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EyeBud can turn video iPod into big-screen TV for one
It's scheduled to debut this year for as much as $599

By TODD BISHOP
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

A company that makes video display products for military and industrial uses is setting its sights on a new market -- the iPod.

Bellevue-based eMagin Corp. has developed a wearable headset system that plugs into Apple Computer's portable media device and displays video from it in front of one eye, using optical technology designed to give the picture a higher resolution and make it appear larger than on the iPod's screen.
Gary Jones of with EyeBud
Zoom Paul Joseph Brown / P-I
Gary Jones, president and CEO of eMagin Corp. of Bellevue, demonstrates his company's new wearable display for video iPods. Using the EyeBud 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," he says.

The system, dubbed the EyeBud 800, is another entry in the booming ecosystem of accessories and complementary products that has emerged around Apple's portable music player. But this isn't in the realm of a $20 carrying case. Scheduled to debut in the first half of this year, the EyeBud is expected to retail for as much as $599 -- $200 more than the cost of a 60-gigabyte iPod.

But eMagin's executives are betting that the notion of a virtual big screen will win people over. 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.
Close-up
Zoom eMagin Corp.
A close-up of the display component of the new wearable display for video iPods by eMagin Corp., compared with the size of a quarter.

EMagin will be among the sea of companies unveiling products and seeking to drum up interest at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The EyeBud uses the same underlying technology as eMagin's more advanced Z800 3DVisor, an existing system that retails for $899. That system puts a display in front of each eye and uses head-tracking technology to let people look around virtual worlds, such as video games.

Both devices can also be used as an alternative way of viewing regular computer screens.

The 10-year-old publicly traded company, which licenses a portion of its technology from Eastman Kodak, has posted cumulative sales since its inception of $10.3 million, as of September, according to regulatory filings. Considered a development stage company until January 2003, eMagin posted a net loss of $11.7 million in the nine months ended Sept. 30, according to filings.

Although eMagin has recently started offering its own consumer products, the bigger portion of its business remains selling micro displays and optical systems as components to manufacturers of commercial, industrial and military devices.

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