Google Glass may be taking some steps towards expanding its range of applications soon. Google has begun encouraging app developers who are currently waiting for the development kit that's specific to Glass to go ahead and start making the apps for Android.
Right now, developers working on apps for the up and coming smartglasses have to use a relatively limited web-based service to test their apps, according to TechCrunch. Google did announce that it was releasing what they call the "Glass Development Kit," or GDK, for Glass app makers, but that hasn't been released yet. And that was announced in May 2013.
Well it looks like either the GDK is further away than expected or right on the cusp of being release (and more streamlined for Android compatibility), because Google posted a note on its own Google Plus page, on Friday, telling developers to start working on their apps using the standard Android development kit - the so-called "Android SDK."
What does that mean for non-developers who are just interested in what's going on with Google Glass? Will there be a flurry of app development happening soon for the highly anticipated wearable computing devices? It's actually hard to tell. Part of the message seems to say that the GDK is still a long way off:
"At Google I/O, we announced that we are actively working on a Glass Development Kit (GDK) that allows you to build Glassware in the form of APKs. We're still hard at work on the GDK, but in the meantime, you can start designing and developing your awesome ideas with the existing Android SDK."
But later in Google's message, it seems that a lot of the heavy lifting of app development can be done with the Android SDK, only needing to tweak it when the GDK is finally available:
"For you seasoned Android developers, your background will get you a long way in building Glassware. You'll find out that some features that you want in the GDK are already supported by the Android SDK, such as accessing the accelerometer or playing media. If you're an Android beginner, take this time to learn about general Android development, so that you'll be ready when the GDK launches."
One thing that is known to app developers and Google Glass watchers alike is that Google won't be having any official apps with sexually explicit material. Earlier this summer, on the very day that porn app developer MiKandi released its first porn app for Google Glasses, Google updated its content policies for app developers, banning "content that contains nudity, graphic sex acts, or sexually explicit material." It also banned gambling apps and apps with hate speech in the same document.
However, this week, MiKandi, along with a couple of well-known porn stars, released a YouTube video called "First-Ever Google Glass Porn." While not safe for work, it's a YouTube video and contains no actual nudity - but some rather NSFW language and adult situations. The YouTube video was shot as a spoof, but the actual shoot happened, according to this behind the scenes essay by one of the Glass owners, (the essay has NSFW language, but that's it).
And that shows that Glass developers will be determined to create what content they want, whether it means cleverly side-stepping the rules (because the video they shot was not an app, they weren't under the content policy), or developing apps without a GDK.