Google’s Glass concept was pretty neat, but I think we all were waiting to see what would happen once developers got their hands on the device. This morning, we posted that a developer had gotten Glass to expose itself to him, detailing all its sensory secrets, and now Android Police have gotten native Android applications to run on Google’s headset-computer.
It turns out that Glass’ software is just a neat overlay, and once you remove it, you’re back to stock Android, complete with notification bar and navigation buttons. It’s a lot more difficult to navigate without an attached touchscreen, but apparently the touch-sensitive side of the device can be used to make your way around. The results may be a little unpredictable, because rather than sending directional signals to the OS, the touchpad sends ‘Tab’ and ‘Shift+Tab’ for some reason. If you watch the video below, you can see Nova Launcher, Chrome and even Ingress running on Glass.
Now, I know what you’re all thinking – ‘what’s the point? You can’t properly navigate Android with only two buttons!’ But instead of thinking like that, consider this as a proof of concept. The Mirror API for Glass is fairly limited, and being able to develop apps for Glass using existing Android APIs opens it up to a whole new world of functionality. Let alone being able to hook up a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and basically having a fully-functioning computer attached to your head.
wow, Ingress on Glass looks awesome. I highly expect Google to release an official Ingress app for Glass though, it’s just awesome for them not to.