Month: February 2014

Categories
Furniture

DryAway hides away as a tall laundry drying wall insert

The Premise.  Everyone has to do laundry, but the process of washing and drying clothes is incredibly expensive and can be damaging to items of clothes. To preserve their items, many families are turning to air drying – it’s more economical and doesn’t cause shrinkage. But there isn’t really a sturdy, compact device that provides adequate clothes-drying space.

The Product. DryAway seeks to replace “traditional” laundry hanging racks with something more slender. The company has developed a permanent fixtures that can be tucked away into the space next to the machines or in a closet. Essentially, DryAway consists of tall, bamboo frames with adjustable hanging rods. The frames are mounted onto tracks, which then can be pushed backwards. No unsightly mess and the clothes go out of the way while drying. It’s a similar design to those ultra-thin “pantries” that can be built in next to the refrigerator.

The Pitch. The premise-heavy video spends a lot of time talking about all of the other options that are available and not painting them in a great light, obviously. The campaign page shows DryAway in all of its multiple configuration glory embedded into a wall or available in a standalone closet scenario. Inventor Jim Lutz reads that the product, which now has its own Web site, took four years to develop.

The Perks. To get a DrayAway of one’s own, prepare to slide over $445 for the system. Obviously a set like this is going to cost, but that seems a little excessive, especially when it seems someone with basic handyman skills could replicate the system for less than that. As might be expected of a custom-installed product, the proposition isn’t about a box showing up at your doorstep. If you live within 100 miles of Milwaukee (and why wouldn’t you?),  the project team will install DryAway at your home if you send them the measurements of the space that it will fill. Otherwise, they recommend use of a contractor.

The Potential. DryAway offers discreet high capacity although most consumers probably don’t hang dry all of their clothes and wouldn’t need something this extensive. It does make good use of dead space in laundry rooms and seems to be an environmentally superior option. But it seems anyone who might be able to invest in this probably isn’t worried about the cost of drying their clothes. There seems to be a big middle ground between the flimsy drying stands mocked in the DryAway video and hundreds of dollars for something that’s a custom installation.

Categories
Health and Wellness

iHear brings down the cost of hearing help

The Premise. The acoustics of life shouldn’t require a lofty price. Yet, what most of us take for granted as just another sense is a commodity that others don’t have access to due to a hearing disability. A high quality hearing aid is very expensive, and it’s a barrier that keeps one in five Americans from buying hearing aids that dig deep into their wallets.

The Product. Regardless of whether you use an iPhone or iPad, the iHear is a comfortable hearing aid that delivers crisp and clear sound. It’s waterproof, completely invisible to outside viewers, and can be adjusted to have a perfect fit within your ear in less than a minute. It offers everything that a person with a hearing disability needs, but can do so at the fraction of the cost. The low price/high quality combination makes this hearing aid much more accessible to the average consumer, and thus it gives access to sound to a much larger percentage of the population with a hearing disability.

The Pitch. Both the Indiegogo campaign and the video show that iHear is truly passionate about making hearing aids more affordable. The creators go into depth about what is included, and how customers know that they’re getting reliable hearing aids. Supporting the mission of iHear are the stories of testers who have already changed to the hearing aid. They echo the sentiment of supplying a cheaper competitor for high quality sound delivery.

The Perks. iHear gives plenty of opportunity for anyone to support their campaign and the effort to give access to hearing to more people. The iHear HD can still be claimed at its early bird price of just $149, but the hearing aid will then be priced at a reasonable $200. For those who don’t have a hearing disability, there are plenty of ways to get involved. iHear also has a philanthropic campaign of trying to deliver 1000 hearing devices for free. Pledgers can donate $10 to that cause or pay $379 to get two hearing aids for you and two hearing aids for a person in need.

iHear has also developed a PC-based hearing test that can be administered that is available at $49. Lastly, for those looking to support iHear, you can pick up earphones designed for your smartphone and MP3 player for just $39. It’s currently anticipated that the iHear devices will start being available in August 2014.

The Potential. iHear Medical has a product on its hands that means all the best for improving the lives of people with a hearing disability, but the question is whether or not people without a hearing disability are willing to pledge. iHear still needs to get FDA approval for its products, and then the task will be to challenge the six companies that control the market for these medical devices with higher-priced product.

