Google has officially announced the tech specs of the infamous Google Glass, giving consumers and developers plenty to mull over before the new wearable device hits the market.

For users

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According to its tech specs page, Google Glass has a frame that is durable and stays in place, plus adjustable nose pads to fit any wearer.  The display is comparable to a “25 inch high definition screen from eight feet away,” the camera takes 5MP photos and 720p videos, has a Bone Conduction Transducer for audio, connects via Wifi – 802.11b/g and Bluetooth.  Google Glass holds a total of 16GB Flash storage with 12 GB of usable memory, and can be synced with Google cloud storage.  The battery lasts a day, and comes with a Micro USB cable and charger.

Google Glass is compatible with any Bluetooth-capable phone that has the MyGlass companion app installed, which has already gone live at the Google Play store.  The MyGlass companion app requires Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich or higher, and the app enables GPS and SMS messaging.  The app also allows users to configure and manage Google Glass.  It gives you the device information, the location of the Glass in case you misplace it, sharing options via Google+, e-mail and more.

For app makers

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Aside from the specs going live, the API for the device is already available to help developers prepare for Google Glass once it hit stores.  The API involves a Quick Start guide to help programmers and developers get started.

But there’s a huge catch, developers aren’t allowed to distribute their apps anywhere else except for “the official Google-hosted Google Mirror API Client distribution channel, unless otherwise approved in writing by Google.”  Aside from this, developers may not “serve or include any advertisements in your API Client,” “use user data from your API Client for advertising purposes,” “sell or transmit any user data received from your API Client(s) to a third-party ad network or service, data broker, or other advertising or marketing provider,” “be used for Third-Party Ad Serving (“3PAS”).”

Though this sounds bad, at least Google is looking out for the privacy of Google Glass users, so that’s a plus.  But it gets worse for developers, as they cannot “charge end users any fees or collect any payments in order to download or access your API Client, or in connection with virtual goods or functionality of your API Client.”

So how are developers supposed to make money in making apps for Google Glass?

There are many more restrictions found on Google Glass’ Term of Service which makes me wonder if Google’s “openness” will soon close.  And with all these restrictions, will developers be interested in creating apps for Google Glass?  Or will Google Glass officially launch in the market void of useful apps?