We didn't really see this coming, even with project Glass, but it's an interesting idea

Oct 2, 2012 15:34 GMT  ·  By

Google is serious about branching into the hardware industry, even more so than the wearable display Project Glass would suggest.

The company has patented a device that presents notifications and information transmitted from a smartphone, but only when the screen is down (like on a normal watch).

Flip up the display, though, and you get a transparent screen that not only channels Google maps, Goggles and G-mail, but can provide information to whatever object or landmark is being “viewed” through it.

Getting GPS directions automatically would be possible too, along with other things.

We don't know when, if ever, a device featuring this technology will ever be created, but we'd definitely like to at least see one in passing, even though Google's project Glass can do the same thing.

On a related note, a wrist device that only activates when opened would pose fewer privacy issues (everyday people may not approve of being photographed or caught on video by random passers-by, for example, something that the eyewear is more prone towards).