Well first off I suppose VR is an inappropriate term. The new Google Glass project is part of a growing field of devices and technologies aimed at AR or Augmented Reality as opposed to the older awkward vision of Virtual Reality. The main difference is the mobility of the user. VR was and is aimed at transplanting a static user into an immersive digital world. AR is about taking the technology out into the real world. The technology is really a bit older than you might think and in many ways is already far more successful than VR. If you have ever seen a Heads up Display in action you have seen a form of AR. Lately smart phones that use cameras, accelerometer, and GPS to overlay information on the world around you have become as common as your nearest iPhone or similar device. Google Glass wants to take the next step and instead of having us look at a screen like a phone, they want us to wear a headset with a display ready and waiting just outside of our eye line... ie look up and perhaps a bit to the right and there it is. The clunky design of eye wear displays seems to be slimming down considerably judging by the early prototypes breaking cover though battery life remains as a major stumbling block to a truly svelte design powerful enough to rest comfortably in the design space afforded a pair of glasses.
How big a deal is this? Consider it this way. If the brains of this device is your phone then it doesn't have to break its way into the market so much as present a strong case for its use in conjunction with equipment you already have. So think of the phone as just a mobile computer. It has entertainment, directions (GPS), contacts, communications etc... It could for example connect wirelessly to your car and allow you to control music, conversations, display trip information and basic operation information like speed, temperature, warning signals etc... All in an integrated display you take with you everywhere. IE Get into another car and the experience is the same. Sit on the sofa and control your TV or other entertainment system. When playing a movie or video game be able to see ancillary information if desired. Provided the optics are accurate enough imagine walking through a grocery store and shopping with a running total that updates as you place things in your cart or put them back on the shelf... displayed against a pre-set budget amount and reminders of special occasions (little pete likes hotdogs for his birthday in two days etc...). When you get to the counter it helps you compare the cost expected vs what rings up and works via NFC to authorize the transaction with a real time update on your remaining bank balance/budget etc... imagine walking up to a vending machine and browsing the nutritional value information of the items inside and selecting one without touching the machine. Imagine getting onto an elevator that knows what floor you need based on the person you are in the building to see and it has directions provided as you navigate the building including a detour to the nearest restroom. When you see something you want a picture of you can decide to keep the last few seconds of time being constantly recorded or snap a higher quality still shot (also possibly happening periodically or based on surprising changes (guess at something interesting). Imagine it running facial recognition on anyone you engage in conversation and helping you remember someones name or connections to you.
There is a LOT of promise in something with a quality camera, an unobtrusive always there display and access to the internet and other smart phone type information. It will also change a lot of notions about what constitutes privacy.
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