The explosion of portable music has been echoing off almost every device in the past few years. After the long reign of audiotapes and CDs, the MP3s have quickly and brutally usurped them. But even as the MP3s continue to reduce in size, they still need to be carried. Cell phones have tried to encroach on this territory and have become the better choice. Now Aigo has gone a step further, transforming simple accessories into hi-tech music players. The latest is the sunglasses that double up as portable MP3s.The iSonic MP3 sunglasses have the player cleverly built into the frame of the shades, so that two headphones can slip in and provide quality sound. With 1-GB capacity, it can play continuously for up to nine hours. Yet, the process of transferring music remains standard: a USB cable connects a computer to the shades, and you can transfers files at a quick pace. The player’s batteries charge while the files are being transferred. The sunglasses also double up as a voice recorder. When switched on, a small mike protruding from one of the shade’s ear rests can record the wearer’s voice. This can later be transferred to a computer. The iSonic also has a simple control set: five buttons (play, stop, play the previous track, next track and record) built next to the right lens support. So you can easily reach the button though remembering the positions is tricky. “We are trying to target technocrazy people, youngsters between 15 and 30 years and frequent travellers, all those who want to listen to music on the go,” explains Justin James, CEO of Oxiion systems, the official importer. “We plan to officially launch the sunglasses with a campaign on music channels and live shows on various campuses,” he adds. Even though it doesn’t look it, the iSonic has some drawbacks. If you leave the USB dock open, the player is susceptible to water. One stray drop can knock the player out. It also lacks a FM tuner, but the defining problem is that it has no display, so you have to keep skipping tracks to find your song. James disagrees: “We have provided LEDs which easily tell when you are recording or transferring.”The bottomline? At Rs 3,500, a pair of shatterproof, polarised sunglasses bundled with a music player is a tempting buy.
