Google Glass has not yet launched … but Westpac is trialling an app

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blog Google’s augmented reality and heads-up display headset Google Glass hasn’t yet formally launched, but that hasn’t stopped some of Australia’s major corporations from developing an app for the latest hot platform. The Sydney Morning Herald tells us (we recommend you click here for the full article):

“By the end of this year our customers will be able to walk into a shop wearing their Google Glasses, see something they like and instantly check their bank balance which will be displayed in their peripheral vision – that’s pretty cool,” Westpac NZ chief digital officer Simon Pomeroy said.

While you can’t blame Westpac for detailing a few software engineers to develop a Glass app and trying to cover all bases, we suspect the bank is getting far, far ahead of itself. Not only is Glass not yet a commercial product, but it’s no sure thing that it’s going to take off even when it does launch. Remember the Netbook? HD-DVDs? BlackBerry? There are many products and standards which looked great before they launched, or even succeeded for a while, but then turned into a flop.

The tech sector is littered with failures, and there’s no assurance that Glass — hyped though it may be — will be one of the successes. Westpac’s development efforts here could be just prudent — or they could be a waste of time that’s merely adding to Glass’s hype. Personally and professionally, your writer wishes Westpac would devote more effort to upgrading its archaic Internet banking platform and less time worrying about distractions like Glass.

Image credit: Google

8 COMMENTS

  1. I have to be honest, Commbank /westpac is making me want to use them.

    It’ll be an uphill battle because my wife works for one of the smaller competition .
    But if i didnt have that history, then this would be a winning model for them.

    well done.

      • staying up to date with technology.
        ka-ching!, google glass etc

        this is a new model of behaviour for the big banks. I’d like to show my appreciation and support for encouraging this practice.

  2. i’d rather they stopped spending money on pipe dreams like this and lower the fees they charge me.

  3. Meanwhile they still have with some of the worst internet banking and related apps on the market…

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