Month: May 2015

Categories
Smartwatches/Bands

Watcher watch watches what warrants watching

Consumers are still trying to figure out exactly what the relationship will be between the smartphone and the smartwatch. However, one popular task that smartwatches can help us with is sensing more about our environment.

In the case of Watcher, that might include things that are in danger of possibly leaving one’s environment. The smartwatch has a number of features common to smartwaatches — an e-paper display like the first Pebble, notifications from a smartphone, and basic step counting. However,  Watcher can also track up to five objects in its proximity via a low-power RF system. These might include a wallet, kids, pets or keys.

A thermometer add-on is also available for, say, monitoring a baby’s temperature. Watcher also can track how long it’s been next to another Watcher for something it calls “sweet time.” It’s a feature similar to the main reason for another recent Kickstarter watch, Serendip.

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Categories
Augmented Reality Connected Objects

ARBot can appear as a tank or race car, makes augmented reality a ball

From ANKI Drive to quadricopters, humans love guiding robots around for enjoyment, especially from their smartphones and tablets. The shapes and features of these machines, however, are often defined by their physical form, which can curtail the imagination factor in paying with them.ARBot

That limitation may be greatly reduced by the likes of ARBot. A spherical robot with a groove in its center that follows the trail of Sphero, ARBot can be controlled by a tablet. However, a companion app allows the ARBot to appear as a race car, tank, or just about anything else. Different kinds of games can take advantage of its different appearances inside the app. Up to 60 ARBots can engage in a battle royale. The battery lasts between 1.5 and 3 hours.

ARBot seeks to raise $30,000 by June 19th. A standard ARBot costs $119 and should be available by January 16th. A special carbon edition si also available for 10 times that amount.

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Categories
Furniture

Leano props you up, covers your butt anyplace you want to sit

Summer concerts, picnics and just reading in a field are all great activities that provide a few choices for enjoyment. One can drag along a big beach chair or camping chair or bring a small blanket and seek out a tree or something else to lean on for support.

A cross between a mat and a chair, Leano is about as minimal a seat as one can develop. It fits easily in a backpacknd weighs almost nothing. The entire constriction is a long sheet of fabric (which appears to be about 80″ long) draping off a rod and two 19″ long stakes that prop up one end. The fabric protects the backside and legs from grass, dirt or sand while the poles prop up the back.

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Categories
Podcasts

Backerjack Podcast #17: Going Kleer, Frankencases, and Android boomboxes

In sweet Episode 17 of the Backerjack Podcast, Steven Sande and Ross Rubin check out some of the latest products seeking funds and preorders:

  • HearNotes, an alternative to Bluetooth headsets that offer higher audio quality and a more reliable connection.
  • Nexpaq, a case for the iPhone and Galaxy S6 that can accommodate up to six modules ranging from flash memory to an alcohol breathalyzer
  • Zwing, a boombox with punch that incorporates an Android-based touchscreen for streaming or playing back local music and movies.

Notes: We discussed Zwing in advance of seeing its Indiegogo project page. The link above points to more details about prcing and expected availability. Also, a similar product, the Zettaly Avy, has contacted its original Kickstarter backers to note that it is ready to ship its devices.

Many thanks to HearNotes for sponsoring this episode! Please support its campaign.

Download  the episode or listen below, subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and follow Backerjack on Twitter and Facebook. Also check out Steve’s great work on Apple World Today!

Categories
Connected Objects Cycling

Connected Cycle Pedals let you track bike rides, track down bike thieves

There are devices on the market that consumers can use to prevent the theft of their bicycle. There are also devices available that can track pedaling data for health and fitness reasons.

patent-claimedConnected Cycle Pedals, however, were designed to be used for both of those applications. Once connected to any bike, the device will instantly transform it into a smart bicycle. Although the pedals work in conjunction with an app for Android (4.0 and higher) and iOS (7 and higher) devices, users don’t need to have a smartphone with them while biking because the pedals have their own Internet connection. The pedals automatically record statistics and send them through the cloud to the app.

In addition, the pedals will send users an alert on their mobile device if somebody moves the bike because the product is equipped with a motion detection system. If the bike is taken, the pedals have built-in GPS that will help users track their bike down. Connected Cycle Pedals cost $220 and will ship in December. The campaign deal has been sweetened as the company is offering a SIM card with free lifetime data to its backers. Its maker set an Indiegogo campaign goal of reaching $50,000 by May 27.

To appeal to a wide array of cyclists, the pedals are available in five colors: black, blue, green, red and “tangerine” Particularly given how unobtrusively they blend into the bike and their easy installation, Connected Cycle Pedals should appeal to almost any cyclist who wants to track performance or their bike should it fall into the wrong feet.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories

Nexpaq modular phone case lets you easily snap in new gadgets

Once upon a time in the early days of PCs, enthusiasts customized their desktop machines with a wide range of different hardware — optical and hard drives, sound and graphics cards, and a range of monitors, keyboards and mice.

That spirit of customization lives on mostly in the world of high-performance videogame enthusiasts, but it’s mostly passed on as we’ve adopted tightly integrated laptops, tablets and phones that often have little or no expansion capability. Nexpaq, though, is seeking to bring customization into a new era with a case that can accommodate a wide range of modules, many of which communicate with the phones via Bluetooth. Up to six modules can be installed at any time and they’re all compatible with both iOS and Android.

