If you’ve ever longed for a way to dunk your cookies virtually hands-free, your heart’s desire has just been satisfied with the patent-pending Dunkin’ Buddy. The cookie dunking device is compatible with nearly all shapes and sizes of standard, pre-packaged cookie found in your favorite grocery store’s cookie isle. And for you ultimate cookie dunking fanatics out there, you can actually dunk up to two cookies at once – one to eat out of each hand. Dunkin’ Buddy functions via magnetic attraction. The cookies go in the cookie holder which is compatible with a standard sized mug, while the magnetized dunking device remains on the outside the cup. And at the ready for the whim of the cookie owner, volia! Dunked delight! For at least $12, backers get one Dunkin’ Buddy in their choice of blue or pink, with an estimated delivery of June 2014.
Month: February 2014
PC gamers have finally found a replacement for their keyboards – when it comes to gaming, anyway. The developers at Sinister have created a game controller that works in conjunction with a mouse and utilizes new technology to deliver higher quality vibrations. This control helps gamers feel like they are truly in the game and can create an immersion experience. Any USB enabled mouse will plug right into the Sinister controller and begin working immediately. With the flip of a switch, the mouse disengages and works as per usual on the desktop. The early bird special on this new technology is $100 CAD and the device is slated to ship in April 2014.
A bunch of golf lovers led by “Dirty Larry” Feiistel (who seems like quite the clean-cut fellow) got together to develop a product to help other people learn how to golf. This training aid helps new golfers improve their putting game. It involves an attachment to a putter that helps the golfer realize the alignment of the base of the putter, which in turn, determines the direction that the ball will go. They say that it improves the swing after just 15 minutes of use; that might be a tall order, but it’s not impossible. The developers are asking for $60 to get the first run of the Navigator, which seems to be a big step up for an idea that was borne out of pipe cleaners. It is due to navigate its way to backers in April 2014.
The Premise. Almost every sport has a dedicated shoe that helps improve performance and makes the experience of playing the sport better. But what about jumping rope? Many athletes jump rope extensively as part of their training, and their is also a whole world of competitive jump roping. Well, now, they have a specialized shoe.
The Product. The RoPix Jump Rope Shoe is designed to help jump ropers jump higher, work out longer, decrease pain and increase their overall fitness level. The shoes have extra internal padding that cushions and helps with rebound. In addition, they are lightweight and don’t have long laces that might get caught in the jumprope.
The Pitch. The video goes into great detail about the shoe itself, as well as the reasons for using Kickstarter. The text provides lots of diagrams and the evolution of the different shoes, as well as showing the user that RoPix is the official shoe of USA Jump Rope. The video also states alternate uses for the shoes, like yoga or martial arts.
The Perks. Aside from providing a great all-around shoe, this shoe really delivers for anyone who spends a lot of time jumping rope. Early birds will get a pair of the shoes for $55 – which is practically a steal for any type of sporting shoe! The shoes are available in multiple sizes and colors and are slated for delivery in May 2014.
The Potential. These lightweight, breathable shoes offer a lot of versatility and could soon be a staple in every athlete’s closet. Shoes like this are great because people are cutting back on their gym memberships and doing more workouts at home. Jumping rope is one of the most simple and effective exercises a person can do, and these shoes will help an athlete jumping longer, faster, and with less pain. That’s absolutely a win.
Amateur filmmakers have been revolutionizing at-home videos with the GoPro mountable camera, and innovators are constantly looking for ways to help videographers mount those cameras in new places. The Window-Wedge eschews suction cups and lets users to easily attach their GoPro camera to the window of almost any car by simply clipping the mount to the top of the car window. As an added bonus, the mount works to film the interior and exterior of the car. So if backers wanted to film the occupants of a vehicle having an argument for a short film (right, Jerry Seinfeld?), or film a car chase scene in the rain, they could do it. That’s right – the mount creates a water-tight seal, so the interior of the car isn’t going to suffer. The early bird offer on the deal is $15 for the Window-Wedge, which is a really good price for camera equipment.
