Google opens up sale of Glass to everyone

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 14 (UPI) -- Google said Tuesday night it is opening its Explorer Program to the public, allowing anyone who has $1,500 to buy Glass.

The announcement follows a one-day sale last month and the sale of Google Glass at a PGA tournament last weekend. The Glass team said that they are making available a "more open beta" that will see the device put up for sale to the general public.

"We're still in the Explorer Program while we continue to improve our hardware and software, but starting today anyone in the US can buy the Glass Explorer Edition, as long as we have it on hand," the company said in a post on Google+.

It seemed after the one-week sale that Google would be offering the device to the general public, but the Glass makers clarified that it was to "accommodate potential Explorers who were still in the pipeline."

The beta version costs $1,500 and could possibly set up an alpha version sale in the near future. Earlier reports suggested that the Glass would be sold en masse late 2013 or early 2014.

While Google hasn't revealed how many of its head-mounted devices were sold during its April sale, it said that inventory was overwhelmed before the sale came to an end.

"We've since built our inventory back up and plan to continue to accelerate new ways to expand the program in the weeks and months ahead," the Glass team said.