But the biggest reason, the one I keep seeing in print, is that Snapchat theoretically lets anyone get in line and walk away with a pair of Spectacles for just $130. Theoretically, they're democratized and accessible to Snapchat's biggest audience: teens. So, in theory, you don't have to be a Glasshole to wear them, but it helps if you've got some cash on you. Spectacles are selling on eBay for upwards of $750. And even if a kid was in exactly the right place at the right time to get a pair out of the vending machine for its $130 retail price, they'd have to be convinced that keeping a pair of Spectacles is a better choice than selling them for a tidy $600+ profit.
Google used this image to explain how Google Glass owners would be able to take pictures hands-free, Snapchat Spectacles and Google Glass have similar use cases, Google Glass wasn't a great product, It was difficult to set up, had terrible battery life, didn't have a clear purpose and made the user look a bit too much like Locutus of Borg iphone with screen protector or not -- but it wasn't inherently creepy, While it didn't only record video like Spectacles, it also didn't do any of the more outlandish things people feared, Among other things, Google marketed it as a way to take hands-free photos and video while, say, swinging your kids in the air, It was pretty much the best thing you could actually do with Glass, and that's the part Spectacles is building on..
But like Glass, Spectacles will start in the hands of wealthy early adopters and tech bloggers scrambling to try the next big thing -- not the millennials Snapchat hoped. To be sure there are a few exceptions to this prediction. And the company for sure is aware of the demand it's created as evidenced by retweets from Spectacles' official Twitter account. Still, perhaps Snapchat is hoping that this time, early adopters will be more tactful, the public more forgiving. After all, unlike with Glass, it's pretty clear what Spectacles are for. Or maybe Snapchat's just hoping to stretch out the hardware craze long enough to IPO on Wall Street. After all, you can't be a diversified company with just a single smartphone app.
To pursue this, Snapchat's turned to the same brilliant technique that helped Nintendo strike gold with the Nintendo Wii and may do so again soon with the mini-NES, Which is, Make something cheap that people want to try, iphone with screen protector or not but only let a few in, Boom: You've got a line out the door, and everyone's talking about how popular your product is, Nobody questions whether it might all be a fad, Not the people in line, because they need to justify all the time they spent, and not the people who haven't tried it yet, Certainly not the scalpers on eBay and Craigslist, who don't want to attract too much attention..
Thing is, those who can afford scalpers may not be the people you want as the face of your brand. Commentary: Snapchat is trying to make glasses that record video seem normal with its new Spectacles -- but that plan may backfire. You can't buy Snapchat's Spectacles for $130. Even if that's what it says on each and every receipt. The real price is anywhere between $750 and $2,000 -- because that's how much you'll pay scalpers on eBay or Craigslist. Or the price is hours and hours of your time: time to wait, and watch, and drive, and hours to stand in line wherever the disappearing photo company's disappearing vending machine will turn up next.
