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Bionic Eye: Clever idea, flawed execution

by Mel Martin Sep 25th 2009 at 7:00PM

Bionic Eye [iTunes link] is an augmented reality app for the iPhone that displays businesses around you superimposed over a live camera picture.

It sorta works, but doesn't solve any problem I have. It's cool to rotate around and see a Burger King logo or a Hilton Hotel logo pop up when the actual locations are nearby. The problem is, I can get that kind of information from Google Maps and hundreds of other free or paid apps that can give me the same info, although not in such a sexy way.

Even worse, the app is very, very slow. It takes Bionic Eye anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute to fully launch. If I go to the settings menu to change something, it takes another minute to absorb that change and bring me to a usable screen.

If you turn your iPhone horizontally, you can see all the nearby locations in a list, and when you select one a blue arrow points you to the actual location. Whee!

I had a couple of lockups when I went to the setting screen to make a change, which only added to my frustration. The points of interest you are searching for are limited to about a 2 mile range, so it will only guide you to places that are really close. Usually I could look up and see the destination, so I really didn't need the app in the first place. It has a limited list of locations, and they're all brand names, so if you are looking for a restaurant that is not a franchise or a hotel that is not part of a chain, it's tough luck for you.

For an additional fee, you can get guidance to subway stations in New York, Washington and Chicago. There are also versions of the app for the U.K., France and Tokyo.

Bionic Eye is only US$0.99, but it doesn't answer the first question you should ask of any app -- does it solve any real world problems I have. An app should be a novel solution to a problem or great entertainment. Bionic Eye is neither, but it has potential if it can be given a larger database, much faster load times, and crash a lot less frequently. To be fully functional, Bionic Eye requires an iPhone 3GS.




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Bionic Eye [iTunes link] is an augmented reality app for the iPhone that displays businesses around you superimposed over a live camera...
 

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11 Comments

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capoevents

I think it will develop, right now it's POI are mainstream, but we are just on the edge of things to come. Check out my entertaining review.
Agent 143 beams down Under Cover News & Hottest Tech Reviews.
www.youtube.com/spygirlguide or www.spygirlguide.com
xoxo

October 10 2009 at 11:53 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bernard Ramsey

"Execution" sounds so medieval. Why not "out of focus?" Otherwise, I agree completely.. it's s l o w

September 26 2009 at 9:11 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Jon Kessler

Bionic eye may suck now, but as someone with substantial visual impairment, I look forward to the future. This has been an apple strength for a while (compare how screen enlargement and text to speech is implemented in OS X versus Windows). It's a big reason I switched from PC.

September 26 2009 at 12:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Alan

Here is an augmented reality app that is godsend to an whole entire business sector: the satellite industry, including professional and diy installers as well as all uplink broadcasters.

DishPointer AR Pro

Here is a video how it works http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AFtcgYRcu4
and more info on dishpointer.com

It solves a real world problem, makes installations a lot faster (think of broadcasters, how important that is) and a lot easier - anyone who ever tried to point a dish at a tiny satllite 30,000 miles away knows what I'm talking about.

September 26 2009 at 7:17 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
PixPol

This is a fascinating article, one we covered earlier in the week and took a more optimistic, if somewhat cautious, opinion on. Make no mistake, in time these augmented reality devices will be another normal part of the technology device market, and it's going to make for smarter consumers.

MB
www.PixelsandPolicy.com

September 26 2009 at 3:29 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Justin

One use of augmented reality that I would like to see that might actually be useful would be geocaching; I think it might be able to squeeze some practicality out of an AR mode.

September 26 2009 at 1:59 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
robogobo

On the other hand, are you going to go write a negative review for every app that doesn't solve a problem for you?

September 26 2009 at 1:36 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
JGuest

I just don't get the point of augmented reality apps... Alright, it's a neat idea, but I don't understand who is ever going to use this? It's not practical! If I want to get somewhere I need specific directions, not a general direction in which to go. So in the end, if I want to go to Subway, I'll just pull up google maps or tom tom.

September 26 2009 at 1:08 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Ken Sykora

You just summed up all augmented reality apps in a nutshell.

September 25 2009 at 9:42 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Joe

Yelp does this with what they call "Monocle" -- built into their free app. It's a cool novelty, but it's not the easiest to read.

September 25 2009 at 8:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
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