Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Music

TWIG headphone cord wrap visits the “Y”

twigIt would be difficult to find someone without a device that can use headphones on their person. Yet many don’t, partially due to personal preference, but also largely in part because of the inconvenience of carrying headphones all day. Not to be confused with the Twig stand that evolved into the Torso, the TWIG is an earbud-compatible cord wrap that is simple in design yet capable of revolutionizing the way headphones are transported. The earbuds slide into each side of the TWIG’s y-shape, and the cord can be wrapped 8 times, leaving the volume control always in a snug, natural position. TWIGs will be sent out in July 2014 to backers who pledge a minimum of $7.

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Accents Connected Objects

Smart O’Clock keeps you on top of scheduled appointments

smartoclockWhen planning a day around appointment notifications, there doesn’t appear to be a middle ground. Pop-up alerts or alarms either seem to happen too early to be significant and are quickly closed, or so late that the only option is to stop everything and run out the door. The Smart O’Clock combines the display of a standard wall or desk clock with Bluetooth Low Energy and electronic ink to solve this problem. Using a standard analog clock face with an extra segmented ring, the Smart O’Clock syncs up to any calendar app on iOS or Android phones and blacks out segments of the day that are already spoken for with activities. The approach seems more useful than the e-ink-based aclock. Smart O’Clock will arrive to customers who pledge at least $69 in July 2014.

Categories
Toys

ME Model Railway System expands Lego train options

Me Models Railway SystemToy train sets have been a favorite for kids and future engineers for many years. Lego has their own version of the toy train set for a long time, but has a few limitations. The ME Model Railway System has taken the Lego model and expanded upon it, offering a more versatile range of rail shapes and sizes. With this freedom, kids are able to create more elaborate rail systems than they could before. Backers can enjoy a sampling of the different pieces in this set for only $12 with an estimated delivery date of September 2014. ME Models needs to raise $79,000 in a 30-day Kickstarter campaign.

Categories
Connected Objects Imaging

Famatic tries tapping into the senior market with a cloud-connected photo viewer

The Premise. There’s nothing that grandparents love more than photos of their grandkids. Photo sharing these days is easy with the Internet and social media, but grandparents are notorious for having trouble using these new technologies. From a distance, sharing photos with older people can be difficult.

The Product. Famatic is a digital picture frame with an added touch screen bonus. People can share photos via wi-fi directly to the frame so that grandparents can enjoy a slideshow of new material right from their living room. The 8 GB device connects to Instagram, Facebook and e-mail as well so that people sharing on these platforms can easily upload their photos or videos to Famatic. The screen shows who shared the photo or video along with the caption and allows users to comment on each photo.

The Pitch. Famatic’s pitch begins with a charming video showing a family using the product with ease. It manages to use the same infomercial format that many campaigns use, but does so in a cute way that will make you laugh. The Famatic creators express an interest in the rest of the campaign to connect their product to more social media, including Flickr and Picasa. Famatic hopes to raise $75,000 in their 42-day Kickstarter campaign.

The Perks. This-amped up digital frame from the Netherlands offers a $169 early-bird special for the U.S. which includes shipping and a $209 international early-bird special with shipping included for the EU. At its regular price, the Famatic frame costs Americans $189 and the rest of the world $229. The highest reward tier of $329 offers different color options for backers. All tiers have an estimated delivery date of October 2014.

The Potential. The glory days of the digital photo frame have faded in the wake of tablet popularity. However, cloud-connected frames have some potential. Prior to leaving the consumer imaging market, Kodak had some success with the Kodak Pulse More recently, Flink went the crowdfunding route for its cloud-connected picture viewer, but fell short in its campaign. That said, Famatic is a promising way to share photos with friends and families alike and will improve as its creators add to their product in the future.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Safety Wearables

SafeRing provides a Bluetooth panic button on your finger

saferingPersonal safety is always a concern, but being able to feel safe while discreetly alerting the authorities is a difficult balance to maintain. The SafeRing appears to be a normal ring accessory but is actually a powerful smartphone tool. With a miniature switch designed to avoid accidental triggering, the SafeRing can trigger the alarms on your phone and send GPS data to an emergency contact via text. It’s a low-key version of the Cuff line of Bluetooth-enabled safety jewelry. The ring can also be put to other non-emergency uses, such as locating a lost phone or activating a camera for a hands-free selfie. Backers can get a SafeRing in September 2014 for $35.

Categories
Imaging Lighting

RagLite weds LEDs to fabric for a flexible photographers’ friend

RagLiteFlashlights, portable headlights, keychain lights and other lighting systems aim to provide convenience and light when on the go. Most of these types of lights are either bulky or don’t provide enough light when necessary. The RagLite combines portability and extra bright luminance to make a lighting system that is effective and easy to carry. RagLite consists of several strips of LED lights affixed to a piece of fabric. It comes in different sizes and is super lightweight and portable so that it can be taken anywhere. One mini RagLite costs backers $75 with an estimated delivery date of October 2014. This cool, yet expensive product, needs to raise $25,000 in its 60-day Kickstarter campaign.

Categories
Connected Objects

Cubic ORBneXt is an artful light that provides color-coded notifications

The Premise. As great as smartphones are, the frequency with which they alert users with notifications can be extremely distracting. Setting custom notifications can single out the truly important information, but can be time-consuming to set up and can be impolite in social situations.

The Product. The ORBneXt is an updated version of the Orb art piece/single-pixel notifier created by Ambient Devices in its early days. It’s a hand-held, easy to use accessory that can sync up with any phone wirelessly and display notification information through a series of ambient colors. The ORBneXt connects to a phone and its Wi-Fi network by resting on top of the device, and then , using a blinking-light sequence similar to the one used by Quirky’s smart devices, can be programmed through its app to monitor information like weather, sports scores, stocks, and more. That information can then be tied to colors (for example, turn red when the weather’s getting warmer), so that the displaying color carries with it information that matters to its user’s life. The ORBneXt is made with a stylish Japanese glass housing, and has an easily modifiable brain in addition to its flexible IFTTT-enabled app.

