Last August, ZTE used Kickstarter to poll internet users for their wish-lists for an Android handset, and now they’re taking pre-orders for Hawkeye, a $200 phone whose interface is controlled by gaze-tracking using the front-facing camera, and whose case will allow users to stick the phone to various surfaces for easy use.
The phones are $200 to pre-order and are slated to ship in September.
Details are thin on the ground, and it’s easy to see how either one of these features could go seriously awry: eye-tracking could be a battery-draining, processor hungry, unreliable mess; and adhesive backings are prone to sticking to everything except the desired surface (imagine your pocket turning inside out and spilling its contents every time you pull out your phone, while the phone itself falls from the kitchen wall and shatters in the sink).
The former comes from an iris scanning camera on the front that, working with the Android software, scrolls up, down, left and right using decisive movements of the eyes. While this is not a new concept, ZTE says that it has improved the experience considerably: “The software interprets eye motion and replaces these gesture commands in any application that supports these standard Android commands.” It appears, then, that the integration leverages Android’s existing accessibility APIs, making compatibility fairly wide. For instances where eye-tracking is limiting — page-turning in a book, for instance — voice commands will replace hand touches.The other unique feature, which for obvious reasons couldn’t be built into the Hawkeye itself, is a self-adhesive property. ZTE says that people clamoured for a way to stick their phones to various objects in lieu of actually holding them, so they’ve developed a case that adds that very feature. It’s unclear to which surfaces the case will stick, or how long the adhesive will last, but we’ll find out in the next few months.
ZTE’s insane, crowdsourced eye-tracking phone is called Hawkeye and is coming in September for $199
[Daniel Bader/Android Central]
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