I still think Google made a big mistake showcasing their product a year earlier. It reminds me of when they showed ChromeOS one and a half years before it actually launched. What's the point of doing that? Sure you might get some benefit from the feedback, but I believe the disadvantages of showing it so much earlier are much bigger than the benefits.
And user feedback doesn't even mean that much when you're trying to build an entirely new product category (ok, maybe the basic idea existed for a long time, but I think we can all agree their concept of the AR glasses is a lot more modern and practical, and might actually turn into a popular commercial product if they do it right).
Apple understands this, not showing a new product or concept until it is either unavoidable or available. What the Glass video shows is an idea whose time has come: all the pieces are ready, just needs someone to fuse it all together in a robust affordable manner which - and here's the hard part - will behave the way people will want it to when they see it done right. Having released the video prematurely, everyone will be jumping on the concept trying to beat Google to the punch (hey, all the pieces are out there ready to assemble); question is who is the precognitive telepath able to grok what users will want when they're given what they say they want.
I think your statement is somehow not well thought out, and by "your" statement I mean "almost everyone's" actually, I just semi-randomly picked out yours to comment on because it captures my counter-argument well. You're saying Google released the video prematurely, based on your assumption google does not want everyone to try beat Google to the punch. It's obvious that Google is well aware that every piece to realize this tech is out there already. What I don't understand is how it is not immediately obvious to everyone that Google wants this idea out there, for people to experiment with it, for people to share their thoughts about UX concerning such a piece of technology which is what they really need at this point to develop this product.
The linked video and the comments it generates are an excellent example of this.
And user feedback doesn't even mean that much when you're trying to build an entirely new product category (ok, maybe the basic idea existed for a long time, but I think we can all agree their concept of the AR glasses is a lot more modern and practical, and might actually turn into a popular commercial product if they do it right).