Is Google building a Google Glass retail store that floats in the San Francisco Bay?
Well, isn’t this quite the interesting story to come off of afternoon lunch to? According to several reports, Google could be the culprit behind a secret project being worked on sitting on a barge inside the San Francisco Bay. Specifically, it’s docked inside Clipper’s Cove, a pocket of sea sitting right inside former US Navy Base Treasure Island.
According to CNN, a four-story structure made of shipping containers is acting as a hangar for Google to work on some sort of project, but what could this project be? One theory is that it’s another addition to the many data centers Google already controls.
Data centers on top of water are a thing, apparently, thanks to the natural cooling properties of water, and the ability to use water to facilitate renewable energy. Google even has a patent for something like that.
That’s a decent guess, but some people are saying that’s bologna. Google’s being more secretive than usual about this one, leading some to believe the company is doing the unthinkable — they’re possibly building a Google Glass retail store. That much was reported by CNN affiliate KPIX, with the station saying Google wants to eventually move the barge to the shores of San Francisco and open the store up to the general public.
As awesome as all of that sounds, there’s only one problem with that — Google supposedly stopped work on the barge three weeks ago. This could mean a couple of different things:
- The structure — whatever it is — is finished.
- Google’s just taking a break.
Sources say it’s the former, though, and that the reason Google has yet to commence plans with docking at the San Francisco Bay is because they don’t yet have a permit to do such a thing. It’s a pretty outrageous prediction, but Google is known to shake things up every once in a while.
Building such a crazy retail store to sell Google Glass units would be the ultimate move to generate consumer interest — who wouldn ‘t want to go into a store built on water just because it’s built on water? I know I would.
We’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this story as the weeks progress, though if this mystery barge really is a Google Glass retail store it might be a while before any leg is shaken (as the glasses aren’t expected to launch until sometime early next year).