Categories
Technology

Shine one takes a shine to promoting superphone specs, little imagery

ShineOneTremble, Androids.  Quake in fear, iPhones.  The Shine one is out to — What’s stronger than conquer? — uber-bliterate the Smartphone market.  Playing the numbers, the Shine one wields 256 GB of ROM, 8 GB of Ram, an  18-megapixel camera , a wireless “Pulsometer,” bracelet and fitness software, 8, yes 8-speaker sound, a thermometer with app that suggests how to normalize temperature, doubly redundant (three) batteries good for nine to 12 days of life (there’s likely a good reason it’s not shown in profile), and a multitouch screen which recognizes gloved touches.

The campaign on Indiegogo — no stranger to superphone campaigns — includes prose clearly translated from another language so details are a little foggy. However, it appears that the Shine one claims to be the first phone with a tripod aperture, and that a built-in wireless charger may also be included.  The backers are even throwing in free phone repair. Of course , that won’t include repair of competitors that see their screens shatter trembling n fear of the Shine one’s over-the-top specs.

Categories
Personal Transportation

E*Lution scooter provides the glide for grownups

E'lutionScooters can be an efficient way to get around town, but sometimes you don’t want to show up on their kids’ toys. The Australian developers at E’Lution Have worked to design a scooter that would work for adults to move around in an urban environment. This includes  overcoming a few challenges, which include supporting taller and heavier humans. They also designed brakes that won’t overhea, and they changed the folding mechanisms on the scooter. While their campaign is quite ambitious with a $600,000 goal, they are happy to take donations of any size. But if you want an E’Lution Scooter, be prepared to drop  $275 AUD.

 

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories

ShutIt makes your Android shut up when you need it to

ShutIT 20140207024507-3D_Model_1_copy[1]For those times when Android phones should be seen and not heard, ShutIt offers a practical solution to quieting all the bleeps and buzzes. The ShutIt provides a novel approach to adding quick access to device controls by plugging into your Android’s headphone jack. It works in conjunction with a specialized app, and saves you the hassle of rummaging through your screens to put your Android on silent mode. It also offers five additional settings of vibration, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Auto-Rotation, and Flashlight. The ShutIt plug comes in slate grey, capri blue, electric red, glacial white, stealth black and champagne. For at least $19, a backer gets one ShutIt plug in slate grey and full access to the app, which should ship to backers in May 2014.

Categories
Technology

Pixeom keeps your files in the cloud, you in the loop

The Premise. These days, it seems just about every company out there wants you to keep your files in their “cloud,” or share and collaborate with your friends and coworkers using their tools. But whether you pick Google, or Microsoft, or Apple, or Adept, or Box, or Amazon, or some other random cloud provider, where is your data stored? Who really has access to it? And what happens when they have an outage? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could store your own data, and still get all those benefits of cloud collaboration, without having to set up your own massive server farm?

The Product. “Take back ownership of your data,” say the developers of Pixeom, a cloud-in-the-palm-of-your-hand device that makes it practical for consumers to host their own server appliances. The securely encrypted and hugely expandable gizmo can stand on its own as an entirely private sandbox for you and your friends to play in, or can join a global “personal exchange network” of Pixeom devices talking to one another.

The Pitch. Pixeom’s brother-and-sister creators use their pitch video to talk about the benefits of storing your information yourself and hosting your own apps and discussions. They’ve developed hardware based on the Raspberry Pi embedded Linux platform and software to match, and they’re looking for funding to get from the prototype stage to full production of their device. Among other tasks ahead is to optimize the software for better performance.

The Perks. The interesting rewards start at $75, where you get the Pixeom software on an SD card to install on your own Raspberry Pi device, and for $125 and up you can pick up their Raspberry Pi-based hardware when it’s ready. Bonuses for higher pledges include faster hardware, a 1 TB external hard drive, and even user interface and exterior design customization, topping out at $5,000, which nets you a VIP invite to their launch party.

The Potential. Google, Apple, and Dropbox have all provided the kind of cloud service that many consumers want, where they don’t have to think about where it is, how much it costs to run, or what to do if a component fails, and don’t mind trading away their eyeballs for advertising or their loyalty to an app ecosystem. The little product has predecessors in the likes of PogoPlug, the Connected Data Transporter, and connected hard drives such as the WD My Cloud. Still, particularly for open source advocates, Pixeom is a compelling product for consumers and small businesses who want a little more control over where their stuff is, don’t want to commit to a particular company’s apps or ads, and don’t mind putting a little effort and attention into maintaining such a service for themselves.

Categories
Personal Transportation

URB-E personal transporter gets you around, won’t weigh you down

The Premise. That last leg of the commuter’s long journey is the distance between the train station or bus stop and the front door…the dreaded last mile. With no room on public transport for a bike, and no room in a grown adult’s life for a freakin’ scooter! (dopey razor kind, not retiree’s mobility kind)… however will one traverse it? Walk? Pashaw!

