VentureBeat reports that product designer Luke Wroblewski actually lost his $1,500 pair of Google Glass specs. He made the revelation last night via Twitter, and is the first to do so according to Google. To make matters worse, Glass is linked to a number of his accounts -- anyone who figures out how to boot it up and take control will have access to his private information.
"[It's] pretty nerve-racking. It’s an expensive and still-rare item -- plus I’ve been using them to develop Glassware. So [it's] not good on a number of fronts," he told VentureBeat in an email.
Wroblewski said he wasn't wearing the specs when they were lost, but instead they must have slipped out of his bag when he was passing through airport security. Next time, he said, they will be tucked away in a zippered pocket. Meanwhile, he may be forced to remotely wipe Glass via the web, but he's temporarily waiting in hopes that someone will return the specs to him.
With Google involved, there's a good chance the Glass specs will be deactivated if it's not returned soon. Currently, Google forbids anyone from reselling, loaning, transferring or giving the device to any other person. If this rule is broken, then Google reserves the right to deactivate the device, and "neither you nor the unauthorized person using the Device will be entitled to any refund, product support or product warranty."
If someone does find Glass and tries to sign in with their own Google account, the company will know and likely deactivate the device. The company plans to be a little more lenient when Glass finally goes retail next year, allowing customers to buy a unit and offer it to someone else as a gift. Like the current Explorer model, it cannot be resold.
