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Catch up with the latest
Android news and gossipBuhel SOUNDglass
Sunglasses just got smarter
T
he release of Google Glass helped the w
whole lot of attention, but the fi nished
mark with a lot of consumers. Dodgy so
a high price tag meant plenty of potential use
it and looked to fi nd a real alternative. Howev
Buhel looks to breathe new life into the fi eld a
takes a more cost-effective approach to eyew
rather than copying some of the fantastic des
that have come before it.
The SOUNDglass’s defi ning feature is the
bone-conducting drivers that can be used t
transmit a variety of sound. Users can liste
favourite tracks, while also being able to co
GPS system to listen to voices, traffi c and a
wires. Alerts will help navigate you through
reroute you if necessary. Atellani Projects w
campaign for the Buhel SOUNDglass on KicNEW TECH Audio sunglasses
At a glance
» Product name Buhel SOUNDglass
» Available from http://www.buhel.com
» Price $
Stylish sunglasses that use
bone-conducting technology to help
make listening to audio and mapping
instructions a completely hands- and
wire-free experience.Users will be able to get
directions and routes through
audio directions. It saves having
to set up the same route on a
mapping appThere are a variety of different
styles and colours that users can
choose from when purchasing a
pair of SOUNDglass sunglasses.
Some are better suited for
different situationsThe thin side frames of the
SOUNDglass contain dual
bone-conducting drivers, which
will emit sound when pressed
against your headUse the Bluetooth function to make
and receive phone calls without
needing to use your phone to
control the conversationHow did the original idea of the Buhel
SOUNDglass come about?A
Our inspiration was safety and ease of
use. We were and are concerned when
seeing so many people using the phone in
dangerous conditions, whether it was while
they were driving, or trying to cross the road.
The SG05 [SOUNDglass] answers a lot of
these worries and keeps the user’s hands
away from their phone.
It’s important to note that we’ve dabbled in
this area before. We’ve had great success
previously with the SG04 glasses. Although a
little more basic than the SG05s, they offered a
great basis for us to work from.Did you struggle to pack some much
functionality in to such a slender design?A
Thiswasnotaneasyfeat,butwiththehelpof
an Italian design firm and lot and lots of
prototypes we are quite satisfied with the results.
It’s obviously important to fit in everything we
needed,butitwasofparamountimportanceto
makesurethatthedesignwasuptothesamelevel.
The glasses ultimately ended [up] being as thin as
we want and we didn’t have to compromise on any
of the features we were looking to include.How does the Bone Conduction
Technology in the new glasses work?A
We feature two patented Bone Conduction
drivers that optimise hearing. You’ll find that
most devices only ever use one, so we’re
especially pleased we managed to get two drivers
into the tiny frame of the SG05s. The positionand shape of the drivers is also ideal for what
we were looking to achieve. It’s quite
staggering the results we were able to get
from the glasses. In particular, we were really
impressed with the quality we found in the
microphone, which was vastly superior to
most smartphone microphones.What do you think are some of the key
differences between the Buhel
SOUNDglass and similar products?A
There are really no other glasses on the
market that perform like the SG05 do.
There are other devices that use bone
conduction, but they’re usually limited in
scope and practicality.
We feel that we combined several functions
in one device and for noticeably cheaper than
some of the competition that’s currently on
the market.Q & A
CEO of Atellani ProjectsJohn Speed