The Product. The URB-E is a folding electric mini-bike which collapses down to roughly the size of a rolling oxygen tank. This funky little take on the commuter vehicle comes in Carbon Grey, Cloud White, or “GoGo Green,” main colors (with Polished Gold and MRDR Black premium options), with accent choices of black, blue, white, hot pink, or orange. The rear-wheel assembly is modular, allowing users to switch between three-wheeled URB-E Commuter and two-wheeled URB-E GP versions, which provide optimal performance in slow populated conditions or faster open conditions, respectively (alternate wheel assembly sold as optional accessory).

The Pitch. Five, that’s right, FIVE videos outline everything from the URB-E’s marketing campaign and development to its adventures in the orient and rivalry with a gorilla. Clear and numerous pictures depict URB-E’s color options and smartphone-aware charging station (which will soon include an app to track range, battery life, speed, and even lighting). A three hour charge, a 36V battery and a 250W motor achieve URB-E’s 15mph top speed (max for electric mobility vehicles), 20-mile range, and a 250lb load capacity — pretty impressive for something that weighs less than your kids’ BMX bikes. Finally, URB-E’s development team’s references include the likes of Vans, Nike, Porsche, Samsung, and Disney, to name a few.

The Perks. Available in August 2014, the traditional options include: $1599 extra early backer with exclusive color, $1699 early backer, $1799 purchaser, and even a $250 down payment/reserve option, which locks in promotional price. Awesome options include: $999 race the gorilla option (to secure a chance to race the aforementioned gorilla. Seriously.), and a $20K “first model off the line,” option.

The Potential. With other compact products out there like the Yikebike Fusion, and the boxy Kickstarter alum Zeit-Eco (which is comparable in range and price, and includes built-in sound), commuters have emerging alternatives including many electric bike. However, with a 20-mile range and a design that can go basically anywhere, the URB-E is definitely worth a serious commuter’s second look.

Categories
Smartwatches/Bands

iOne offers smart band on a smart budget

iOneWith the vast deserts of technology stretching out endlessly before us all, what could else could they possibly come up with?  How about a wireless device that transfers some functions from your phone…to your wrist?  For 90 bucks and a wait that lasts til July 2014, the sleekly-designed iOne will allow you to answer calls and texts, play music, display the time and chime one the hour.  You also get Bluetooth connectivity, 240-hr battery life, and grey, red, orange and blue color options. But, with competitors like the Vachen, which shares all of the iOne’s features plus a calendar, stopwatch, and multiple digital clock face,s for about double the price, and the HOT Watch which does even more for even less,  it looks iOne may be the Ryan Gosling of the smart watch world: looks really cool, but doesn’t actually do much.

Categories
Aquatics

ElectraFin lightweight motor puts the putt-putt in your paddleboard

Water activities can be fun and serene, but sometimes too serene. ElectElectrafineraFIn offers a boost to your kayak, longboard or paddleboard. ElectraFin is a 14 lb detachable motor that fits onto any of your favorite smaller water vessels. Its sleek and easy design can be attached in under one minute and send you flying at warp speed (or 4-5 mph). ElectraFin runs on battery power for up to six hours and comes with a wireless remote to control its speed and position. ElectraFin is perfect for those aqua enthusiasts who are bored with their kayak, but can’t afford a motorboat. Those looking to buy ElectraFin can rush at the early price of $850, the less early-bird price of $950, or the regular price of $1,050 with an estimated delivery of July 2014. ElectraFin’s creators, Current Drives, are hoping to raise $15,000 with their Indiegogo campaign.

Categories
Pets

Scoopette provides extra protection, traction in picking up after pooches

ScoopetteHere’s the scoop: picking up dog poop is not the most charming thing about having a pooch. Scoopette manages to alleviate some of the discomfort that everyone experiences when picking up after a dog. It essentially looks like a small claw, and is designed to be an extension of your hand when picking up dog poo through a plastic bag. The Scoopette is made of colored plastic with an etching of a cute dog on the side and straps to fasten your hands to. Conveniently, the Scoopette also features a dispenser attachment that holds bags, much like P.U.P, a bag dispenser for dog leashes. Scoopette’s creators are hoping to raise $10,000 with their Indiegogo campaign. Backers can scoop up the Scoopette for $15 if they’re early enough, or for $20 as the regular price. with an estimated delivery of July 2014.