We're trending from smart phones to smart glasses, courtesy of VSP and Google.
Google and VSP, the nation’s biggest optical health insurance provider, have struck a deal to offer subsidized frames and prescription lenses for Google Glass, the Internet-connected eyewear.
The announcement could take wearable devices, which tech analysts say are the next wave of computing, out of the realm of science fiction and into the mainstream by making them more affordable and giving them a medical stamp of approval. And it opens the door to a new level of cooperation between the health care and consumer electronics industries, which could lead to a world in which people wear or even ingest computers.
“The key business model of the year for wearables is becoming embedded into the health care system,” said J. P. Gownder, an analyst studying wearable devices at Forrester, which predicts that computers that people can ingest, tattoo on their skin or embed in a tooth are three to five years from being a medical reality.
It's still pretty pricey for ordinary folks. The prescription lenses will run about $225, driving the overall price up to around $1700, according to ArsTechnica.
Wearables are definitely the trend to watch right now. From Fitbit to Glass, they're the hot new thing.
