Eyeing For Market Dominance

The much anticipated arrival of the successor to the Eye Toy is here. In a Friday press release, Sony has announced that the newest version will be available to American fan boys in the summer and to European fan boys in the fall. In addition, Sony’s revolutionary brand will also get a name change. As if to usher in next-generation interactivity, the Eye Toy will become the Eye. The cost of this uber accessory was not disclosed. But, if the prices of Sony’s current accessories are a guide, the cost will fall within the range of $25 to $100.

The Eye, at least from the disclosed specs, is a powerful compliment to the PS3. The Eye is designed to utilize the power of the PS3 for use over the PlayStation Network. The accessory is capable of a frame rate up to 120 frames per second, which allows for a significant reduction in video distortion. In addition, the Eye includes the following features:

1. enhanced microphone capable of reducing noise
2. option to save captured video and audio files to PS3 hard drive
3. tuned to work in low light environments
4. slow motion and time-lapse modes
5. Eye Create editing software

In response to the unveiling of the Eye, the president of Sony’s European entertainment division expects it will “dramatically improve communications experience enjoyed on PS3.” We all hope that the Eye is a much clearer communicator than the guys running Sony.

Technical Specs:

- 4 channel audio input:16 bits/channel, 48kHz, SNR 90db
- 56º to 75º Field of View zoom lens
- 2.1 F-stop, <1% distortion, fixed focus (25cm to 8 at 75º FOV)
- 640 x 480 at 60 frames/second
- 320 x 240 at 120 frames/second
- USB2 high-speed data transfer
- Uncompressed video or optional JPEG compression