Soon, Shades To Help Record What You See

Messaging service Snapchat announced on 24 September it will launch a line of video catching sunglasses, a spin on Google’s “Glass” abandoned by the technology giant a year ago. The California based company, which also announced it is changing its name to Snap Inc, said its ‘Spectacles’ will be “available soon”. They’ve been working for the past few years to develop a totally new type of camera. The sunglasses will come with an integrated video camera that will make it easy to create ‘Memories’.

Earlier this year, Snap added a way to save images as “Memories”, a shift for a service known for messages that disappear after being viewed. Spectacles if billed to have one of the smallest wireless cameras in the world, capable of capturing a day’s worth of “Snaps” on a single charge. The sunglasses will connect to Snap software wirelessly using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connections. The camera on the sunglasses will record video from the perspective of wearers, boasting of a 115 degree field of view, and can also capture video snippets intended for sharing at the service.

Spectacles would put pressure on GoPro, whose mini-cameras are designed to let people capture video of endeavors from personal perspectives. Last year, Google halted sales of its internet linked eyewear Glass following criticism about privacy since the device was capable of capturing pictures and video. Glass connected to the internet using Wi-Fi hot-spots or more typically, by being wirelessly tethered to mobile phones.