Did the next generation of Google Glass pay a visit to the FCC?

Glass may have taken a hiatus from Google I/O after “graduating” from Google X labs earlier this year, Mountain View said it was still moving forward with the project.

As Glass had been moved under the leadership of Nest chief Tony Fadell, and the explorer program canceled, some have wondered what Google’s wearable’s ultimate fate might have outside of the business sector.

Google continued to support Glass for business customers and developers, but the wearables, expensive and still somewhat limited in their use-case, have not been available for consumers since January. Before, and after the Explorer project ceased, rumors were circulating about the second generation of Glass, along with revelations from Googlers saying they had learned their lesson or expressed disdain about Glasswear not measuring up as hoped.

Well if a recent filing at the FCC is being interpreted correctly, Google’s second generation of Glass may be getting ready to be donned by the faithful, and a new clan of early adopters.

The FCC ID listed in the filing is very similar to the one found in the regulatory information listed in the first generation of Glass (A4R-X1). The e-label for this device is A4R-GG1, which to us, seems like a clear giveaway to mean “Google Glass.”

The device also has all the connectivity features one would expect for a wearable, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth LE. There is not much information beyond the UL test results (300-plus pages of RF test results), and a confidentiality request in the FCC documents.

Taking everything with the necessary grain of salt, let us assume this is the next generation of Google Glass. What do you hope it will be? One thing we can think of, if this is to have any consumer applications at all, is a lower cost of admission. The first generation of Glass was very expensive (some would argue necessarily). As we are seeing new smart devices find homes on our wrists (and soon, our clothes), do you see a bright future for Glass? Or, do you think it may continue to stir controversy?

via: Phandroid