatory run-up to public launch.
We haven’t received an invitation yet — there is an ironic possibility that it was lost in Gmail’s tab system, which confounds us daily.