歡迎妳來

2013年11月12日 星期二

Google 眼鏡新增多種功能,將會越來越實用 - 媒體音樂、影像識別、既時翻譯、搜尋、天氣預報、虛擬實境、應用軟體介面等等 ( Google glasses add a variety of functions, will be more practical - Media music, image recognition, both when translated, search, weather, virtual reality, application software interface, etc. )

谷歌眼鏡新增多種音樂功能:支持流媒體音樂

新浪科技訊 北京時間11月12日晚間消息,谷歌將於本周二發布穀歌眼鏡的一系列新功能,包括搜索歌曲、掃描已保存播放列表,以及收聽高保真音樂等。

在啟動時,谷歌眼鏡將提供新的語音命令“收聽”。用戶可以出一首歌或一名歌手的名字,隨后即可通過谷歌Play商店收聽流媒體音樂。如果用戶啟用谷歌Play帳戶,那麼還可以基於歷史記錄獲取推薦的播放列表和歌曲。

谷歌還將發布針對谷歌眼鏡設計的耳塞式耳機。這款耳機將於本月底面市,售價85美元。此外,谷歌兩個月前推出了名為 Sound Search 的功能。該功能類似 Shazam 和 SoundHound 等應用,能識別正在播放的音樂。

谷歌眼鏡營銷主管埃德·桑德斯( Ed Sanders )表示:“通過這些新功能,我們基於谷歌眼鏡開發了優秀的音樂體驗,無論你是古典音樂教授、音效工程師、嘻哈音樂製作者,還是在任何時刻任何地點想收聽最喜愛音樂的人。”

谷歌此次推出的功能使谷歌眼鏡更實用。谷歌於去年發布了谷歌眼鏡,並於今年春季向早期用戶銷售這款品。

除有利於谷歌眼鏡之外,這些新功能還有助於推廣谷歌的流媒體音樂服務,例如類似Spotify的訂購服務谷歌Play Music All Access。支持音樂功能的高端科技品已被證明是有潛力的營銷工具,而音樂行業目前正期待來自耳機廠商Beats的音樂服務Beats Music。

Meet the first company cashing in on its Google Glass app


The exciting promise of Google Glass was that it would be a wearable technology allowing users to merge the physical and digital worlds, to craft a layer of information on top of what the user was seeing around them. So far, however, most of the apps on the platform have simply transplanted the functionality of their smartphone software to a screen much closer to your face. The New York Times and Twitter, for example, push updates users can scan hands-free. But there is one company playing with the possibilities Glass provides for augmented reality — and making some money to boot.

The Fancy is a New York ecommerce startup known for its ties to the world of high fashion and luxury goods. Its Glass app allows users to snap a picture of objects they see in the real world, then finds them matching or complementary items with similar styles and color they can purchase. It’s a clever use of the technology that has made The Fancy the first company to actually make money on Google Glass.

Because of the intimate nature of Glass, Google has been careful about allowing commerce onto the platform. The terms of service for the API it opened up to developers specifically prohibit them from charging for apps or showing commercials. But it didn’t say anything about in-app purchases, a strange loophole that was perhaps deemed less invasive than advertising. People using the Fancy app on Glass have purchased everything from clothes to jewelry, kids toys to kitchenware.

"The spontaneity of being able to discover and buy things you'll love based on what's right in front of your eyes is pretty compelling," says Fancy founder and CEO Joe Einhorn. "We see a mix of people using the app: from the high-tech interior designer looking to decorate a space to the stylist that wants to match accessories with a fashionista's outfit." In other words, while the Glass app isn’t a big money-maker for the company, it adds to the startup’s stylish aura and helps its stand out among a certain set of tastemakers.

So far Google Glass has been limited to a group of select explorers and, at $1,500, is a bit pricey for the average consumer. But it’s a good match for shoppers on The Fancy, which counts Francois Henri-Pinault among its investors and board members. Pinault is the chairman of PPR, the luxury goods giant which owns Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint Laurent and Balenciaga. The front page of The Fancy regularly features high-end fashion items that retail for thousands of dollars. And while Google Glass has been mocked as the item most likely to mark users as nerdy rich "Glasshole," the company has made an effort to bring its product into the fashion world.