The range of modules include breath alcohol, temperature/humidity and air quality analyzers, an amplified speaker, a laser pointer, two hot keys (to trigger events on the phone) an extra battery (in addition to one built into the case),  n SD card reader, and up to 4 GB of extra flash or a USB drive. Cases work with either the iPhone 6, Galaxy S6 or the S6 Edge. Nexpaq is seeking $50,000 on Kickstarter by May 30th. A case and four modules is available for $109 and is due to ship in November

Nexpaq has something for everyone, but it’s not enough for everyone to want something.  Unlike slow-burn projects such as Google’s Project Ara, the Nexpaq case allows people to keep their popular phones. But it also raises the bar on the level of components that must be offered by Nexpaq and others it hopes to attract to justify the elimination of their phones’ slim profiles. Without a killer module, Nexpaq will have to count on pocket pack rats who wnat a range of relatively obscure accessories at the ready.

Categories
Smart Home

Hook creates a smart home at a smart price by bridging RF and Wi-Fi

From standalone products such as Nest and the Philips Hue to a host of crowdfunded connected objects, the home automation dream has never been closer. But adding IP or even Bluetooth to products can be expensive and sometimes overkill.

Hack-a-Joe Labs has found a clever way to automate lights and other appliances without havng to drive up the price of everything in the house. Its device, Hook, smartens up low-cost RF outlets and bulb sockets already on the market that use basic remote controls. By using RF-to-WiFi technology, each connected appliance can be synced to a smartphone once to be controlled from anywhere in the world.

And it’s not just about turning things on and off via a phone. Users can take advantage of the product’s integration with the IFTTT simple rule system to set up custom events. An example would be flicking the lights when the bus is five minutes away. A package of one Hook with three RF sockets to control things like coffee brewers and space heaters goes for $58, and is expected on doorsteps by December 2015. The $25,000 campaign ends on May 27, 2015.

Hook is remarkable in its simplicity and price. Other options such as Webee and Linkio, are similarly priced and have similar functions but are completely proprietary. In tapping into a market that already exists, Hook can definitely make a splash if it can get the word out about the benefits of its unconventional approach.

Categories
Connected Objects Home

Smart Iron makes a steamy case for connected appliances

It seems just yesterday that pioneering products such as the Nest and Philips Hue were tying household objects that we take for granted to the smartphone for some concrete benefits. But now the adding of connectivity has become somewhat mundane.

Take, for example, the Smart Iron. While most products have an accelerometer to detect when they move, the smart iron uses it to detect when it’s stopped moving to start off a countdown to automatic shut off.

Smartphone users can also use its companion app to set the iron’s temperature and be notified when the iron reaches it. If that doesn’t seem like world-beating features, consider that the product is something of a proof of concept for Meta Innovation’s Meta Box platform, which the company plans to integrate into a range of similarly simple appliances.

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Categories
Connected Objects Music

Auris Zwing implants an Android tablet into a bassy boombox

Once upon a time, the mighty boombox was a staple of audio on the go, a pulsating package of portable partying. When the iPod became a huge hit, a number of battery-powered docking speakers arrived to amplify its extensive music libraries. And more recently, Bluetooth-based products accept streams from smartphones. But the reliance on iPods and smartphones took something away from the mostly self-contained boombox experience.

Those are the days that Auris is trying to recapture and modernize with ithe Zwing, a high-powered (110 dB), bass-tuned portable audio system that features a 7” Android touchscreen between its stereo speakers. Tapping Google Play, the Zwing can access virtually any mainstream music streaming service from a Wi-Fi connection. It can also access video streaming services that it can accompany with powerful audio. At least for music playback, the Auris is rated at 20 hours of battery life, so it should be able to provide the soundtrack through even Charlie Sheen-class blowouts.

The Zwing also has an HDMI connector for easy connection to a TV. And for those who would rather store their music and movies than stream them, it’s offered with up to 32 GB of flash memory plus room for 64 more via microSD. There’s also Bluetooth support for the opportunistic use of a smartphone’s screen versus the Zwing’s. Auris seeks $75,000 in its Flexible Funding campaign (which means it will deliver rewards even if it fails in its goal) due to end June 3rd.

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Categories
Music

HearNotes offers hi-fi earbuds from out of the Bluetooth

Historically, enjoyment of hi-fidelity images has conjured up rooms with racks of equipment, speakers as tall as an NBA guard, and a deep seat that evokes memories of vintage Maxell commercials. But even audiophiles have not been immune to the demands that being on the go places on listening pleasure. There are many contenders among high-end wired headphones that cater to the discriminating listener, but most of the wireless products have been plagued by a range of issues, including that they’re often not truly wireless.

HearNotes has sought escape from the constraints of Bluetooth by tapping a dormant audio technology called Kleer. Kleer was developed expressly for the purpose of transmitting uncompressed hi-fi stereo music at low power. Beyond quality improvements versus Bluetooth, it claims better resistance to interference. However, because Kleer isn’t ubiquitous in smartphones the way Bluetooth is, the company has had to develop a tiny transmitter that plugs into the headphone jack. This also means that, unlike with some Bluetooth earbuds, you won’t be able to quickly switch into a phone call should one disturb your jam.

To minimize the inconvenience of transmitter, the company has created a little storage box that charges the transmitter and completely wire-free left and right earbud for about four hours of blissful listening. HearNotes has also put a good spin on the need for the transmitter, noting that it offers virtually universal compatibility, even with devices such as some MP3 players  and even old portable CD players that lack Bluetooth.

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