Snapchat Takes on Google Glass With Spectacles

Snap--aka the recently rebranded Snapchat-- presents a first hardware product with Spectacles, a pair of sunglasses able to record video with the press of a button.

SpectaclesThe brightly coloured Spectacles are something of a stripped-down take on the concept behind Google's Glass. They carry a small circular camera in the upper left and right sides of the frames, and shoot what the company calls "Snaps," snippets of video up to 10 seconds in length.

The Specs store up to three 10-second long Snaps, and video recording starts and stops by pressing a button near the left camera. An outwards-facing light lets people know the Specs are recording, and one can transfer videos to smartphones via Bluetooth or wifi. Videos eventually appear in the Memories section of the Snapchat app for sharing with the rest of the world.

"Circular video plays full screen on any device, in any orientation, and captures the human perspective with a 115-degree field of view," the company adds.

Will Snapchat to capture a customer base left unimpressed by Google's attempts at face-based computing? The price appears to be fairly decent ($150), and the design is less conspicious than the Glass. No launch date is available as yet, and the rollout will take place in small numbers.

Go Spectacles by Snap