Thomas Miller has come up with the IEye concept that was submitted as an entry to the “Create the Future Contest”, and this concept touches on extending the life of personal media players by featuring the added functionalities of both a digital video still camera and a microphone. Granted, consumer electronics move at such a fast pace that the only “new” thing you have is always in the pipeline and never in your hands. Once you purchase something from a shop, it is already obsolete as there is always another faster, slimmer, and possesses better functions right ahead.

The IEye not only captures still images, it also doubles up as a storage device and a place where you can view the content which is being recorded. This content can later be transferred over to a computer for editing or burning purposes. In addition, the inclusion of a microphone turns your device into a portable video conferencing device that streams both audio and video wirelessly via WiFi or 3G. I wonder whether the IEye comes with its very own battery, as most devices these days are already starved for power so having another add-on leech even more juice would not be a very bright idea no matter what the added benefits are that come with it.

While this is a noble idea, I’m not too sure that such an add-on will really take off in the long run. After all, not all portable media players are alike, and some of them only play nice with proprietary connectors. Until there is a standardization of features across the board where all manufacturers adhere to, you can never fully roll out such an idea. Take the iPod for example - because of its immense popularity, it is able to connect to many different vehicles and speaker docks. But what about accessories for more obscure and lesser known devices? Those definitely won’t fit onto the iPod, even though there are dock connectors around. Still, once an agreement is reached by all device manufacturers, it would be nice to see the IEye be a universal add-on without the need for adapters of any sort.

Source: Gizmag