INSIGHTS The Five Most Ingenious Products of 2014 By Andrew Karp Monday, December 15, 2014 12:00 AM One of the best things about my job as lens and technology editor for VM and 20/20 Magazine is getting to learn about interesting new products. Some of my favorites are ones that offer clever solutions to common problems. Here are the five most ingenious products I’ve seen in 2014. Frameri: This boutique-quality, prescription interchangeable lens and frames system lets wearers own an assortment of frames and lenses that they can mix and match. The key to the system is called—what else—“The Key,” a small ring attached to the lens that makes snapping it in and out of a frame easy. The company offers three different frame families and enough styles, colors and lens tints to create 540 options. Tzukari: These stylish, Japanese sunglasses have a tiny, solar powered iBeacon sealed inside that sends a signal to the wearer’s iPhone via Bluetooth. The iPhone alerts you if you leave your glasses behind, and a special app shows you where you left them. ThinOptics: Here’s a solution to keep you from losing your reading glasses. ThinOptics is a complete range of readers designed to fit on the back of smart phones from Apple and Samsung, as well as on a Universal Pod that will fit in a pocket or purse, or attach to the back of most smart phones, e-readers or tablets. OptiSource Job Tray Cleaner: Dried polish on job trays can scratch lenses, so OptiSource came up with a simple, effective formula to clean built-up polish from the trays. The company’s Job Tray Cleaner can be easily spread on and wiped off, and works on both traditional and robotic-style job trays. WOS Lens Splitting Plier: Removing demo lenses in the eyewire of a semi-rimless frame before inserting an actual Rx lens is an annoying task that frequently comes up in the dispensary and lab. This cool tool from Western Optical Supply allows dispensers to snap the lens out of the rimlon eyewire without damaging the nylon line. n akarp@jobson.com