Month: July 2016

Categories
Connected Objects Health and Wellness

IBaby Air helps little ones avoid cute little coughs

Air pollution inside and outside the home is a common problem that many people confront each day –- often coming from places it’s least expected, including common household items. Small children are especially vulnerable to volatile organic compounds because they can’t process the chemicals as effectively as adults.

IBaby Air is a smart Wi-Fi air monitor and ionic purifier that allows its users to monitor their homes’ air quality. The purifier turns on automatically when air quality is low. It detects several common pollutants that are found all over the U.S., many of which are invisible and/or odorless, including carbon monoxide, methane and ammonia. It works in conjunction with a companion app for Android and iOS mobile devices. iBaby Air sends alerts and daily room reports to the user’s mobile device.

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Categories
Fashion Luggage and Bags Music

The LiLu Smart Bag makes you the light of the party

The fashion of EDM culture is as unique as the music it produces, with festivals packed to the gills with attendees flaunting some of the most vibrant, colorful, and standout outfits you’ll ever see. It makes sense: the point of most of these festivals is to be happy and friendly — and make an impact while doing so.

While there are plenty of ways to do so, there aren’t many stronger than the LiLu Smart Bag. This slim purse sports a flexible LED panel that reacts in real time to music that’s playing, making it a perfect companion for any EDM festival. An internal pocket in the purse itself is great for keys and other small accessories, while beside sits a micro-USB slot to charge the LiLu’s 10-hour battery.

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Categories
Chargers/Batteries

The ATILIUM power bank keeps you charged up all day with dope design

Getting through the modern work day means having enough juice powering the connected devices needed to get from point A to point B. Because of this, there’s no worse feeling than seeing a battery indicator turn red as it begs for more power. People usually carry around charging cables and power banks to mitigate the problem, but in the end, no one really wants to do either.

Inspired by his childhood in Brooklyn, New York during the Golden Age of Hip Hop, Louis W. Colon III’s ATILIUM is an effortless blend of nostalgia and practicality. Immediately, the power bank’s slim design draws attention because it was made to resemble a pager, a cultural icon immortalized in countless songs, movies, TV shows and literature from the decade. By combining this design with a 4400mAh battery, the pager is resurrected for a more modern purpose.

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Categories
Music Video Games

Mogees Play makes the world your musical instrument

editors-choiceOne reason why music programs around the country are cutting back is the cost associated with purchasing equipment. Instruments are expensive
and until now, were the only real way to truly engage a student’s musical faculties.

In creating the Mogees Play, UK-based music and technology company Mogees is aiming to bring musical instruction to everyday classrooms and life without needing instruments, controllers, joysticks, or keyboards. How? A small sensor serves as the connection between tablets or smartphones and any object at all — a wall, a book, a table, even another person. Depending on how a user interacts with that object — a bump, a tap, a scratch — Mogees Play reads those vibrations and transforms them into different musical effects.

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Categories
Connected Objects Music

The GoDJ Plus is a lightweight DJ system that still drops tons of bass

Being a DJ is a glamorous job, filled with the people, parties, and music that would make anyone jealous of the lifestyle. But truly doing a great job means knowing music history and having the right equipment at the ready. The problem is that all of that equipment together usually ends up being heavy and awkward to effectively move around.

The advent of tablets have been great at lightening a DJ’s load but lack all the physicality of a true DJ deck. Enter the GoDJ Plus, a fully featured, portable DJ system that’s the size of A4 paper with a weight of just under two pounds to match. The sleekly designed, aluminum system sports two decks with two screens, two sets of LED-backlit pads, and a full set of tools from an EQ to a sampler to a sequencer. Interestingly, the GoDJ Plus doesn’t require a smartphone or a laptop to operate. Instead, 16GB of internal storage and an SD card slot lets DJs load in their own music or download songs from major streaming services using the device’s Wi-Fi connectivity, with dedicated CPUs within dedicated to each track, hardware, and software for optimal performance.

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Categories
Technology Video Games

The PGS portable gaming system goes way beyond catching Pokemon

Hardcore PC gamers are in a tough spot. They can either choose to stay indoors and play the most popular AAA titles on powerful, custom-built rigs designed to bring for the very best performance, or relegate themselves to handhelds and tablets that offer comparatively sub-par gaming experiences. For the PC master race, that’s not much of an option.

