Google released a video on April 4th that quickly went viral, showcasing early prototypes of their rumored “Google Goggles”. The glasses, dubbed “Project Glass”, look nothing like the oft reported Oakley Thumps, but are instead a glass-less bar with nose supports, a tiny screen, a forward facing camera, and a small strip to house the electronics. Shown in either black or white, the Glasses are sleek, stylish, and straight out of a futuristic sci-fi movie.

The video showcases many different functions and was intended to show the possibilities of integrating all of Google’s various services together. Some highlights of the video are:

• Setting Appointments
• Checking the Weather
• Instant Messaging
• Voice to Text
• Location Based Notifications
• Routes via Google Maps
• Voice Recording
• Reminders
• Location Sharing
• Location Check In
• Pictures w/ Integrated Google+ Sharing
• Music Player
• Video Chat w/ View Sharing

Google’s recent privacy policy unification now makes a lot of sense. Larry Page, Google’s CEO, also tied all employee’s bonuses to the success of their social networking offerings. With Google+ looking to be the foundation of their service this too, makes a lot of sense. Google feels that their ability to stay relevant is tied directly with the success of their social offering.

One rather large thing to keep in mind is the video was not showing a production ready Project Glass, but was merely a tech demo for all the features Google wants to include. Even the user interface was simply computer graphics overlayed on the screen. Still, the tech demo give a sneak peak into the future, and that future looks sweet indeed!