The Pitch. The creative minds at Ambient Lumonics Labs show off the ORBneXt inside and out with their campaign information. The video focuses on the everyday use of the device while the photos and text cover all the technical details and stress how easy the device is to customize for any need. A second video that demos the product does a better job of selling the device’s strengths for the end user. Advanced Lumonics Labs needs $12,000 to complete a market-ready product in order to apply for certifications.

The Perks. Backers looking to score an ORBneXt can have one by August for a pledge of $79. Anyone with one of the older Ambient ORB devices can retrofit it to function as an ORBneXt for $69, with self-installation. If that’s too long to wait, a prototype of the device is available in June for $500.

The Potential. The flexibility of the ORBneXt’s internal hardware and its app belie the simplicity of the information it can display. Unfortunately, without being able to acknowledge a notification and clear it or get more precise details without unlocking the phone and looking at the app, its effectiveness is limited. The device does look sharp at home on a desk or in the office, but the amount of time it saves is measured in small bursts of seconds, and might not be worth it for some. Like the original Ambient ORB, the ORBneXt’s appealing form is overshadowed by its lack of function.

Categories
Personal Transportation

No hoverboard, no problem: Baja Board would leave it in the dust

bajaboardEver long for more speed when riding a skateboard or longboard? The BajaBoard combines the basic structure of a skateboard with a little bit more umph under the deck. This powered device can reach a speed of up to 50 km/hr and has a power rating of 1,200W with a 3,000W motor. Shock absorbers like those found on a mountain bike guarantee a smooth ride. One of these Aussie made products costs backers a whopping base price of $3,850 AUD with rising prices once the early tiers are gone with an estimated delivery date of December 2014. BajaBoard needs to raise $200,000 AUD on Kickstarter in a 30-day campaign.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Chargers/Batteries

The Feeling Skin iPhone case is a high-concept hump for your nonverbal social circle

The Premise. No matter how hard people try, it seems like once high school and university are complete, it’s hard to maintain the same level of friendship with people. As friends move away and professional and family lives become more prominent, keeping closely in touch with people grows more difficult.

The Product. The Feeling Skin is a case for iPhone 5 and 5S that aims to bring back that simple, honest level of communication by creating simple, easy-access notifications. The display light on the Feeling Skin glows either blue or red to show when friends are in a good or bad mood respectively. To display a mood, users record a video of their current location and situation and display a mood to it. For those that want to be proactive, a button is available at the bottom of the case to ping added friends to post their current mood. Additionally, the Feeling Skin acts as a battery pack for the iPhone, offering an additional 80% battery life.

The Pitch. The team at Twelve Monkeys Company are eager to show off how intuitive and easy using the Feeling Skin is to keep in touch with friends. The campaign explains something that isn’t addressed in the video — the Feeling Skin app is available on the major mobile platforms, but the skin itself is only available for iPhone 5 model phones at this point. Twelve Monkeys wants to raise $40,000 to complete tooling, testing, and mass production.

The Perks. Backers can get a Feeling Skin for just $49 as a limited deal. All rewards are expected to ship in July.

The Potential. The chances of the Feeling Skin finding a foothold in the mainstream market are pretty slim. At first, the idea of having a private little inner circle of great friends sharing videos and moments with each other sounds tempting, but like any social network, this one would inevitably be filled with people that sat in adjacent desks in homeroom. Having extra battery power is a nice add-on, because if it was just the mood network or the battery pack, there wouldn’t really be anything here worth buying. Everything this device does is pretty much already handled just fine, whether by phone call, text, Facebook, or Instagram. At least it allows users to charge an iPhone with a microUSB cable.

Categories
Personal Transportation

Motivo Tour reinvents the walker, brings it up close and personal

The Premise. Many walkers used by senior citizens are bare-boned and badly designed. They have few options for comfort and require a stooped over stance to use. The few that do have seats don’t have a wide enough seat for larger users. In addition, they aren’t very versatile and don’t fold up well.

The Product. The Motivo Tour takes walker design to a whole new level. This travel aid allows the user to walk upright and tall with four wheels on the bottom. The seat is removable and stores when not in use. It comes with a foldable table that has a cup holder and plenty of room to hold food. Motivo also offers different design and pattern details (the flames one is particularly fetching) to add for some extra sass when strolling around town. This product is made of a lightweight material that makes it easier to contend with steps.

The Pitch. Motivo’s campaign video shows the creators discussing their product with senior citizens and asking for their input on design. The rest talks about the inspiration for the product from both of the creators’ parents who needed to use walkers. Motivo needs to raise $75,000 in a 30-day Indiegogo campaign.

The Perks. One Motivo Tour costs backers $365, $390, $395, and $415. All tiers include a graphic set, except for the $395 level. Tiers go up to $5,000 with an estimated delivery date for the product of November 2014.

The Potential. The Motivo Tour looks much more sophisticated and well-designed than other walkers, especially as the campaign compares it to walkers that consist of a basic metal frame with tennis balls on the bottom. Top-rated walkers, such as the Hugo Elite Rollator Walker, offer seats and cargo holders as well, but don’t allow for the seat to be folded back up when walking. This feature lets the Motivo expand and contract so that the seat is wide and comfortable when sitting, but also so that the body isn’t too wide when trying to get around. It is quite a bit more expensive than other similar products, but the ease of use and thoughtful design will make it desirable for those who benefit from such assistance.