Snapchat changes name, debuts video-recording glasses

NEW YORK -- Social-media app Snapchat is introducing video-recording glasses called Spectacles and is changing its company name to incorporate the new product.

The glasses can record video 10 seconds at a time by tapping a button on the device. The video isthen is uploaded to the popular image-messaging app via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi.

The glasses are the first hardware from the Los Angeles-based company.

The glasses record so-called "circular video," meaning it plays full-screen on any device in any orientation.

They will be available in the U.S. in the fall on a limited basis and cost $130.

In a way, the Spectacles recall Google's venture into eyewear, Google Glass, which took photos and video. But that device had a screen that let you surf the web as well and cost $1,500.

Google shuttered that venture in early 2015 after it received a tepid response from users.

The company says it's changing its name to Snap Inc. because it now has more than one product. The app will retain the name Snapchat.