Amazon Glass On Way? Google Pioneer Poached
Babak Parviz is going from Glass to Fire. The man who once led development for Google's flagship wearable has been snatched up by retail giant Amazon, according to a post on Parviz' Google Plus page.
Parviz is the former director of the Google X research lab, and led several big efforts for the search giant, including Google Glass and Google Contact Lenses. He hasn't disclosed what his specific role at Amazon will be, only posting a photo of the Amazon logo with the caption "status: super excited!" to his page on Saturday (July 12).
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Parviz' hiring comes just a month after the debut of Amazon's Fire phone, which touts a "dynamic perspective" feature that adjusts what's on screen based on the position of a user's head. Given Parviz' vast experience with head-mounted displays, it's possible that Amazon will be tapping his talents to help make dynamic perspective as accurate and useful as possible, while adding new features to the Fire Phone experience.
Of course, Amazon could take things a step further with Parviz under its wing. The online retailer has dipped its toes into smartphones and set-top boxes for the first time this year, and we wouldn't be entirely surprised to see the company release its very own Google Glass competitor.
A head-mounted display would make a smart complement to the new Firefly shopping app debuting on Fire phones, as users would simply have to look at an item in order to be directed to its Amazon.com buy page.
The Fire Phone launches July 25, and while Parviz likely didn't help craft that device, he'll likely have a key role in shaping the future of Amazon's electronics.
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