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Google To Stop Consumer Sales Of Glass For Redesign

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google will stop selling its Internet-connected eyewear to consumers until the company can develop a more polished and affordable version that's less likely to be viewed as a freakish device.

The sales moratorium on the nearly 2-year-old "Explorer" edition of Google Glass goes into effect Jan. 19. The decision announced Thursday coincides with Glass' spin-off from the secretive Google X lab where it was invented.

Glass will now operate in a division run by veteran marketing executive Ivy Ross. She will report to Tony Fadell, who runs the smart-appliance maker Nest Labs that Google bought for $3.2 billion last year.

Glass is a hands-free device featuring a thumbnail-sized screen above the wearer's right eye. It cost $1,500 and raised privacy concerns for its potential to secretly take pictures and videos.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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