Despite its uninspired name, the team behind the PGS — short for Portable Gaming System — is looking give PC gamers an actual choice when it comes to moving and gaming. Luckily, it sports a sleek, 1.4cm thick design that looks like a PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS had a child — a scarily intelligent, capable child. The dual-screen, foldable device comes in two variants. The PGS Hardcore has a QHD IPS 2560×1440 display, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. Both use the Intel Atom Z8750 designed for high-performance portable devices, allowing both to run games like Dark Souls II and Batman: Arkham City on medium settings, satisfying the most ardent gamer’s urges to take on that next boss no matter where they may be.

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Categories
Connected Objects Television

IRMimic provides simple way to control all your AV devices

It can sometimes be frustrating to need several remote controls to power all the different AV devices in the living room. That’s especially the case when one or more of those remotes gets lost or stuck under the couch.

IRMimic is an infrared learning remote that’s built into a set- top box. It knows the status of the TV and cable or satellite box and sends out IR commands when the TV turns on or off. It can be programmed to perform specific functions. For example, it can be set so that when the TV turns on, the iRMimic automatically sends commands to turn on all of the AV devices, change the TV to the correct input, select the correct audio settings on the AV receiver and change the TV to the user’s favorite channel. IRMimic ships in November. Future pricing isn’t provided. But early bird Kickstarter backers can order one for a pledge of $119. Its maker hopes to raise $75,000 by July 31.

The device is something that may come in handy for some consumers. But it solves a problem that, for some consumers, is already solved by a high-end universal remote. Setting IRMimic may also be too complicated for at least some of the consumers it’s targeting.

Categories
Imaging Robots/Drones

Up & Go aerial camera leaves your hand, comes back to land

Using an aerial camera to take photos can be a lot of fun. But having to chase one around to make sure that it goes where the user wants is not.

Up & Go is a lightweight flying camera that takes off from and lands in the user’s hands. At the click of a button on its companion, wearable (and waterproof) tracking device, Up & Go starts shooting and following the user. It shoots 1080p HD video and takes 12-megapixel still images. Up & Go ships in October at $499. But Indiegogo backers can order one for $299. Its maker is hoping to raise $50,000 by July 24.

There have been several other aerial cameras and drones designed to record action sports activities, including Onago, so this is hardly a new idea. Unlike at least some other aerial cameras, Up & Go features interchangeable batteries that are compact and easy to insert. It’s also apparently tougher than at least a few  rival products because it features a carbon fiber frame. The wearable tracker is another nice touch.

 

Categories
Smart Home Travel

The portable Securmate is a security system for wherever you need it

For those with enough determination, the mechanical locks that are supposed to protect most people usually fail to when it really counts. This is not many households have any kind of home security. One of other biggest reasons why is because traditionally, home security companies target those in permanent living situations.

The Securmate portable home security system changes that trend. The portable security system is comprised of a palm-sized sensor with a motion detector within and a controller. First, the controller — a small Android device running the Securmate app — is plugged into a wall outlet or USB port. Second, the wireless sensor is attached to a door or window with the provided double-sided tape. Finally, the user arms the system using the controllers, creating a Wi-Fi intranet that covers and protects most small- to medium-sized spaces.

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Categories
Kids/Babies Smartwatches/Bands

Octopus smartwatch teaches kids time and good habits

Kids’ smartwatches tend to merely be stripped-down versions of standard smartwatches, with fewer features but more colorful designs.

Octopus is a twist on kids’ smartwatches, featuring a simple, icon-based user interface designed to teach children good habits and the concept of time, while fostering independence, responsibility and self-esteem. The watch works in conjunction with Android and iOS mobile devices that allow parents to manage Octopus from their own smartphones and tablets. Octopus ships in March at $79, but Kickstarter backers can order one for a pledge starting at $49 for early birds. Its makers hope to raise $50,000 by July 22.

The design of Octopus sets it apart from many other kids smartwatches, such as Miiya. That it’s water resistant is a plus, but being waterproof would be preferable for any kids’ smartwatch considering how likely it is that the device will get wet at some point. More importantly, Octopus doesn’t –- at least for now –- have the ability to alert parents as soon as their child is about to be out of range. That’s a feature that its makers are working on and want to make available by the time it ships … or at least as a free software update later on.