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Ex-Apple iPod chief Tony Fadell to oversee Google's Glass project after reorg

Former Apple executive Tony Fadell —  known colloquially as the "father of the iPod" —  is set to take over Google's Glass augmented reality project as the search giant reorganizes the stumbling wearable team.

Current Glass chief Ivy Ross will remain as the team's manager under Fadell, who will lend "strategic guidance" to the project, according to the Wall Street Journal. Fadell will continue to lead Nest, the connected home company he co-founded and sold to Google last year.

The existing Glass Explorer program will be terminated as part of the changes, which include moving the project out of Google co-founder Sergey Brin's Google X incubator. Developer kits will remain available, however.

Google is said to be planning a more Apple-like approach to product development going forward. Rather than running open beta tests, as it does with its software projects, the company will continue hardware development in secrecy and only make finished devices available to consumers.

Glass has been beset by trouble since its unveiling, primarily because many consumers rebelled against the idea of companions with a camera constantly attached to their face. That led to the coining of the term "glassholes" for those who wore the device in social situations.

Google attempted to right the ship by positioning Glass as a fashion accessory, going so far as to strike a partnership with designer Diane von Furstenberg. The company even began construction of a series of massive barge-borne "floating showrooms" for glass, which —  perhaps tellingly —  were eventually scrapped before hosting a single visitor.