After months of desperate scrambling by the in-kids, the time has finally come for the wise and lazy to reap the spoils as Snap has released its Snapchat Spectacles for general online purchase. First released back in November 2016, the social network linked sunglasses-mounted camera was only available to buyers in one of two ways; going to the Spectacles store in New York, or playing a cat and mouse game to catch one of the pop-up “Snapbot” booths that appeared across the U.

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This rare availability meant that unscrupulous sorts were making serious bank re-selling the glasses online. Things reached such a fever pitch that we even felt it necessary to publish a guide to getting a pair of Spectacles ahead of the scalpers or unwashed hordes. It was quite frankly, an inspired piece of marketing that got far more publicity than people expected for this kind of gadget following the wet thud of Google Glass. Now that the buzz of that stage of the campaign is over, it’s time for wider release.

/Snapchat

The Spectacles available on the Snapchat site are exactly the same as the units previously available. With a camera mounted into the sunglasses rims, users can start and stop video recording before posting the rotatable vids to their Snapchat memories.

It’s a little weaksauce that the Spectacles device only hooks up to the Snapchat social network and nowhere else but that’s the entire point isn’t it? This product, for which was held a giant marketing stunt, is in itself a giant marketing stunt. However we can’t deny that it’s an extremely tempting.

That temptation rolls into the price. At US$129. 99 even naysayers pooh-poohing Spectacles’ dorky look and one-trick pony status have to admit that as a guilty splurge or novelty gift, it’s worth a punt.

Did you get a pair of Spectacles? If not, will you get a pair now? Do you think there’s any way they don’t look awful? Tell us on Facebook, Twitter, and in the comments below.

2017-2-21 03:00