Here is the biggest difference between Apple and Google: marketing genius.
Google CEO Larry Page unveiled the $1,500 Glass Internet-connected headset last week for a one-day sale, and it appears not many cared.
Under Steve Jobs, Apple gave consumers many products no one wanted until Jobs said “Oh, one more thing.”
The iPod, the iPhone and the iPad were all products that didn’t exist until they were unveiled at San Francisco’s Moscone Center during Apple’s yearly conference, and these breakthrough gadgets were in stores a week or so later.
Google broke the Glass news last year, and many clamored for a way to get their hands on it — and then the company went radio-silent for months.
Last week no one clamored, many yawned, and Silicon Valley’s biggest evangelists said that Glass would be better next year, perhaps with new software being developed.
The company has not released any sales figures after the one-day event, but reports said the white-framed model has sold out.
But how does Google handle the public backlash to the product, which is enormous? (Restaurants, bars and gyms are among the many venues that have banned the use of Glass.) Jobs would have done it through marketing.
But right now, it appears the Glass is half empty right now.