For 1 Day Only, You Can Buy Google Glass

If you've always wanted to try Google Glass but couldn't because of your non-Explorer status, then next Tuesday is your lucky day. Google has announced that, beginning at 9 a.m. on April 15, any adult in America can purchase Google Glass — for one day only. And, as if Google were hocking food processors on the Home Shopping Network, they'll also throw in a free sunglass shade or prescription lens frame with purchase.

This'll be the first time Google Glass has been available to the general public. Access to the head-mounted computer has so far been exclusive to Google Explorers, what the tech giant calls its earliest adopters — "the first to make, to tinker, to create, to shape, and to share through Glass." However, in its announcement to expand the program, Google admitted that in order "to discover new places, sometimes we need to leave the map behind."

Some speculate that increasing the number of Glass users is a way for Google to better test and develop the device before its official consumer release, slated for later in 2014.

Mounting more of these things on more heads, however, could come with a price (other than the $1500 you'd have to shell out to purchase Glass). In the last year, Google Glass has received some scathing criticism for violating people's privacy and promoting poor public etiquette. Explorers have been issued tickets for driving while wearing Glass, attacked in bars for refusing to take off their Glass, and not-so-graciously dubbed "Glassholes." In fact, Google even felt compelled to make a list of dos and don'ts in hopes of curbing Glasshole behavior.

If you're unfamiliar with how Google Glass works, the wearable computer is mounted on the user's head with a small display over the right eye. Information is displayed similar to a smartphone, but instead of using your hands, you can give voice commands to surf the web, check email, etc.

The feature that has received the most criticism, however, is the tiny camera, which records video and takes still shots of the user's surroundings. Bystanders have complained that it's difficult to tell whether or not the camera is on and they're being recorded, thus posing privacy issues. Developers say that more education is needed to fully understand and accept Google Glass.

This event could be the push that Google needs for the general public to embrace the device. If you're interested in purchasing Glass on April 15, you can do so here.