If the issues with having to look at dark areas are common and persistent in the consumer release, it'll kill mainstream adoption. A geek might dislike having to do it, but they'll do it, but explaining to most people "oh sure, you just look at a shadow and hey presto" isn't going to convince them.
I'm cautiously optimistic about the product, I just hope that Google can nail these issues before they release it, otherwise wearable tech might get a bit of a bump back in terms of adoption.
there is a sunglasses extension. put that on and the issue he described disappears. you can see the screen in direct sunlight. this is the problem with someone giving such a detailed review when they don't fully understand the product features (the sunglasses extension is a feature).
So there's an additional widget that's required for you to use it in direct sunlight, so you need to have the sunglasses extension for it to work correctly. I understand there's a technical reason for this, but that's not a solution that's going to work for the majority consumer.
I'm cautiously optimistic about the product, I just hope that Google can nail these issues before they release it, otherwise wearable tech might get a bit of a bump back in terms of adoption.