Sometimes you wish accessories had multiple uses. For instance, why can’t my belt also double as a helpful robot when necessary? The entire industry of wearable technology predicated on making these dual-purpose devices a reality. Maybe not that robot belt, but certainly armbands that double as fitness tracks, glasses that double as entries into a virtual universe and watches that double as, well, just about everything. Now, even earrings are getting in on the action. Finally you won’t have to snap on a pretty pair of earrings and call it a day. No, they are doing stuff now.
A Melbourne-based industrial designer named Ilya Fridman has prototyped the Ripple, a pair of earrings that also doubles as a music-enabling headset. This is perfect if we ever descend into a Footloose-esque anti-music dystopia. Now you can listen to whatever you want on the sly. It works using the magic of Bluetooth, which means no messy cords and nothing to fuss with. Nothing kills your fashion/music buzz like a bunch of annoying cords getting in the way of everything. All you do is snap them on and they interact with whatever device you stream music from, be it your phone, tablet or even(gasp) stereo.
The device is only a working prototype for now, so if you want earrings that play music you’ll have to tape some to a speaker and try to wear that attached to your ear. It won’t be pretty but it may just work. While you gaze longingly at this nifty headset, imagine a world in which you are wearing them and they are in full working order. Yay music!
