Google to make Glass in Silicon

　　The futuristic, visorlike Internet gadget is already drawing raves from tech enthusiasts and concerns from privacy advocates, who say the Glass device could change the way people interact with technology. Now it's got another distinction, according to a published report Wednesday that said Google plans to manufacture early models at an assembly plant in Silicon Valley.
　　Google is working with the Taiwanese contract manufacturer known as Foxconn to assemble several thousand Glass headsets at a Santa Clara factory, said the U.K.-based Financial Times, citing unnamed sources. Google would not confirm the report; but if true, it marks a rare experiment in domestic manufacturing by the U.S. tech industry, which has long relied on overseas manufacturers to assemble the vast majority of computers, smartphones and other gadgets.
　　Building consumer electronics in the United States has become so rare that Apple (AAPL) won national headlines last December when it announced plans to spend $100 million -- a fraction of its overall production budget -- on contracts with domestic manufacturers.
　　Google also flirted with U.S. manufacturing last year by selling a home entertainment console, the Nexus Q, that was assembled in Silicon Valley. But that product, known for its bowling-ball shape, drew critical reviews and Google stopped selling it after a few months.
　　Mountain View-based Google may be using a domestic plant for Glass so it can exert tight control over initial production of a new and technically complex device, according to the Financial Times report, which left open the possibility that future versions could be made overseas.
　　Glass uses voice-activated software and a small touch pad to operate a digital camera, send emails and display information from the Internet on a tiny screen that sits above the user's right eye. Google has closely guarded many details about Glass, but this week it began notifying winners of a marketing contest the company held to select the first people eligible to buy the device -- for $1,500.

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