Eyewear, your link to the world

Audio How-Tos, Buying Guides

Blue Tooth eyewear? It’s actually a simple version of a wireless connection between devices such as laptops, cellular phones and headsets. Bluetooth version 2 allows for a wireless range of up to 33 feet (10 meters) in optimal conditions. As the technology becomes a mainstay in our daily lives, more and more gadgets popup with blue-tooth capabilities. Enter the Oakley O ROKR Bluetooth Eyewear.

Eyewear that can play music, connect to your cellular phone to allow you to take calls, or anything else that uses Bluetooth connectivity. These stylish glasses are right out of the Terminator movies.

With the growing concerns of eye protection from harmful sun rays and radiation, these have got you covered. They filter out 100 per cent of harmful Ultra Violet/A/B and C rays, harmful ultraviolet rays from the sun that can cause cancer, cataracts and other serious diseases. The lenses are also designed for optimal vision and clarity using something called HD Optics, a combination of materials and manufacturing processes to achieve UV protection, durability, improved image clarity and very light-weight lens. Designed without a frame, the lenses are also side-impact resistant.

Integrated into the sides are the electronics. The most obvious feature are the fully positional ear phones or – in this case – ear buds. The right side of the O ROKR contains the controls for music, and the left side for communications functions. This means that you can play MP3s from your favorite Bluetooth-enabled device, and use a cellular phone. If your MP3 player supports Bluetooth Stereo Music streaming – also known as A2DP, a Bluetooth specification for transmission of high-quality audio – you can actually control your MP3 player using the O ROKR glasses. Also supported in the O ROKR is the ability to control Bluetooth devices (AVRCP). This lets the user control their MP3 players’ and cellular phones’ advanced functions, such as on, off, skip, previous, next, mute, volume up and down.

In addition to cranking the tunes (watch out for the volume – ear damage, you know) you can answer cellular phone calls, too. If you happen to be listening to your favorite music, it’s just a matter of pressing the call button on the left side of the glasses to answer that call and mute the music. You can control functions such as mute the microphone, and end the call.

All Bluetooth-enabled MP3 players and phones will work with the O ROKR, but with differences in their features and functions. Bluetooth devices have Bluetooth profiles which determine what bells and whistles they offer. Ensure that you do some research before making a final decision and a checklist of what features you would like to have.

  • Manufacturer: Oakley

  • Price: $249 US

  • More info: http://oakley.com/orokr/

  • Rating 3/5

  • Reviewer’s comment: Not your everyday eyewear. I don’t envision these being used during sports, but it’s great for its dual purpose music/cellular features.