bone conduction
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MyDo eyeSonic glasses: like Oakley's Thump, minus the tint
Those who got a kick (ahem) out of MyDo's Bururu glasses will surely appreciate the firm's latest spectacles, which seem to function pretty much like Oakley's Thump sans the tint. The eyeSonics reportedly utilizes "bone conduction speaker equipment," non-slip arms, a 3.5-millimeter input (no Bluetooth?), and are set to arrive in four different colors. Interestingly enough, these bad boys aren't exactly cheap, and we'd probably just stick with separate devices before we coughed up the ¥38,000 ($336) required to neatly combine headphones and glasses.[Via Impress]
Rice University turns skeleton into a data network
We've seen plenty of ideas and even a patent related to the employment of human skin in the transport of data. We've also seen our fair share of bone conducting audio products come to market in the last few years. Now in a synthesis of the two, scientists at Rice University have developed a technique whereby rattles to the skeleton can transmit information to gadgets and medical devices strapped on (or inside of) your meat sack. Their approach has resulted in "amazingly few errors" even when using low-powered vibrations. Great, soon our handshakes will transfer both biological and software-related viruses? Oh boy.[Thanks, Geetu]
SwiMP3 v2: Bone conducting underwater MP3 player gets an upgrade
It's taken 'em nearly three years to get around to it, but Finis have a new version of their SwiMP3 underwater MP3 player coming out. Like the original, the SwiMP3 v2 uses bone conduction, rather than regular earphones, to transmit sound directly from your cheek bone to your inner ear (it all sounds a little creepy, but bone conduction is pretty much the best way to listen to stuff underwater). Version 2 of the SwiMP3 is a little smaller and sleeker than the original, though it still doesn't have all that much storage -- even after two-and-a-half years they've only managed to bump the SwiMP3 from 128MB up to 256MB. Still, with a specialized player like this you really only need enough music for your swim, right?
TEAC's bone conducting HP-F100 headphones
TEAC's latest headphones may not sport the sexiest of designs, but the HP-F100s do tout the always-fun bone conducting abilities. Aside from delivering frequencies from 25Hz to 25kHz, the phones also come with a "personal amplifier" (shown after the break) that cranks out .76-watts to each channel, and will reportedly last around 10-hours without needing another cell. Additionally, the foldable earphones weigh in at about 120-grams, and while the "aerial vibration" won't exactly rattle your skull, it could make your listening a bit more full nonetheless. Of course, we don't expect these to land on US shores without a little help from your favorite importer, but you can reportedly snag these later this month in Japan for a stiff ¥52,500 ($440).[Via Impress]
Thanko's Vonia BCT SportsHeadband: bone conduction fun on the run
Thanko's already rattled our skulls with its Vonia bone conducting earphones, but they couldn't leave well enough alone. The Vonia BCT SportsHeadband kicks out the jams using two waterproof bone conduction speakers near the temples, and also has a compartment conveniently located smack on the forehead to hold a small MP3 player. It's too bad the compartment isn't waterproof, since that'd be necessary to use this thing underwater -- so without a waterproof player we're not really sure how these will play out with the swimmer crowd, who Thanko is also marketing the headband to. On the other hand, runners, joggers, sprinters, skippers, and speed-walkers should be a-ok to blast some bone-rocking beats while keeping their ears open for oncoming traffic and catcalls.[Via Crave]
Thanko's Vonia bone conducting earphones
It's official: bone conduction technology just jumped the shark. Meet the Vonia bone conduction headset from the makers of such items as USB slippers and USB hubs for pirates -- Thanko. These skull rattlers won't work underwater and they won't enhance your gaming skillz much... but they might be of some benefit to the hearing impaired for the ¥9,800 (about $82) required to strap a set on. Want noise cancellation? Just add earplugs. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.[Via Impress]
N.Tech headphones sing straight into your bones
We make no bones about the fact that we're not experts when it comes to audio engineering, but last we checked, headphones work pretty well when they're inserted directly into the ear. Clearly this isn't the case at the Next Generation Computing Show 2006 in Korea, where N.Tech demoed its latest front-wear (NVP200) and rear-wear (NVP100, pictured) vibration, or bone-conduction, headphones. The idea is that sound vibrates into the skull and then straight on to the auditory nerve; though if someone is blasting their iPod next to you on the train ride home, it would seem your auditory nerve is going to be getting a lot more noise than signal. Plus, constantly pressing buttons situated very near to your cerebellum and brain stem can't be a good idea, either. But we'll defer to the authorities on this one.Read - NVP200Read - NVP100
Nextlink's new bone-conduction headset goes Bluetooth
It's hard not to love the concept of bone-conduction headsets: government-funded technology (much like the iPod), fairly positive reviews on sound quality in noisy environments, and most importantly, they represent the closest most of us will ever get to bionic implants. The tech is still fairly young, though, and previous entries from Nextlink and Aliph have come up short in the size and, uh, wire departments. Nextlink's at it again with their latest entry, the Invisio Q7, and both issues appear to be solved. The Q7 takes the shape of Nextlink's well-liked Bluespoon line, adding Bluetooth and a send/end button for good measure. At $200, the headset is a bit steep when it looks to drop toward the end of the year, but if it means we can hold a phone convo in the middle of a raucus Engadget reader meetup, we're all for it.[Via phoneArena]
Pegaso's VIBONE EZ-80WP: for underwater, skull vibrating fun
Here's the tired buzzword, catch-all product for the day: Pegaso's waterproof, bone-conducting VIBONE EZ-80WP headset. Besides being yellow and dark gray to camouflage your ear-grub, these babies vibrate the skull, not the air, in order to bring the beat to your auditory nerve. It's that little trick which makes 'em ideal for use underwater, or in space for that matter, you decide chief. Available starting July 15 in Japan for ¥19,800 or a whopping $170 bills. Hmm, reminds us this little ditty: the skull-bone's connected to the, Vi-bone, the Vi-bone's connected to the, ass-hat...or something like that. [Via Impress]
