Jan 24

Google patent application reveals Glass-like device with bone-conduction audio

Posted in: Today's Chili

Google patent application reveals Glasslike device with boneconduction audio

As we’ve heard before, Google’s Glass project features are “still in flux” — could one be a bone-conduction speaker? It very well may, at least according to a US patent application published today. The gadget, described as a “wearable computing device with indirect bone-conduction speaker,” appears to be similar in structure to Glass. It includes “at least once vibration transducer,” so it’s possible that this HMD implementation wouldn’t offer stereo sound. This audio solution does seem within reach — Panasonic had functional bone-conduction headphones at CES, and while they weren’t quite loud enough to provide an earbud-like experience, they did indeed work. As with any patent application, the document confirms only that Google was considering such a technology, not that it’ll actually ship a similar device. So, if you’ve decided that your portable audio future will be headphone-free, you might want to keep an eye on Panasonic’s solution, instead.

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Source: USPTO

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Jan 09

Panasonic announces bone conduction headphones, we go temples-on

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Panasonic bone conduction headphones, we go temples-on

This year, Panasonic’s pretty much gone all out with a vast range of gadgets. Tablets, TVs, Touch Pens, cameras, and outrageous Hi-Fi. One smaller addition to the company’s portfolio was a pair of bone conducting Bluetooth headphones. The technology isn’t exactly new, but as more and more companies get onboard, they start edging their way into the mainstream. Panasonic’s take on them looks — at least initially — like a good start. At first, the design looks almost like any other wrap-around pair of sports headphones. Until, of course, you inspect closer, and realise that there aren’t actually any buds to place in your ears. The soft-touch outer material around the ear-hooks makes them feel nice in the hand, and adds to the sporty look. Unusually they are powered by a single AAA battery, that you sneak into the slightly bulbous section in the middle of the band. We were told, however, that this might change to a rechargeable solution when we get closer to the projected fall release window.

We were eager to see how the audio performed, but it’s fair to say that on a rowdy show floor this was pretty difficult. We were advised to put our fingers in our ears to initially hear the music, and then remove them while focusing on the music. In reality, even with ears fully plugged, hearing the demo song was pretty difficult. With ears fully open to the ambient noise, we couldn’t hear anything at all. The representative was sure to advise us that production models would be two to three times louder, and we’d go as far to say that even that might not be enough. One thing is for sure, they did definitely work, and the effect is still impressive. The product is pitched at more active use cases though, so it will be interesting to see how they work while on the move / run. Again, something that was a little difficult for us to explore, despite really wanting to. As stated above, these should see the light of day sometime in fall, and we really do hope they are louder. Price-wise, there’s no official word, but if you imagine $200 as a ballpark figure, you might not be too far off the mark.

Billy Steele contributed to this report.

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Dec 22

AfterShokz to debut ‘world’s first’ bone-conducting Bluez headphones at CES 2013

Posted in: Today's Chili

DNP AfterShokz to debut 'world's first' boneconducting Bluez headphones at CES 2013

At first glance, you might think the guy in the photo above is wearing his sunglasses backwards. However, he’s actually getting hiz groove on with the AfterShokz Bluez, a pair of Bluetooth headphones that transmits audio using bone conduction. We’ve seen the technology before, but never on stereo wireless headsets. Instead of vibrating your eardrums, the Bluez use transducer pads that sit on your cheekbones to send audio directly to your ears. As such, the headphones have an “open-ear” design, presumably to let you hear your surroundings while listening to tunez. If this zoundz intriguing, you can pre-order them for $100 (despite their $129 retail price) from the company’s website, or just wait until January when they will make their official debut at CES 2013.

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Source: AfterShokz

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