Google has partnered with Ray-Ban maker Luxottica to create and sell Glass Internet-linked eyewear in the US. The Internet giant stated that the partnership is its “biggest step yet into the emerging smart eyewear market”. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
In a statement, the company said it would design, distribute and develop a new kind of eyewear for Google. Luxottica stated that the two groups would work together to create innovative wearable devices for the iconic Glass brand. Luxottica brands include Alain Mikli, Oakley, Ray-Ban, and Vogue-Eyewear. But Google Glass will initially work with Luxottica’s Oakley and Ray-Ban brands only. Luxottica’s thousands of retail locations will help Google when the tech giant begins to sell Glass to the general public.
“We believe that a strategic partnership with a leading player like Google is the ideal platform for developing a new way forward in our industry and answering the evolving needs of consumers on a global scale,” Luxottica Chief Executive Officer Andrea Guerra said.
“You’re not going to see Glass on your favorite Oakleys or Ray-Bans tomorrow, but today marks the start of a new chapter in Glass’s design,” Google said in a post. “Excited? Because we definitely are.”
This is the second partnership that Google has announced for its Google Glass. Earlier this year Google announced it had begun working with vision-insurance company VSP.
With wearable devices on the rise, rumors about Samsung Galaxy Glass have been circulating for a while. A recent patent owned by Samsung shows that a user could type using his or her thumbs with a Galaxy Glass by tracking virtual alphabets mapped over different sections of a user’s fingers. However no information is available about when the company will actually make use of this technology.
Source: CNET