Google expands Glass sales but still wants a one-to-one chat with every buyer

Gone are the days when you needed to visit a Google office in person to pick up a pair of Explorer Edition spectacles. Following the recent expansion of the wearable project, which allowed existing owners to invite up to three friends or relatives to take that $1,500 step into the future, it’s been possible for new customers to have their glasses shipped to them, just like any commercial product. What hasn’tchanged, however, is Google’s desire to influence these users” first impressions of the device by giving them a highly personalized introduction. Soon after Phil Nickinson of Android Central received his invite-only Google Glass, he got a phone call asking him to join a personal 45-minute Hangout to take him through the “entire setup process” and tell him “about the history of Glass along the way.” These calls are a sensible move on Google’s part, no doubt, and likely very helpful to new owners, but they also suggest that Glass may still be a little too complicated to ship with nothing but a Getting Started PDF and a legal disclaimer.