Listen to tunes without tuning out
If you've walked down the street in an urban area, you've likely witnessed at least one near-accident between a car and a cyclist or pedestrian wearing earbuds.
How welcome, then, are these groovy concept headphones by Seohyun Baek? The semicircle shape is designed to fit in your ear without blocking out background noise, so you can have your tunes but still be in tune with what's going on around you. The designer also claims the small shape will produce less fatigue during long stretches of music-listening.
The headphones themselves are connected via wire to a Bluetooth receiver, which communicates with a small transmitter plugged into the headphone jack on your music player. The wireless connection lets you stash your MP3 player in a bag, carry it in a secure pocket, or even mount it on your bike without limiting movement.
As with all design concepts, there's no telling whether this will ever see the light of day as an actual product. But we hope accessory manufacturers are paying attention, because neither cyclists nor pedestrians should be forced to forgo their music fix during the daily commute.
Michelle Thatcher has been reviewing technology products for nearly a decade. Her current focus is laptop reviews, with some kitchen gadgetry and Web 2.0 thrown in for good measure.
If you want to hear music and background noise - you only have to turn the volume down a bit - try it :o)