Google's digital glasses move out of lab and closer to reality

By Alexei Oreskovic

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Google Inc expects to roll out a consumer version of its electronic eyewear that can live-stream images and audio and perform computing tasks in less than two years, though it stopped short of putting a price tag on the "smart" glasses.

Google Glass, as the technology is known, will be sold to consumers at a price "significantly" lower than the $1,500 that the company is selling it to U.S.-based software developers from early next year, Google co-founder Sergey Brin said.

Brin showed off the glasses at Google's annual developer conference in San Francisco on Wednesday, providing the most in-depth public look at the futuristic technology since Google first announced the project in April.

Google also unveiled its first tablet which it will start selling from mid-July for $199, hoping to replicate its smartphone success in a hotly contested market now dominated by Amazon.com Inc's