How can we show the world what we see? And, even more importantly, how do we show our friends on social media what we are doing? Sure, we can use phones to show snaps and videos, but that’s old school. Or, we could use GoPro cameras, but that’s pretty expensive.
Now, Snap (a renamed Snapchat) has a brand new way to take and load videos with it’s first-ever hardware product. It’s called ‘Spectacles’ and the fashionable sunglasses can record 10 second videos (up to 30 seconds) using a 115 degree lens that closely approximates how the human eye sees things. The specs are priced at $130 and come in black, teal, and coral colors. Transferring videos is a ‘snap’ – the connection to smart phones and Snapchat is via either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
Spectacles should be able to avoid some of the privacy (and pricing) issues that plagued Google Glass (which was discontinued). When recording, an outward-facing light lets others know that the video is in process. The battery is estimated to last a day and Spectacles charge in their own case. With 150 million daily users of Snapchat, the product is clearly aimed at teens.
Show the world what you are doing today.
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Show a video of Spectacles being used:
- There is also a CNBC video that discusses the product compared to Google Glass:
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000553947
- Spectacles Web Site:
- Discuss competition: What are the direct competitors to this product? Indirect competitors?
- Divide students into teams. Have each team compare Spectacles with a competitive product. What are the points of difference (what makes it different from competition)?
- Debrief the exercise.
Source: Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNBC, The Verge, other news sources
