Google Glass goes on sale in UK for £1,000 to 'explorers'

Wearable technology now available to anyone - but experts warn of security risks

Google Glass, the internet giant's wearable technology, has officially been released in the UK, two years after the device was first launched in the US.

The smartglasses, powered by Google's Android operating system, have gone on sale for a cost of £1,000 and are now available to purchase by any resident in the UK who is over 18 and possesses a credit card.

"Probably the question we've heard more than any other is: when will Glass be available outside the US? Well, we're starting out by dipping our toes across the pond," read a post titled 'OK Glass, we're coming to the UK' on the Google Glass Google Plus blog.

"Beginning today, we're extending our open beta Explorer program to the UK. The world sees the UK as a centre of innovation," it continues.

"It has produced some of the greatest technology inventors and inventions of the last century, and people on the ground are always excited to explore new products and ideas," the blog states, before encouraging potential users to attend a Google Glass London Demo day later this week.

Google believes that its smartglass technology represents the next stage of computing. The idea is that wearable computing will bring improvements to people's working and everyday lives with the use of applications designed for Glass.

Indeed, some enterprise organisations have already embraced the technology, with Virgin Atlantic running a successful trial of Google Glass and other wearable devices earlier this year.

However, there are privacy concerns with Google Glass, mainly surrounding the fact that the technology can be used to record videos without the knowledge of anyone else in the vicinity, before the recording is then stored on Google's servers.

There are also those, including Sean Newman, security strategist at Sourcefire - now part of Cisco Systems - who warn that Google Glass could pose a big threat to enterprise security.

"As we connect ourselves more and more to the internet it's important to be mindful of the risks and implications of new devices like Google Glasses," he said.

"There's a huge question of what the security implications of connecting these kinds of devices to the corporate infrastructure will be.

"For the IT team that is already defending their organisations from ever more sophisticated cyber criminals, wearable technology is just another attack vector that needs addressing."