back to article iPad? Pah. Behold the EYEPAD, patented by Sony for the 'PS4'

Sony has filed for a patent in Europe on the EyePad, a fondleslab with glowing edges that could be a controller for the PlayStation 4. The fresh paperwork, which was published this month after Sony submitted it last July, "is typically a panel, tablet or slab-like device comprising one or more illuminated regions, two …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    "The device is called an EyePad not to primarily annoy Apple"

    But it will help and that's surely a good thing.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "The device is called an EyePad not to primarily annoy Apple"

      Doesn't really matter. Who goes into a shop and asks for something these days?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        re: Who goes into a shop and asks for something these days?

        You know when mummy and daddy go out on a friday evening and come back with all those carrier bags? They've been shopping....

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: re: Who goes into a shop and asks for something these days?

          My father is the Tesco delivery driver!?

          1. thesykes

            Re: re: Who goes into a shop and asks for something these days?

            well... the neighbours were wondering why your mother was getting a "delivery" every day....

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: re: Who goes into a shop and asks for something these days?

            "My father is the Tesco delivery driver!?"

            How often does he have to take items back as the member of staff picking things out in the store has chosen to select everything with tomorrow's best before date?

            1. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
              Devil

              Re: re: Who goes into a shop and asks for something these days?

              I hear the fruity ones are to enter the haberdashery market with an Italian silk cravat, it's to be called the iTie.

              1. Euripides Pants

                Re: iTie

                They're also going to make a TV show about secret agents called iSpy.

                1. Anonymous Coward
                  Anonymous Coward

                  Re: iSpy

                  They can't - iceland have already trademarked the name Ice Pie, and Findus have managed to get Ice Pie-bald :-)

    2. This post has been deleted by its author

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "The device is called an EyePad not to primarily annoy Apple"

      Yeah dead smart. It seems clear they are trying to ride on Apple's iPad - what next an EyeMac and an EyeTV and an EyeAnythingElseAppleDo.

      1. g e
        Paris Hilton

        Riding on

        Yeah cos apple didn't have to buy/rent 'iOS' and 'iPhone' from Cisco or Fujitsu, did they.

        Paris, cos there's only one thing fanbois ride on.

      2. jai

        Re: "The device is called an EyePad not to primarily annoy Apple"

        EyeTV is already used by Elgato:

        http://www.elgato.com/elgato/int/mainmenu/home/what-is-eyetv.en.html

      3. Naughtyhorse

        Re: "The device is called an EyePad not to primarily annoy Apple"

        yup!

        it would appear that in their rush to secure a gazillion pointless, absurd, unenforcable, prior art-a-pleny patents apple seem to have fucked up and not patented/coprighted/trademarked the letter i.

        tossers

    4. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: "The device is called an EyePad not to primarily annoy Apple"

      I can see it now in John Lewis

      "Hello sales assistant I would like an iPad"

      "OK sir would you like the 32 gig iPad or the 64 gig iPad?"

      "No you misunderstand me I want the one with the root kit"

      "Oh you mean the EyePad well you should have said!"

      1. Philip Lewis
        Headmaster

        Re: "The device is called an EyePad not to primarily annoy Apple"

        Aren't homonyms fun!

  2. 1Rafayal
    Mushroom

    This is going to be a blood bath

    1. Naughtyhorse
      Thumb Up

      :-D

      Popcorn anyone?

    2. Captain Scarlet
      Windows

      Well

      Maybe but because they used the name for their webcam (EyeToy) I can see them getting away with name usage.

      The actual pad though looks to generic for me

      1. The Indomitable Gall

        Re: Well

        The pad is really not that generic. If you look closely, you'll see that it's not even a rectangle.

        As Sony is a very rich company, I'm assuming their designers understand something called "perspective", therefore taking their drawing as Gospel, it must be a non-orthogonal pad, which is something entirely new....

      2. Steve I
        Go

        Re: Well

        But if the camera was EyeToy, then the tablet should be StrokeToy or FeelToy, not EyePad...

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Stroke Toy/Feel Toy

          I think they wanted to combine the two into Stroke Eye - but Anne Summers already had that one.

  3. GitMeMyShootinIrons

    You know those edges.....

    ..... Do they have corners? I'm sure someone has the exclusive patent for those....

  4. Khaptain Silver badge
    Coat

    Skull and crossbones

    With a cleverly designed logo they could call it the "AyePad".

    What say ye Captain..,.

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Pirate

      Re: Skull and crossbones

      I says buggeration to your electronic gewgaws and gizmos, pass me the rum! And I'll keelhaul the first lawyer who sets foot on me boat!