Ever wondered what it would be like to ride an aluminum skateboard? Well, these guys did, so they developed one. The AlumaDeck is much more durable than your average skateboard, so serious skaters can get some really good use out of it. It’s also lighter than an average board and won’t warp if you ride through water. The video features skaters that wax poetic about the board’s handling and durability. However, you’ve got to be willing to drop $150 just to get a short board, so only serious skaters need to kickflip over to this deal.
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Nik Conomos has designed the Ultima S as a follow-up to its previous crowdfunded iPhone car mount. The project creator says that it also rivals the former model for being stylishly sleek. However, the all-aluminum iPhone holder is apparently an improvement on its previously best car mount, complete with a suction cup of super strong sucking power and an improved ball joint that stabilizes iPhones in their holders. It’s compatible with iPhones that have either a flat or slightly rounded back. A pledge of at least $45 will get a backer an Ultima S Car Mount in either silver or matte black with an expected delivery date of May 2014.
Gone are the giant dinosaurs known as desktops, but we may have gotten overzealous when we banished the keyboard from our touch screen-populated lives. And while there are plenty of products trying to fill that all important accessory’s place, the $99 CruxENCORE means to best all of them. A follow-up from the company’s CruxSKUNK but for the iPad Air, it also dons precision designed button, speaker, lighting and camera-port features, aircraft-grade 6063 aluminum construction, eight color combinations, Bluetooth connectivity, raised keys to emulate the Macbook typing experience, and a 3600 mAh Lithium-ion battery that provides a month of life. The most unique of the CruxENCORE’s features, however, is the locking, 360-degree hinge, which holds your iPad in any position without letting it tipping over, and latches shut, keeping your screen safely locked away. There are also stylus, sleeve and bag accessory options. This is a strong value compared to other iPad keyboards, like 2012’s Brydge, which has built-in speakers, but doesn’t lock, has only 180 degrees of hinge movement, and is over twice the price.
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Aarrgh! There goes my iPhone cable again! Seems like those things are always falling onto the floor, flying away like a spastic snake. The good news is that Kero Cable Weight easily converts an iPhone 5 cable into a weighted doc. The aluminum quasi-dock block has slots for the iPhone connector and its attached cord that allow the iPhone to sit upright at most any dedicated charging area and mobile work station. The iPhone Lightning cable remains anchored, docked and incapable of sailing off into the sunset — or falling onto the floor. One concern: because it is fitted so precisely to Apple cable specifications, third-party cables may not work. A pledge of $18 gets a backer a KERO Cable Weight in their choice of black or silver, with an expected delivery date of June 2014.
The Premise. While any PC gamer worth their kill/death ratio will say that keyboard and mouse is the only way to play, many games have had to optimize their control scheme to operate with a hand on each. More complicated games or any game with text chat requires players to take a hand off the mouse and slow their game down to communicate.
The Product. The King’s Assembly from Solid Art Labs is an intimidating but smart solution to this problem that combines keyboard, mouse, and joystick into a one- or two-handed system that looks like the love child of a typewriter and an air hockey paddle. By using a rest for the palm and a downward sweeping curved keyboard, gamers have access to more keys than ever without having to move their hands around. And by using an optical laser on the bottom, the device can be moved around like a mouse without having to change hand position.
The Pitch. Engineer, gamer, and founder of Solid Art Labs Eric Charlton explains how he designed the King’s Assembly to satisfy his personal gaming needs and demos the product. Campaign graphics show off the console-inspired thumb joystick, ergonomic palm rest, and a look at the unique curved keyboard. The project is looking to raise $20,000 to create molds, develop packaging and complete testing. Multiple stretch goals are announced, starting with upgrading the parts and making the device work with as many hand shapes and sizes as possible at $50,000. $100,000 will have the King’s Assembly bundled with presets designed by pro gamers for specific games and onboard macros. At $150,000 the company will add more colors, programmable backlighting and other style options, and at $250,000 the device will become fully wireless, both in connection to the PC and to each hand of the device.
The Perks. To get one hand of choice of the King’s Assembly by September takes a $110 pledge. Both hands are available for $185. If that’s too long to wait, a $350 pledge is all it takes to get a signed pre-production set by July.
The Potential. The unique approach of the King’s Assembly means it will have a hard time competing with established or traditional gaming peripheral manufacturers like Razer and Roccat, but all it will really take is for one pro to adopt and endorse this device for it to catch on with curious gamers.