RAZRWIRE™

“Sometimes different technologies meld perfectly. For instance, take the high-tech Oakley sunglasses with an MP3 player built into the frames....

I figured it was only a matter of time before this concept was extended to other useful mobile technology. Enter Motorola, and their Oakley Razrwire headset-sunglasses combo. What could be better than a tiny, wireless headset perched on a pair of super-cool looking shades?

Motorola provided a black RAZR test phone to use with Razrwire, but I didn't use it, preferring instead to try the sunglasses-headset combo on an older silver RAZR phone and also on a Motorola A780 smart phone. Set-up was a breeze and the system worked perfectly. Note that the headset uses Bluetooth 1.2 (backwards compatible) for less wireless interference and faster connections.

It was very cool being able to walk down the street — or drive (New York is a hands-free-cell-phones-only-when-driving state) — on these bright summer days, wearing the Razrwire glasses and talking on the phone.”

“Trying to wear a wireless headset for a cell phone or MP3 player while wearing eyeglasses can be a challenge.

The headsets and glasses often compete for ear space, sometimes resulting in a earpiece popping off the user's ear at inconvenient moments.

Oakley and Motorola have now joined together to create the Razrwire, a Bluetooth headset attached to the eyeglass stem of a pair of Oakley sunglasses. The wireless headset can connect to phones...and can be moved to either side of the sunglasses. It runs off a rechargeable lithium battery for up to six hours of use.”

“For convenience and safety reasons, Bluetooth wireless headset/handset paired with a mobile phone allows one to make phone calls effortlessly while both hands are freed to focus on the immediate tasks at hand. It also gives users the freedom to chat with the other party for up to four hours (if your phone's battery can last that long) and at a distance of up to 10 meters away from the mobile phone.

As you can see, using a Bluetooth headset has many advantages among those cited above, but apart from the very busy professionals and those who are always on the move, these Bluetooth headsets have not been as widely adopted as their usefulness underpins. Apart from the added cost to invest in these, the other main reason why people (especially the ladies) avoid them is because they do not favor the design. Most such headsets come with an unsightly protruding microphone that stretches towards the mouth area so as to pick up voice clearly. Yet another common reason is because the headsets can be too difficult to secure or too uncomfortable/heavy to be clasp around the ear. To counter these issues, here’s an innovative solution from Oakley and Motorola.

Fusing Oakley’s Technology...

The RAZRWIRE Bluetooth Eyewear is a collaboration that combines the technology from Motorola and sunglasses from Oakley. Oakley produces fashion eyewear for athletes of all kinds of sports and is well known for its quality and unique designs.

Final Thoughts...

The RAZRWIRE is just as good as any other Bluetooth earpiece/headset in the market based on Bluetooth V1.2, Class 1 standards as far as call quality is concerned. Where the RAZRWIRE stands out is its eyewear design concept that looks very natural on any user unlike other standard Bluetooth devices.”