Google Glass still leaves much to be desired, but on Wednesday, it gained access to an app that should show off its capabilities. “Field Trip,” the USA Today reported, became available on Wednesday to Google Glass Explorer Edition devices.In the Google Play store, apps can be restricted from installing on some devices. For example, Instagram won’t install if a device does not have GPS. To be clear, Field Trip has been available in Google Play for about a year and on Apple’s App Store for iOS devices for about six months.Field Trip gives an end user location-based about neighborhoods, cities and countries based on your interests. On Google Glass, it overlays factoids of interest on Explorer Edition smartglasses.Although the app is stripped down from the Android and iOS versions, for obvious reasons based on the processor, storage, “screen,” and battery limitations of Glass, the app’s “full potential” is released in its Glassware edition.John Hanke, vice president of Niantic Labs, which is a startup firm within Google, said:In Glass, the app is less distracting because it keeps your eyes free, which is the whole idea, that you can actually see the thing in front of you.It’s certainly safer than whipping out your smartphone to look up information. As Hanke noted,with my kids, they’re likely to step in front of traffic when reading a smartphone screen.As seen in the screenshot provided by Google, above, the experience could be somewhat familiar to viewers of the now-defunct sci-fi series “Fringe,” where location information was often overlaid on-screen.For now, the project is separate. However, Hanke did add that it might merge with Google Now, sometime in the future.In Glass, the app is less distracting because it keeps your eyes free, which is the whole idea, that you can actually see the thing in front of you.
with my kids, they’re likely to step in front of traffic when reading a smartphone screen.