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Google Glass now on sale to all in US, but still in beta

Google Glass now on sale to all in US, but still in beta

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Just a month after letting anyone in the US buy Google Glass as part of a one day sale, Google's making it available to everyone once again. This time it doesn't appear to be a limited time offer, either. Google says it's built up its stock again, and wants to get the device in the hands of anyone who wants to buy it — as long as it's got the units on hand.

As long as they're in stock

The previous sale lasted just a day, with Google calling the response "overwhelming," noting that it very nearly ran out of stock in the process. Today, the company said it still considered this open purchasing option part of the Glass Explorer Program, and not a full-blown consumer launch, which is expected to happen later this year. It's also still limiting orders to those in the US.

Glass first went on sale two years ago at Google I/O 2012, with Google offering about 2,000 pairs of the glasses for those who bought into its vision of the future. Another 8,000 people got the device as part of a second wave launch later in the year. Since then there's been a trickle of availability through friends of friends and a wait list program, with last month's one day sale marking the first (then only) opportunity to buy it outright.

Google's $1,500, Android-powered headset links up with your smartphone to show alerts and run apps. So far, some of the most interesting have been services that offer augmented reality like golf helpers, and real-time translation tools. Google's offered a development platform on top of Glass to build tools that might make more sense in front of your eyeballs than on a smartphone screen, though more recently has turned its attention to the wrist with Android Wear.