Shades with swag help you listen to music and make calls on the go

Do you remember that time when you desperately wished there were a pair of sunglasses that help you listen to music and make phone calls? Nope? Well, now’s your chance to pocket a pair.

Zungle’s sunglasses, which it calls Panther, are capable of transmitting audio straight to your ear using bone conduction tech. There’s no need for any additional wiring via earbuds or headphones. Just plug and play.

“Many people want to use wearable devices but their designs have always been an issue. They want cool, convenient devices but they never want to look goofy,” explains Jason Yang, founder of Zungle. “With Panther, the users can enjoy music by pairing with their smartphones, but they will look as if they’re wearing regular sunglasses.”

Zungle’s Kickstarter is literally exploding, with over US$1.5 million pledged in relation to a modest goal of US$50,000. It still has four more days to run. The Bluetooth sunglasses are yours for US$109 at this stage; after the Kickstarter they’ll retail for US$150.

Clearly it’s solving a problem we didn’t even know existed.

Jason says sound quality over Bluetooth is as good as regular earphones, with subtle differences only at the extreme ends of the audio spectrum. User feedback tests have been very positive, he adds.

But there are a couple of downsides to the sunglasses. They don’t cover your ears like regular headphones do, so it’s possible you’ll still hear sounds like traffic and birds if you use them on the go. Battery life is 4 hours so you won’t be able to use them for long periods.

But the glasses do look cool. The frame ships in five different colors and the lenses are swappable – based on Oakley’s Frogskin lenses.