    2. pepper
      Coat

      Re: Skull and crossbones

      If you go that far, why not the whole way too the ArrPad?

      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

        Re: Skull and crossbones

        I kid I know was in his nursery Christmas play a few years back. Obviously he was the pirate (for reasons to become apparent), although I'm unsure which of the gospels mentions any pirates in the nativity story. I doubt there's even anything in the Dead Sea Scrolls... Anyway, they dressed him, and went to send him out on stage, when a little voice said, "excuse me, you've put the eye-patch over my wrong eye, and I can't see." Turns out his glass eye looked more realistic than the real one...

        Damnation! I can't see where's I be goin'! My iPatch is covering the wrong eye! Would have been funnier, but he was only 4.

        I wonder if he was the one that brought the baby Jesus the gift of rum, and so got written out of the story... I've no idea what you'd do with myrrh nowadays, but everyone can find a use for a bottle of rum. It was obviously popular, because Jesus's first miracle was to turn water into wine, and save a party from disaster.

      2. I am the Walrus
        Coat

        Re: Skull and crossbones

        Be carefull. You'll have to mind your p's and q's getting from Eye to Arr!

  5. lvm

    too bad the eyephone is already taken

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaHUpWuqNHY

    1. Andy Fletcher

      Re: too bad the eyephone is already taken

      Best episode ever. And I saw Obsoletely Fabulous so it's saying something. The EyePhone isn't the half of it.

  6. Longrod_von_Hugendong
    FAIL

    FFS...

    When will the far east innovate rather than bandwagon?

    'Hey samsung copies everything, my be we should too'

    1. sabroni Silver badge

      Re: FFS...

      Yeah, all those original ideas that Apple has.... They invented the icon you know! And the touchscreen. And the mobile phone! And the tablet computer! And the walkman!

      1. Naughtyhorse

        Re: FFS...

        and the rectangle

        and the apple leaf

        oh and the apple

      2. Ronny Cook

        Re: FFS...

        Sure you you mean the iCon.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: FFS...

      I hate stubbornly arrogant people.

      Apple invented shite all.

      1. sabroni Silver badge

        @ Obviously!, re: I hate stubbornly arrogant people.

        Are you taking the piss?

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: FFS...

        @Obviously bitter and twisted

    3. Naughtyhorse

      Re: FFS...

      hmm im sure i saw the words from the previous post used elsewhere, and those letters have a familliar ring too.

      well im not reading it if it's not 100% original

    4. sisk

      Re: FFS...

      Actually I don't think I'd accuse them of copying Apple here. I'm thinking their eyes were trained more at Nintendo, and the EyePad name was just an ill thought out application of their existing naming convention.

      Or am I the only one who sees this and immediately thinks of the Wii U?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Uh oh, this has shades of microsoft vs mikerowesoft about it.

    Except without the corporate bullying of a student of course.

  8. RainForestGuppy

    Soft southerners

    I'm waiting for the tough northern tablet computer. Yep the Why-Aye-Pad!!

    1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
      Happy

      Re: Soft southerners

      The Why-Aye-Pad is soooo tough, that it disnae need a case. If you're going to use it in really difficult conditions, say on an Antarctic building site, we do sell a t-shirt for it.

  9. markw:

    Sasanach!

    The och aye pad.

    Or the new och aye the noo pad...

    1. Naughtyhorse
      Coat

      Re: Sasanach!

      isn't that the upgrade... the och-aye-noo

      noo??

      okay

    2. Dick Pountain

      Re: Sasanach!

      I have the OiPad which has a 16-hole lace-up case made by Dr Marten

  10. Dave 62
    WTF?

    I.. what?

    *checks date*

    F-F.....February fools?

    On a more serious note, I don't want a fucking tablet for a playstation controller!

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Thank you for sharing that. However, lots of people use their PS3 for watching streamed video, and using the joypad to enter text into searches isn't great. A virtual keyboard on a tablet would be okay.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        "A virtual keyboard on a tablet would be okay"

        I won't be assuming that Sony will do anything worthwhile with this tech if it does launch, they certainly didn't do much worth knowing about with Move.

        If you discount all the hastey patch jobs on existing games to make them compatible for no good reason the thing was pretty much just abandonded after a few good launch titles.

        I will however assume that the full potential of anything sony does will remain locked to the user. I look forward to being proved wrong.

        1. Dave 126 Silver badge

          For sure, I haven't been persuaded to get a Move, and am far from convinced how well integrating it into this tablet will work. I was just observing that whilst a tablet might not be great as a games controller (Tekken: No. Real Time Strategy games: Maybe), it makes a reasonable companion to a TV-connected media player.

