Apple Hardware Prototypes: Four Radical New Concepts Revealed
Posted 11/28/2007 at 12:15am
| by Jon Phillips
iEye
Seriously—how long did you think Apple would wait before launching the ultimate camera?
What Apple did for music via the iPod, and smartphones via the iPhone, it now does for photography and video. The iEye is the ultimate mobile device for capturing, editing, and distributing all of your iLife memories. In a slim, sleek, easy-to-use package, the iEye records stills and video, all in high definition. Just shoot a bunch of content and then use the multi-touch interface to explore your creative chakras anytime, anywhere.

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1. A camera just wouldn’t be a camera if it didn’t have a shutter button. The iEye’s single button also serves as a Home button, easing navigation regardless of which menu you’re in.
2. The physical dimensions of the iEye are pretty much identical to those of the iPhone, give or take a few smidgens. Notice, however, the larger swath of screen real estate. The extra room is appreciated during content editing. When you’re in recording mode, the display orientation corrects itself as you transition from landscape to portrait shooting. Oh, but of course.
3. The iEye product line offers optics, resolutions, and capacities for every price range. The sweet spot of the line, however, represents a bounty of features for just $499: 720p HD video, 5.1-megapixel stills, 12GB of flash memory, and a large-capacity lithium-ion battery hardwired inside. Optical zoom is limited to 3x because Apple wanted a lens that would be flush with the iEye’s surface when fully extended. Lens cap, you ask? Third-party developers will be creating all-encompassing “iEye Tents” by the dozens!
4. The 30-pin connector makes a comeback. Dock your iEye to transfer files or just power up the battery.
Our little doble ojo (which we suspect will be nicknamed “ai-yai-yai!”) includes lite versions of iPhoto and iMovie. By pinching and tapping the camera’s touchscreen, you can mash all your memories together with the simple editing software you’ve come to know so well. You can also grab titles, transitions, borders, and music from built-in theme libraries, creating slideshows and movies that are almost disarming in their polish and finesse. And don’t worry about growing tired of the built-in themes, because iEye users can create their own custom template material and share it online.
Your iEye projects can be packaged and transferred to your Mac for final editing—but that’s only necessary if you want to go full-tilt Ken Burns or Jim Jarmusch on what you’ve created. We think most users will tap into the onboard wireless protocols (Wi-Fi and 3G) to send their masterpieces to friends or to post them to a .Mac account.
Besides adding legitimate, no-excuses content editing to a dual-purpose handheld camera, the iEye simplifies—perfects, actually—the onscreen UIs that leave most digital camera users crying for help from more tech-savvy friends (or people who actually read the manuals). The iEye control menus are easy to access and even easier to understand. It’s inevitable that Apple would try its hand in the digital camera/camcorder space, especially when so many competing products have been screaming for the new multi-touch UI. Throw in mobile versions of iPhoto and iMovie, and you have a handheld wonder that epitomizes Apple’s “create, share, enjoy” mantra.