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Cell Phone Accessories

AnyMote Home makes your mobile a universal remote

The Premise. After setting up the perfect home theater system, most customers are left with a few more remotes than were expected, and scarcely an idea of how to use most of them. The universal remote has been around for decades to solve this problem but often creates more in its wake.

The Product. AnyMote Home is designed to take the core idea of a universal remote, eliminating the need for multiple confusing and similar remote controls and condensing them down to a single device, and pairs it with modern technological sensibilities. AnyMote Home is a simple Bluetooth LE hub that takes phone or tablet inputs and converts them into IR signals that can control almost any device, with thousands of devices supported already and updates constantly rolling out.

The Pitch. Anyone who rolls their eyes at TV infomercials starring actors who manage to mess up everything from sorting closet space to cooking pasta might be put off by the beginning of the AnyMote Home pitch video. Viewers meet Jason, a stylish young man who wants to relax after work but gets annoyed with how many remotes he has to pick up and use to watch television. Seriously. Aside from that, the presentation made by Color Tiger is clean and informative, going over the myriad ways AnyMote Home does more than just simulate a remote control. Color Tiger is aiming for raising $50,000 for manufacturing, tooling, and certification.

The Perks. An AnyMote Home hub will cost backers $70, with a delivery date of June 2015. Developers who want to do more with the AnyMote system can get the SDK along with the device for $250 in January, and anyone who can’t wait any longer without having this piece of tech in their home can also pay $250 to get an Arduino prototype as early as October 2014.

The Potential. AnyMote definitely has a strong degree of adoption possibility because of the way that it combines home automation with the familiar button layouts of existing remotes on a touch screen device. Because AnyMote supports over 800,000 remotes (really!) and is already up on Google Play with functionality on certain model phones, some customers are accustomed already to using the AnyMote system, and the Home hub will just make it even more convenient.

Still, the universal remote never found favor beyond the technologically challenged for the lack of precise control and features. If AnyMote doesn’t offer complete 1:1 remote simulation, there will always be a need for the familiar feel of the plastic wand that makes the entertainment magic of the living room a possibility.

Categories
Connected Objects Video

Buzzcatcher lets you record bite-sized TV clips and share them with ease

buzzcatcherWhen something happens in prime time and gets everyone talking on social media, it can be hard to catch the clip online in a timely enough fashion to contribute to the discussion. Buzzcatcher is a small, handheld device that communicates with any television to record any clip and send it to smartphones for sharing with friends or uploading to social media. The simple design makes the device easy to use and as the campaign video assures, will keep viewers in the loop with all the best moments on television. Buzzcatcher is ready to record in the homes of any backers who pledge at least €100.

Categories
Tech Accessories

SoundVerter redirects, amplifies anemic flat-panel TV audio

SoundVerterWith flat-panel TVs getting ever thinner and cheaper, it’s no wonder that their audio quality leaves a lot to be desired. Speakers on these televisions are pointed at the ground, so the sound goes down instead of out towards the viewer. The SoundVerter is a simple product that sits directly below flatscreen’s speakers and directs sound towards viewers. This accessory uses the basic rules of acoustics to improve sound quality on televisions, much like Ears does for the Surface.  One pair SoundVerters costs $75 with an estimated delivery date of June 2014. This product needs to raise $20,000 in a 60-day Kickstarter campaign.