Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has opened up about when the consumer version of Google Glass could emerge, Digital Spy said.

The high-tech spectacles are already in the hands of some developers, but the search giant's former CEO said that they will not go on general release until around a year from now.

"It's fair to say that thousands of these will be in use by developers over the next months, and then based on their feedback we will make some product changes, and it's probably a year-ish away," he told BBC News.

Schmidt also addressed the privacy concerns Google Glass has stirred up ahead of its release, acknowledging that Google must develop a "social etiquette" for users to abide by.

"The fact of the matter is we'll have to develop some new social etiquette. It's obviously not appropriate to wear these glasses in situations where recording is not correct, and indeed you have this problem already with phones," he added.

"Companies like Google have a very important responsibility to keep your information safe. You have responsibility as well to understand what you are doing and how you are doing it and obey appropriately and also keep everything up to date."

The developer edition of Google Glass bears a $1,500 (£983) price tag, but the product is likely to cost less when it arrives on the market.