      2. Craig Chambers
        Stop

        USB keyboard

        £5 for a decent USB keyboard from a supermarket. Significantly cheaper for the task you describe, and already works on the PS3.

  11. danielm

    I've had an Eyepad for ages...

    http://hexus.net/gaming/reviews/hardware/4446-mouse-mat-group-test/?page=4

    Great mat.

  12. Danny 5
    WTF?

    wtf?

    Again i'm reading about possible PS4 toys, which seem like a 1 on 1 copy from the pad used by the WiiU.

    Why am i yet to read about the Microsoft Illumiroom? Which imho is going to be a gamechanging feature?

    For gods sake, i don't want to read about Sony making crap copies of Nintendo gear, i want to read about things that are actually new.

    1. Richard 81

      Re: wtf?

      "Why am i yet to read about the Microsoft Illumiroom? Which imho is going to be a gamechanging feature?"

      I had to Google that. I'm afraid I'm less than impressed.

      I agree that it's going to be a game changer though. It'll change games that were otherwise enjoyable into silly light shows.

      1. Danny 5
        Meh

        Re: wtf?

        I've shared this information with pretty much all my gamer friends and they're all very possitive about it, so i'm going to attribute your negative comment to you being a sourpuss.

        You are literally the first person to not be impressed, so i'm afraid your opinion doesn't mean anything to me in this case.

        1. sabroni Silver badge
          Unhappy

          Re: "You are literally the first person to not be impressed

          so your opinion doesn't mean anything."

          I'm just following the flock.

          Like Sony following after Nintendo...

  13. Eddie Edwards
    FAIL

    It's passing off, obviously, but

    It's passing off, obviously, but what better way to stand in the shadow of the company that beat you in the market, than by mimicking one of their figurehead trademarks as a lame semi-joke?

    Someone at Sony isn't thinking straight.

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: It's passing off, obviously, but

      Remember, a patent application is no sure indication of future products. Developing products requires some experimentation, implying you create some concepts that probably won't work out- but still, there is no harm in applying for a patent on these 'also ran' concepts. The cost of making the application is small enough that it is worth hedging your bets,

    2. MJI Silver badge

      Re: Eye <> square root of -1

      The word eye is not the same as i.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I only hope...

    That this will be an accessory and won't replace the dual-shock controller; I just love that critter. You get a lot of controls at your fingertips and quite frankly the force feedback in that thing never stops to amaze me (provided its put to good use of course; some games excel in this, while others fail miserably).

    1. Dave 126 Silver badge

      Re: I only hope...

      It won't replace the Dualshock- is a venerable design indeed. I had a book, 'Digital Dreams: The Work of the Sony Design Studio' that showed dozens of foam mock-ups of conceptual PS controllers, of which the Dualshock is a variation. The design that they eventually used was very similar to one of the first they created.

      Since the Bluetooth Dualshock can be persuaded to work with Android or Windows with software (ironically, the XBOX wireless controller requires a proprietry dongle for PCs) Sony should aim it (or a more compact design, as SteelSeries have) at the mobile gaming crowd rather than promote its Playstation-branded phones.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Obligatory Hawk the Slayer reference

    See how it glooooows!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORXmKxe-iHk

    1. Richard 81

      Re: Obligatory Hawk the Slayer reference

      Hawk the Slayer's rubbish!

  16. Joe Pineapples
    Happy

    I can see the Apple Legal Eagles Preparing the lawsuit from here

    It has a screen, is square, with slightly rounded edges. A blatant infringement.

  17. Jon Double Nice

    This is just Sonys initial spec to get the headlines

    By the time it comes out it will have been reduced to the back of an envelope that a bank statement came in, half a crayon and a sachet of mayonaise cadged from Weatherspoons.

  18. Snowy Silver badge
    Mushroom

    Looks like they are copying Nintendo again just like they did with the Wii remote (move). Which is funny has they dismissed both of the ideas saying they where not going to work.

    1. MJI Silver badge

      Move research started AFAIR in 2000

      As to pad - more likely to use Vita for that.

      Most likely preemptive patenting

  19. beep54
    Devil

    While this is amusing, the product itself is from Sony and who in the hell wants to rent, er, I mean 'buy' anything at all from them

  20. We're all in it together
    Joke

    Depends where it's made

    If you crossed the Wii controller with the new PS4 controller and it was made in a factory on the Tyne would it be known as the why eye pad? Apple's legal team could have a lie in with that one.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So...these Eye Toys

    they are made in Japan, yes......just asking :-)

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