Google Glass Price, Release Date, Review, Specs: Software Update Brings New Features Like Video Search

Google Glass keeps getting more and more features, and the most recent system update, released on Monday, is no exception.

Every month, Google updates the software running its experimental wearable computing device, Google Glass. This update brings a slew of new features and built-in apps, including the new Google Now cards for the tiny heads up display and enhanced search features.

First, a feature Google calls "Vignettes." This is a photography feature that adds a representation of what you see in the heads-up display into the picture that you're taking.

Basically, it's a way to take a picture of everything you're seeing, which includes what Glass is superimposing on your view. Here's an example from Google of a mountain biking trail, with the Google Glass route superimposed in the corner.

To make a vignette, you take a picture with Glass's camera button and tap "make vignette."

Google's Glass search feature has also gotten an update, adding YouTube video playback on the heads up display and a music search feature that is basically like the reverse music lookup app Shazam.

For playing videos through search, all you have to do is add "video" to the end of your voice search, and a video will play in the heads up display. This feature looks great for walkthroughs and how-to videos. Google gives an example of "how to make guacamole video," which will pop up an appropriate video in your viewfinder, so you can follow along while trying it yourself.

For "Sound Search," Google's reverse music look up app, you long press the touchpad and swipe forward to make Google Glass listen to what's playing around you. Just like Shazam, Glass will listen for a bit and return an artist name and song title. This feature can also be accessed by voice searching "Ok glass, Google what song is this."

With the new update, Google Glass searches will now be tracked in your over-all Google search history. However, to keep your searches anonymous, you can delete them from your timeline. In doing that, it will also delete it from your search history. Also, if you turn off search history tracking for Google, in general, Google Glass will not track what you're searching.

As for other improvements, new information cards have been added to Google Glass's UI. Now information cards include transit cards for quick mass transit directions, reminders, nearby attractions and cards for nearby photo opportunities. News results that Google identifies as a "newsworthy" topic also appear in Glass cards now, giving you a dedicated card on the topic.

The final feature added to Google Glass is actually to an app for Android called MyGlass, which can screencast your Glass display to a phone. Now, when you're broadcasting Glass to your Android phone, you can "remote control" Google Glass by swiping through your Glass timeline on your smartphone.

Stay with Latinos Post Tech for more updates on Google Glass, as it is expected to be released to the public in 2014 for a price that is definitely not $299.