THEY are the ultimate gadget for anyone bored in a queue or commuting to and from work: video sunglasses.

Connected to a portable DVD player, mobile phone or digital camera, the Teleglass projects films, text messages or pictures directly on to the left lens of the glasses, filling the vision in that eye but leaving the other free to allow the viewer to move around.

The gadget’s manufacturer, Scalar, a Japanese medical technology company, says that the design is a cross between the magnifiers used by dentists and the hands-free displays that help helicopter pilots to aim a machinegun.

It believes, too, that it has struck upon a commercial winner. Teleglass has already been a hit with a select few Tokyo commuters who managed to get hold of early versions of the gadget. The first batch produced by Scalar was discreetly sold from its website — and sold out almost immediately. Now the company is now embarking on a large sales drive and should have the devices in Japanese stores within a few weeks.

Although the Teleglass is ideal for watching DVDs on a portable player, it is principally aimed at mobile-phone users. High-tech Japanese handsets now regularly feature a flash memory chip slot and have the ability to display MP4 files — a format that compresses films or television shows into a form that can be viewed on a small screen. The phone can sit in a pocket while the glasses project the film to the wearer’s eyes and almost nobody else is the wiser.

The appeal is obvious, but as well as appealing to commuters, students in dull lectures and anyone who has ever stood in a queue, Teleglass is expected to be of huge interest to airline companies, with whom Scalar has held talks already.

The basic device costs about £250 and is compatible with any standard audiovisual unit. It comes with a pair of sporty shades, but can be snapped on to any pair of sunglasses or prescription lenses.

Beginners, say Scalar, might prefer to put a patch over part of the right lens while the brain adjusts to the odd combination of video and real-world images.

For their small size, the pictures projected into the Teleglass are surprisingly clear and eyes do not have to strain to watch them over an extended period. Although the actual screen is less that ¼in in size, magnifiers mean that the images are comparable with watching a 14in television screen from a distance of 3ft.

During a Teleglass screening of a Japanese version of Charlie’s Angels, for example, both Lucy Liu’s antics and the subtitles were easily visible. Performing other activities using the free eye — reaching for a cup of coffee or tying shoelaces — while watching a movie was not that difficult. The brain, it seems, gets used to the idea of viewing a film with one eye after about ten minutes.

But will they damage sight?

The Teleglass is unlikely to cause any damage to the user’s eyesight, according to Nick Astbury, president of the Royal College of Opthamologists.

“Even though the image seems very close to the eye, it will be focused to infinity,” he said. “What it might do to your mind is something completely different.”

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