Gadgetopia

Motorola Headset Dons Shades: Oakley and Motorola have teamed up to offer a cell phone handset embedded in a snazzy pair of sunglasses. Note that this is just a earpiece bit — you still have to have the phone.

But is this at all innovative? Or just profitable?

That’s right, cell phone users will be able to hang out in the sun and make calls at the same time. But wait, can’t they do that already?

Indeed, there’s nothing really new with these Bluetooth shades that users can’t get from a Bluetooth headset and regular pair of sunglasses…[…]

These latest shades aren’t cheap. A Bluetooth headset costs anywhere from $30 to $100, and Oakley sunglasses cost about another $100. But put them together and the margins seem to jump. The price of the new shades? $294.99.

I don’t know if this will be that popular. I mean, what happened to the Thump (sunglasses and MP3 player) from last year?

But this does point to a trend that I think will take hold: wearing your phone all the time. I envision a future — however scary — where you won’t “carry” your cell phone as much as you’ll “put it on” every morning just like you put on your glasses and your tie. It will become a ubiquitous and persistent as any other piece of clothing. It will just happen to ring every once in a while.