Babak Parviz, one of the minds behind Google Glass who has just left the company to be VP at Amazon, has been announced as a keynote speaker at this year’s Apps World Europe, from November 12-13 at the ExCeL, London.
Parviz will be kicking off the Wearables track on day 2 – a new part of the show – and doubtless discussing how he created one of the most intriguing, exciting yet controversial technologies we’ve seen amidst his many years on the frontline developing human-machine interfaces.
A lot of conversations have taken place recently as to the durability, effectiveness and invasiveness of Glass. The Chartered Institute of Public Relations recently had a debate as to whether wearable tech was a “nightmare” for PR professionals – the motion was opposed 55 to 28, which means that although PRs are open to the idea, it’s certainly not a unanimous verdict. Similarly, back in January two in three people said they would be “too embarrassed” to wear Glass, according to a UK poll.
It’s not clear yet what Parviz will be getting up to at Amazon, but if the word on the street is right – that Amazon’s widely derided Fire smartphone is just a launching pad for the firm’s forays into wearable technologies – then it would certainly make sense for Parviz to go there.
Writing for our DeveloperTech site, editor Ryan Daws made the perhaps controversial point that Glass won’t get mass appeal as it stands unless “serious alterations” were made. “It’s Google’s own latest platform, Android Wear, which is the company’s current biggest competitor to Glass,” he wrote. “That’s a problem internally, let alone in the pitch to customers.”
Regardless, his move to Amazon for Google will certainly make for an exciting debate when he gets to the stage at Apps World Europe.
Parviz will be speaking in the Wearable Tech workshop at Apps World on 13 Nov. To secure your spot and save 15% off your pass use the discount code WEARABLE15 when registering here: http://www.apps-world.net/europe/register/select-your-pass
Apps World also features 6 free to attend workshops including Droid World, Developer World, Enterprise World, Tech World, Gaming World and Cloud Apps World. To find out more and register for free please click here: http://www.apps-world.net/europe/exhibitions/whats-free-to-attend
