After being selected to be 1 of 8000 #glassexplorers through the #ifihadglass contest on Twitter/Google+ in March, I finally received my Direct Message on Twitter to purchase Google Glass! The earliest I was able to select at the time I received the DM was July 5th at 4pm.
A day later some slots opened up for Saturday June 22nd, so I immediately switched it to 5pm that day, shaving 2 weeks from my wait time to have Glass in hand... err.. on face. I live 10 miles from Google NYC and Chelsea Market, so I didn't really have to make crazy plans. Although, I did print out a coupon for parking at Icon Parking http://www.iconparkingsystems.com/ for only $15 all day including tax! That is a steal for greater NYC area parking, let alone Manhattan!
Driving into New York City from New Jersey can sometimes be a nightmare getting through one of the Hudson River Crossings, so my wife, 5 year old son, and I left at 3pm for our 5pm appointment. Project Glass was so nice to make an exception for my 5 year old son to attend. Not only was he a minor, but you are only allowed a +1 (veiled google plus reference perhaps?). I DM'ed @projectglass to get the exception, since one of my son's summer vacation plans was to spend a day in New York City.
We actually arrived and parked by 3:40 PM, and enjoyed Chelsea Market.
The Glass pickup is actually across the street from Google's NYC Office at Chelsea Market on the 8th floor. While perusing the stores at Chelsea Market, we ran into some Googlers on break with Glass getting grilled with questions by passersby/tourists.
Come 5pm we took the elevator to the 8th floor, where we were greeted by the team and a receptionist to check in and get guest badges.
I was immediately greeted by my Glass Guide Matt, an awesome guy who has had Glass for 7 months!
I had purchased Sky as my color, but still wanted to try Shale in person. We went with my first choice.
Matt beckons to another guide to bring over a Sky colored Glass. We sit down, and I proceed to open up the box.
Very minimalistic packaging and very elegant. Reminded me of the unboxing experience with Apple products. Now it was time to put it on!
Matt proceeds to set me up via a Chrome Pixel, adding glassware through the myglass site to my glass, and pairing my Nexus 4 to the glass for data. I get whitelisted to the Mirror api for some development dabbling. He also adds me to the explorer community. Throughout the Fitting/Training, we go through many of the Glass functions (Pics, Videos, Sharing, Guest Mode, etc.). They are very thorough, answering questions along the way, and never hurrying you. The 45 minutes we spent at the fitting flew by. The Glass team treated my son to some cool videos, brought him and my wife beverages, and even some brownies from Fat Witch Bakery!
Overall the experience was great, but even better was finally receiving my Google Glass. I will have a full review after a week or two with the device. For more pictures, videos, and thoughts on Glass follow me on Twitter @wlassalle and/or Google+.
Here is a view from the Glass Loft.
The Snack/Drink Bar at the Glass Loft (Beer, Mimosas, Soda, Water, Brownies, Fruit)
My wife trying on my glass.
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