Sony has released their new LinkBuds, wireless earbuds with a truly unique shape:

That chromed hole is what they refer to as an "open ring driver," and it allows you to hear your surroundings at the same time as your audio content. Sony says this feature was inspired by teenagers who keep one earbud in when hanging out with friends, walking and chewing gum at the same time, so to speak.

Despite the product name, there is no "bud" part that actually intrudes into your ear canal; the figure-8-shaped LinkBuds nestle in your outer ear, with these rubber thingies in the photo below (four sizes are included) providing enough gentle friction to keep them in place. In early reviews, how well they fit seemed to depend on the individual.

As for how you pop them into your ear, it's a little tricky to deduce from the still images; this video below gives you a better idea. It also shows you the neat trick Sony's pulled, where you can control the LinkBuds by tapping on your skin in front of the ear, as opposed to tapping the buds themselves:

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The design of the LinkBuds obviously precludes noise-canceling, but they're still fairly pricey at $180. Rather than gamble on these, I'd purchase them from someplace with a good return policy, in case they don't fit you as well as advertised.