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Digital Music Eyewear From Oakley
Posted by
CowboyNeal
on Sat Sep 25, 2004 08:41 AM
from the listen-to-them-frames dept.
from the listen-to-them-frames dept.
Mecha-A writes "Am I the only one that finds this insanely awesome? Oakley is marketing a new line of digital music eyewear in time for the holidays. $400-$500 is an obscene lot for a small USB MP3 player, but the coolness factor is way up there. Questions: Is a brand name like Oakley going to get this idea off the ground? Who's going to be first to market this same thing except with a 'now playing' HUD on the sunglasses?"
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accessorize (Score:5, Funny)
Paying for "Oakley" not MP3 player (Score:3, Interesting)
As somebody who has never owned a pair of Oakleys, I ask: wht does a good pair cost?
Re:Paying for "Oakley" not MP3 player (Score:4, Informative)
These are a bit more than a normal pair of Oakleys. I have a pair of matte black polarized Oakleys, very understated, and I paid maybe $210 for them. Best eyewear I've ever owned, quality-wise. Some other styles do come near the $300 mark, I believe.
That being said, I'd still prefer to just have a pair of sunglasses and my Rio Nitrus. I don't see the need for this combination, at least not until the get it a bit more compact.
I find it ironic that people on Slashdot are bashing this. Maybe it isn't geeky enough.
Parent
Re:Paying for "Oakley" not MP3 player (Score:3, Informative)
If you add $100 for a USB MP3 player, you're looking at maybe $350-450. I guess that's about right.
Of course, I've also heard that you can pick up a pair of Oakleys for about $20 in Mexico...
Re:Paying for "Oakley" not MP3 player (Score:2, Insightful)
It's the cost that's the big deal (Score:2)
While all these ideas about implementing new digital technology are important and interesting, I feel that the designers don't grasp the central point of the digital revolution.
That is, digitronics are supposed to make everything in which it is implemented vastly cheaper. Designing an MP3 player into the frames of a pair of glasses is cool, but then charging $300 to $400 for them is an insult. The super rich won't buy them, the rest of us can't afford them, and anyone
Re:Paying for "Oakley" not MP3 player (Score:3, Interesting)
That being said, I have had a pair for over 2 years now, and they are awesome. Very, very strong (I used to break cheaper sunglasses al the time) and light as a feather. A heavy feather mind you....
Re:Paying for "Oakley" not MP3 player (Score:2, Insightful)
Nor do I.
I do, however, feel that the health of my eyes is. If your eyesight is worth no more than £2.99, bully for you. I prefer something that's made with a bit of quality and is optically correct.
Re:Paying for "Oakley" not MP3 player (Score:3, Informative)
In order to meet the essential requirements of the PPE Directive sunglasses have to be tested to, and conform to, EN 1836:1997 (Personal eye protection-Sunglasses for general use and filters for direct observation of the sun).
This standard defines requirements for transmittance properties, optical properties, minimum robustness and information and labelling. It also requires that sunglasses are safe to wear with no sharp protrusions or defects that could cause h
Geek Factor Enhancement (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Geek Factor Enhancement (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Am I the only one that finds this insanely awesome (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Am I the only one that finds this insanely awes (Score:2)
Re:Am I the only one that finds this insanely awes (Score:3, Funny)
You say that like it's a bad thing.
Bad teeth (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe they got their heads kicked in for wearing rather geeky mp3 players.
Corrected links (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
Re:Corrected links (Score:5, Informative)
Parent
Re:Corrected links (Score:4, Funny)
Parent
Re:Bad teeth (Score:2, Funny)
Lance wore these (Score:5, Informative)
Link (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.tdfblog.com/2004/07/armstrongs_othe.ht
Parent
This is news? (Score:4, Informative)
Then again, I'm just pissed that Oakley hasnt given me a free pair yet...
Insanely awesome? (Score:2)
Mod Parent Up! (Score:2)
The other problem with this how sturdy is this going to be? Rigid frame sunglasses (unless titanium!) frequently get crushed in pants pockets, or when they are sat on. (thus, my polarized bolle's are pastic).
So in conclusion; MP3 player adds fragility and cost, subtracts any kind of coolness (to
Stickers (Score:4, Funny)
Am I the only one that finds this insanely awesome (Score:2)
Am I supposed to identify with these guys ? (Score:3, Interesting)
Why don't they just sell a product instead of a lifestyle ?
