Glass Sales Cease But Google Quiet On How Many Sold

Google has ceased sales of Glass, bringing its one day invitation-free event to a close with news that all its spare spots in the Explorer Program are filled, but staying tight-lipped on exactly how many were sold. The Glass free-for-all – well, as "free" as a $1,500 developer device can be considered – kicked off yesterday morning, and supplies of at least one color version were exhausted a few hours later.

That was the Cotton – aka white – finish, which Google said at around midday had all been snapped up.

Exactly how many Glass wearables were actually sold is still a mystery at this stage. Google didn't say what number of spots it had planned to open up on Tuesday, only that supplies would be limited and offered on a first-come, first-serve basis.

However, while there was some speculation that this might be the last hurrah for the developer version of Glass, Google implies that's not the case.

"We'll be trying new ways to expand the Explorer program in the future," the Glass team said in a statement, advising those who missed out this week to register for more details along the line. Meanwhile, there's no sign of the consumer version which is expected to cost a fraction of the Explorer Edition version.

That may well be detailed at Google IO 2014 in a few months time, however.

Opinion on how sensible a purchase Glass is in its current form has been mixed, with some embracing the wearables movement – no matter the cost – while others put off by both the price and the controversies around privacy. Proving that it's still a work in progress, Google released its KitKat update for Glass yesterday too, though removed the poorly functioning video calling feature in the process.