Choking on the $1,500 price tag of Google Glass? Fear not: Google's augmented eyewear could be priced as low as $300 when it officially goes on sale to the public.
That's the conclusion from Jason Tsai at Topology Research Institute, after he looked at the component costs of the high-tech glasses. Despite the futuristic concept behind Google Glass, and the $1500 price tag for the early "Explorer" edition, the parts used to build the headset are cheap, China Post reports.
Consider, for instance, the display, which Tsai said is Glass' most expensive component. He expects Taiwan-based Himax Display to be the supplier, given that Google agreed to buy a 6.3 percent stake in the company last month. Tsai believes Himax's displays cost between $30 and $35.
As for the other components, GigaOM notes that the 8 GB of flash storage, GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth radios inside Glass are similar to those of Motorola's MotoActv fitness device, which was sold for $200 but likely cost between $100 and $150 to make. Add in a camera and a speaker, and the final cost is still easily below $300.
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