Apart from the fact that I find the sades both ugly and flashy, I find the idea quite good... 1 item less to carry. Oh wait, my bluetooth phone already does MP3 and FM.
Re:Am I supposed to identify with these guys ? (Score:5, Funny)
If you hadn't already said you weren't American, this question would have given it away.
Parent
Ewww. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Ewww. (Score:5, Funny)
Parent
mission impossible 2? (Score:2)
Wasn't it a pair of "modified" Oakley sunglasses which Ethan Hunt wore to receive his mission, at the beginning of Mission: Impossible 2? Media, HUD, soundbud, and a self-destruction device. Just a little more engineering...
What would be cool... (Score:5, Insightful)
I listen to music at work on headphones; it would be great if I could come back to my desk, put them back on and have the same song playing that I interrupted when I left. I'm a bit surprised that Apple hasn't figured out how to do this yet....Hey Apple and Oakley -- you listening?
Re:What would be cool... (Score:2)
If you did RTFA, RTFA more carefully.
When you flip up the earpiece your music pauses. If you just take them off it won't though, unless you flip up the earpiece to take them off.
uhhh (Score:2)
Re:uhhh (Score:2)
view-t-f-pictures.
Re:uhhh (Score:5, Funny)
Only if you're listening to Corey Hart.
Parent
Sweet! (Score:5, Insightful)
Pretty cool if..... (Score:2, Funny)
resistance is fut.... ahh nevermind.
The Future of Computing? (Score:2, Interesting)
A couple years ago I remember talking to a mac-geek friend of mine and he said "Someday, Apple will be an eyewear company"
This obviously only makes sense in a future where the network is CPU and Storage, wireless is very fast and advanced, and the glasses are basically just display technology.
How likely is this future, maybe as a precursor to direct neural jacks ala Matrix?
Do slashdotters believe the "Network is the Computer" idea will eventually come to be ?
no way (Score:2, Interesting)
The 'model' eek! (Score:2)
Didn't stay long enough to read the specs.. wont be buying one in the store..
I wonder how may other potential customers they scared off..
Not targeting slashdot crowd ... (Score:5, Insightful)
The people doing these sports would really like the idea of not having the wires for headphones to get caught up in, and the extra weight of a player flopping around. I've pulled my headphones out a lot while riding a bunch of times.
The placement of the headphones looks really nice since they don't need to fully block your ears. They've even got good operating temperatures for the player and support both windows and mac. Since they don't specifically require software, thet might even be compatible with everything else.
Most people aren't going to spend that kind of money, but having the music in the glasses will be something that a lot of people go for. But you can bet that Oakley will find people who will definitely want to buy 'em.
And bad jokes about the teeth of the models aside, Oakley knows who they're marketing to. And a bunch of clean-cut models wearing clothes from the Gap isn't how they sell their products.
Cheers
Meh. (Score:2)
If Oakley wants to impress me, put a HUD inside my M-frame lenses, with a wireless link to my cyclecomputer, so I never have to take my eyes of the road to check my data.
Dodgy pictures? (Score:3, Interesting)
a) the design of the glasses look like something you might get free with a happy meal?
b) the "models" have their mouths open and look slightly gay?
I was expecting something a little more slick to be honest.
I wouldnt be seen dead wearing a pair of those.
Nick
the coolness factor (Score:5, Interesting)
For the price of the sunglasses you can get an iPod, which also has a great coolness factor plut the functionality.
When I go to buy sunglasses I look for the ones that are lite and easy to put in my pocket, these sunglasses look pretty similr to a science project where you tape a USB memory stick mp3 player and tape it to a pair of sunglasses. Definately not worth 395$ or even half that. Of course thats just my opinion, i'm sure i don't speak for most people
Calling the EyeTap / WearComp geeks... (Score:5, Informative)
Would it not be better (Score:3, Insightful)
The worst of both (Score:4, Funny)
1) an MP3 player that you can't listen to without wearing sunglasses
2) a pair of sunglasses that you can't wear in extreme conditions.
This is about as useful as a champagne glass with a built-in knife.
It's a really ugly gadget. (Score:3, Insightful)
It looks like the hearing aid glasses of the 1970. Except clunkier.
Integrating a wireless headset into sunglasses, so you could listen to music or talk on your cell phone, would be cool. Only one gadget to carry around, too.
Re:Countdown (Score:2)