Go to any major mall and you’ll be able to find an outlet of CD-R King. In the Philippines, the retail store is famous for selling a wide array of electronic items, ranging from laptop coolers to rice cookers, offered at affordable and competitive prices. In fact, most outlets have counters that are occupied with customers waiting-in-line.
Now it looks like the lines are going to be longer, or it could have been.
First, there was the Google Glass Tease
Last week, CD-R King announced through its Facebook page that they are bringing the wearable Google Glass to its stores. Google Glass, a wearable eye glass technology that allows one to snap a picture, send an email, or browse the web, is coming to the Philippines courtesy of CDR-King. As to when and how much, the retail giant has not provided any specific details.
Then, Came the Mixed Social Media Response
This particular post from the retail giant sparked numerous conversations and debates amongst the Filipino netizens in social media. The topic was reported by numerous Philippine publications – including GMA, Yugatech, and Yahoo!.
So many people questioned the ability of CD-R King to bring Google Glass to the Philippines market. As mentioned earlier in the article, CD-R King is famous for selling low-cost electronic items, such as mouse fans, ballpoint pens with electric fans, and usb cables.
If they release the Google Glass in their stores, it is unlikely that they will be able to price it at a similar standpoint with their other products.
From the numerous conversations on social media platforms, most of the reactions are negative. Many felt that the Google Glasses sold by CD-R King might be knock-off (fake) items. This is a likely possibility seeing that the photo that was uploaded by the company on their Facebook page (refer to the first picture in this post) does not show any hint of legitimate Google branding, for example the Google logo or an official Google acknowledgement of the sale.
Also read: Google Glass just became cooler with new Titanium Collection frames
Lastly, Google only recently announced that their wearable technology will be released in the U.S. in its experimental state this week. Therefore, it creates more suspicion as to how the Philippines is able to sell such a high-end and expensive product that is not even readily available in Google’s home country.
Last, Came the Retraction
Finally, another Facebook post was posted:
CD-R King retracted its statement because they are not authorized to sell the Google Glass.
The debate that sparked due to the error on CD-R King’s social media team resulted in more publicity for the company. However, would-be buyers of Google Glass in the Philippines would be dismayed by this news.
On the bright side, once the product is available in the U.S., it is only a matter of time before it reaches Asia and other parts of the world.
