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'EyeBud' for the iPod Video

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the wearable-hardware-hackers-rejoice dept.

JonathanGCohen writes "The SeattlePI is reporting that eMagin, a company that makes video display products for military and industrial uses, has a new headset accessory for the iPod that projects video on to a screen smaller than a quarter that is mounted in front of one eye. Its makers say this creates the illusion of watching a 105 inch screen from a distance of 12 feet." The only problem is that the expected retail value of the EyeBud is around $600, about $200 more than a 60 gigabyte iPod.

8 of 231 comments (clear)

  1. Sounds cool, but... by Ruff_ilb · · Score: 2, Interesting

    a) How well does it function? These things in the past have had dubious functionality, I'm not about to buy one now... coupled with
    b) It costs a LOT - Lets face it, this better be one amazing product if it costs 600$. And I haven't exactly seen any reviews yet, either.

    Another poster did mention that the apple market is trend-driven, but this is different. It's unlikely that this'll get the publicity needed to get off the ground, and unlike other apple products, this isn't immediately "hip". It's not visually appealing, it's not white or shiny, and it's not branded heavily with snappy commercials touting the apple logo.

    Sorry, I'm writing this one off.

    --
    http://www.TheGamerNation.com/Forums
  2. digital camera use by Maskirovka · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Given that nearly all digital still cameras, and all digital video cameras have video out (usually RCA), I could see some photographers buying this as a chimping tool.

  3. This is not totally new by ishmalius · · Score: 2, Interesting
    If you have been keeping track of the "wearable computing" market recently, you would know that something like this has existed for years. The one I have seen is a clip-on for a pair of eyeglasses, and which holds the tiny screen a few cm in front of the left eye.

    I think that the "newness" part of this is that it is specifically designed for an iPod.

  4. Yeah, Like I'm Going to See This? by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Even with correctable glasses I can't focus on anything closer than about 4 inches. You think I -- and anybody else my age with the natural progression of eyesight as we age -- are going to be able to watch this thing?

    And what about the eyestrain of focusing to close over a long period of time (e.g. 2hr35min Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire)?

    Until the laser writes directly on the retina and corrects automatically for vision problems, I don't think this is for me.

    --
    "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
  5. Re:Or... by EnsilZah · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wonder if also creates the illusion that you're blind in one eye, because i usually watch movies with two of them.

  6. iBud by sanman2 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Why didn't they call it the iBud? Doesn't that fit with the nomenclature more? Or did some marketing type not see what was plainly in front of their i's? Anyway, interfaces like this -- however good/bad this particular model is -- are the future way to go. iPiece? iLash? iPatch? Actually, an iPatch could look kinduv cool, in a Pirate sort of way. Pirates in the Slashdot crowd? Nah, perish the thought.

  7. So...? by Idarubicin · · Score: 3, Interesting
    The only problem is that the expected retail value of the EyeBud is around $600, about $200 more than a 60 gigabyte iPod.

    It's too bad that nobody will buy a $600 television to go with their $200 VCR/DVD player, either....

    --
    ~Idarubicin
  8. sony glasstron by pintomp3 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    how different is this from the sony glasstron from a few year's ago? seems worse, only one eye. i guess as long as you plug it into an ipod, it's cool again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasstron