January 3rd, 2006
EyeBud Headset for Video iPod Users
By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
CES 2006 opens on January 5, and we’re going to see all manner of new gadgets and devices introduced. Some will fail, some will succeed. Bellevue, WA-based eMagin Corp. has developed a wearable headset system, the EyeBud 800, that plugs into a video iPod and displays video from it in front of one eye. As you can see from the photo above of eMagin CEO Gary Jones, it has a sort of sci-fi look to it.
With the proximity of the screen to the eye, and the magnifying effect of the company’s optical technology, the company says that using the headset is akin to watching a 105-inch display from 12 feet away.
“Suddenly you’ve got this big-screen, movie-screen, home-theater experience, wherever you are,” said Gary Jones, eMagin’s president and CEO.
The EyeBud system uses a separate control module, about the size of the iPod, which includes a rechargeable battery pack. The headgear might garner curious looks when worn in public. But eMagin executives say they expect people to get used to the appearance, in the same way that Bluetooth headsets are no longer uncommon. Source: SeattlePI
We Say: Honestly, I don’t see this going the way of Bluetooth headsets. Splitting your vision is bound to lead to confusion and accidents and, although I’ve seen women wearing Bluetooth headsets, I doubt any would want to wear this … it reminds me of nothing so much as The Borg from Star Trek: The Next Generation … and I don’t mean Seven of Nine.
MissingFrame says:
Nothing new, somehow this got press while this:
http://www.i-glassesstore.com/i-theater.html
did not
January 3rd, 2006 at 12:33 pm
Bill M says:
LOL — if the EyeBud and those Bluetooth earpieces are Borg, the i-Theatre is pure Cylon (by your command….)
January 3rd, 2006 at 12:51 pm
Tommy Thomas says:
I bet that the 320×240 resolution will look very bad at that distance.
January 3rd, 2006 at 3:37 pm
MissingFrame says:
You’re right, 320×200 resolution looks like crap compared to regular TV, but then again, earbuds sound like crap compared to a decent sound system.
January 3rd, 2006 at 6:51 pm
Jim Huston says:
I wouldn’t now even consider buying a video iPod, because the display is just too small to bother with. The Eyebud would at least bring the size to a comfortable level, even though the resolution is no great shakes; and I don’t much care what something looks like if it does what I want it to do. I’m not sure I could get used to totally split vision, but I would have to at least think seriously about buying the two together when the price of the Eyebud comes down; a bundle would be nice. (For the sake of full disclosure, I have a small stake in eMagin.)
January 3rd, 2006 at 10:52 pm