Sunglasses That Really Rock

I will usually wear sunglasses while running, granted the sun is still out or I’m not at the gym on the treadmill. If you see me running alone, I’m never without one of my iPods. The problem with an iPod or any digital music player is the pesky earphone cord that gets in the way when your arms are moving.

Oakley came up with a solution to my problem when it introduced the digital music eyewear called Thump, last year. You can always see Bounty Hunter Duane “Dog” Chapman (on a previous MidWeek cover) wearing his pair of Thump on the television show Dog the Bounty Hunter. He also made an appearance on The Tonight Show with his trusty Thump glasses. On top of that, Oakley’s latest breakthrough, the Razrwire Bluetooth sunglasses, joined Thump on store shelves this week.

Thump weighs 51 grams and is available in 512MB (120 songs) and 256MB (60 songs) and comes in various colors. A single charge on its rechargeable lithium ion polymer battery (using the USB plug) will get you six hours of thumping music. It connects to your PC or Mac with a high speed USB cord (USB 2.0), and your glasses are easily updated by dragging the songs to the device icon that appears on your computer’s screen once plugged in. Thump’s sound quality is top-notch, and the controls are simple to use with the buttons located at the top of the glasses’ frame.

Razrwire is equipped with Motorola’s third generation Bluetooth technology and can be used with just about any Bluetooth-enabled cellular phone. The whole contraption weighs in at 20 grams and offers 4-6 hours of talk time and 100 hours of standby time. As with Thump, it recharges off the USB plug. The detachable Bluetooth module can be moved to either side of the frame and you can use it up to 33 feet away from your phone. In addition, Razrwire is made of O-Luminum, an alloy that weighs 40% less than pure titanium and you can choose from three different colors.

According to Bill Craig of Oakley, the Thump has generated over a billion advertising hits, and is the single biggest advertised piece that Oakley has ever made. Perhaps the Razrwire will have a similar impact on the market, especially within the mobile phone community.

These two high tech glasses are somewhat pricey, but are appealing if you have the extra dough. The Thump 512MB sells for $495, and the 256MB version goes for $395 (unless you buy the red camouflage one for $545 or matte black with polarized lenses for $495). The Razrwire was exclusively released at all Cingular stores for $295 this week, and after September 5 will be available at your nearest CompUSA or McCully Bicycle & Sporting Goods.