Google Glass accessory store now available to Explorers

Google Glass may still be in the beta stages, but Explorer testers yearn for more accessories and features on their $1,500 testing unit. Google has met the demands by opening a rather barren accessory store for Google Glass hardware and we should be seeing more products on in the next few months.

Currently there are only four products on the store, a microfiber pouch, new Clear Shield, an extra mono earbud and an extra cable and charger. The new Clear Shield is compatible with the latest version of Google Glass hardware, announced just yesterday.

The Google Glass store is currently only available to Explorers and Google will be the only ones uploading products, all of which are first party. The system for Google Glass is still very walled off, with developers incapable of adding their applications to a store.

As the product comes nearer to launch, we are bound to see Google announce some changes to their policies and offer applications and accessories from third parties on their various stores, both software and hardware.

We wonder if Google Glass will have the same openness Android has and Google will allow partners to take their APIs and OS. They have become rather closed and restrictive when it comes to Android, only allowing partners access to the Google Play store if they add all Google services.

The new hardware update and the upcoming XE11 software update could mesh the future of Google Glass together and show why this device is not just an accessory to a smartphone, but a whole other category of product.