Google announced recently that it will be ramping up production of Glass units, tripling the number of Explorer models available to the public, and making accessories like earbuds and perhaps prescription lenses. So far the Glass team seems pleased with how The Fancy is leveraging class. "One of the philosophies we like to remember when thinking of cool new Glassware is ‘the world is the experience,’" says Timothy Jordan, a developer advocate with the Glass team. "That is to say, developers building for Glass shouldn't create experiences that compete with the world." Rather, believes Jordan, they should be upgrading a users ability to find value in the world around them. For The Fancy, that philosophy means literally helping to put a price tag on items that catch a user's eye.

開發門檻比 Android 高,來探索 Google Glass 的 Mirror API 吧

Google 昨天對外公佈了一系列有關 Google Glass 的硬件細節,同時也公開了 Google Glass 的開發者 API,名為 Google Mirror API。我們從幾方面來看一下 Glass 的 API 會容許開發者做些什麼。

從 Glass 應用的設計原則看來,它的開發門檻應該比 Android 高

Google Mirror API 是一種 RESTful Web 服務類 API。開發者給 Google Glass 寫的應用叫做 Glassware,Google 希望 Glass 可以帶給用戶下一代的移動互聯網體驗,也給出 4 條相應的設計原則:
  1. 為 Glass 而設計:你的應用應該是專門為 Glass而設計、開發和測試,以保證適合Glass的用戶體驗。
  2. 不要妨礙用戶:Glass 的用戶希望在需要時使用科技,而在不需要時讓科技消失;不要過分使用用戶不期待的通知。
  3. 及時性:信息的實時性和及時性會讓 Glass 這個平台最有效。
  4. 避免用戶意料之外的事情:應用中包括用戶沒有期待的功能,在任何平台上都是不好的,但是因為 Glass 和用戶的生活體驗太接近了,所以更要避免。你需要對用戶誠實解釋你應用的目的和所需要的用戶授權。

很顯然,Go​​ogle 對待 Glass 的態度有點像對待自己的小孩兒一樣,一切都是小心翼翼的,而 Glass 的應用門檻可能也會比 Android 應用要更高一些。

時間軸卡片的一切

Glass 向用戶展示信息的主要方式是通過「時間軸卡片(Timeline Card)」,時間軸卡片可以顯示文字、圖片、視頻和 HTML。除了單卡片顯示之外,開發者也可以將多張卡片放在一起(bundle),然後用戶可以通過聲音或者觸控瀏覽。這當然也意味著開發者們的 Glassware 應用,最終的信息呈現也是通過這些時間軸卡片。

最常見的 API 行為包括:
  1. 在時間軸上創建新卡片
  2. 更新原來的卡片
  3. 通過卡片的菜單獲得用戶的輸入
  4. 接受 Glass 的通知,所以可以對用戶的行為做相應的反應
GPS 定位和地圖:Glass 的應用會有很多與 LBS 相關

另一類應該是很常用的 API Call 應該是與地理位置有關的,因為我們可以想像很多 Glass 的應用會是屬於 LBS 類型的應用。

開發者可以通過 Mirror API 直接請求用戶的最後已知位置,也可以通過「訂閱(subscribe)」來獲取用戶位置的更新,但是對於這種訂閱式的位置更新,Google 限制 Glass 在只能每十分鐘發送一次;原因除了是為了節省電力,應該也有出於用戶隱私的一些考慮。

Glass 和 Google 地圖有​​深度結合,可以通過 Mirror API 直接渲染出一個 Google 地圖的圖片,開發者可以指定地點、路線、地圖寬度、地圖高度和聚焦等參數。顯示結果也是通過時間軸卡片:

分享權限和「聯繫人」

在默認權限下,Glass 應用只可以控制應用自己創造的時間軸卡片,用戶需要通過一種「聯繫人」方式的授權,來容許跨應用的時間軸卡片分享,以及分享用戶自己用 Glass 創造的媒體,比如照片和視頻來獲得分享授權。Glass 應用需要發送給用戶一個請求,其中要包含應用的 ID、名字和圖標;Google 建議圖標為 640*360 像素的 PNG 文件。

總而言之,我們可以看得出,不同於 Android API,Google Mirror API 目前並不容許開發者直接與硬件接軌,而且是非常重視用戶隱私和遵守權限的。

這個原因很多,Glass 是一種全新的智能設備,而且與用戶的距離比以前任何一種智能設備要更親密。所以,Google 在 API 方面最開始採取比較保守的態度,是意料之中的。第一代 iPhone 的 API 相比現在的 iOS API 也要單薄很多,Google 必定會繼續擴展 Mirror API 中的功能,讓開發者們可以實現更多的應用設計。

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