Google Glass is now available to anyone who wants to spend $1,500

Itching to strap on a $1,500 face computer so you can follow directions floating in front of your head? Well, Google just made it a little easier to claim a head-mounted display of your own, it quietly added Google Glass to the Play Store the other day, and the search giant seems intent on making it sound, well, cool. To hear the Mountain View spinmasters put it, Glass Explorers aren’t just the people who need to try tech before the teeming millions. No no, they’re “bold and inspiring,” folks who “make move and marvel through Glass.”

After what seems like an eternity of waiting, Google Glass smartglasses are open to everyone, not just developers. Everyone who has $1,500 to burn, at least. If you thought Google would decrease the cost of its smartglasses to make them more consumer-friendly, you’ll be sorely disappointed. On the other hand, Google is throwing in a “free” pair of shades or frames for the money. Google is the first to sell smartglasses, but won’t be for long. Last CES, we saw a fair number of concepts at various stages, and earlier this week Sony showed off a pair of frames that could rival Glass. I am curious how Google Glass sells now that it’s available to everyone, and now that the novelty has worn off. Smartwatches, on the other hand, are cheaper, easier to wear, and have a much-lower profile. Given that these are still the clunky Explorer Edition glasses on sale, it’s likely that the next pair we see pop up on Play will have a lot more street style.