Back in late September, Snapchat announced that it was rebranding itself as Snap Inc. It also announced a funky pair of sunglasses called Spectacles. These sunglasses have a small 115-degree camera lens embedded in them that allow wearers to take 10 second video “snaps”. It’s connected to a smartphone which of course allows these snaps to be posted to Snapchat. It’s designed to capture moments from the wearer’s viewpoint. Today, Spectacles is set to be officially released. Spectacles will initially be sold exclusively through special vending machines called “Snapbots”. The Snapbots will travel around the country were people will have a chance to try them out and buy them. Interested buyers will be able to track the location of the Snapbots on a special tracking website.
If the “camera on glasses” concept seems familiar, that’s because Google tried a similar product called Google Glass. As cool as it was, Glass Explorer Program was unfortunately shut down. Unlike Google Glass however, Spectacles is significantly cheaper than Glass starting at $130. Glass debuted at a staggering $1,500. The first Snapbot is located at Snap Inc.’s Headquarters near Venice Beach in California and will be the first in Snap Inc’s focus on being a “camera company” rather than a social network.
