Month: April 2014

Categories
Tech Accessories

TwistVolt shrugs at plugs, twists to accommodate wall warts and USB cables

editors-choiceThe Premise. Power cords are almost always dysfunctional. They look messy and can’t fit too many plugs at once. It’s almost impossible to find a power strip that is actually well-made or useful without several big drawbacks.

The Product. TwistVolt provides a “new twist on the power strip”. This clever product twists and turns so that each plug doesn’t sit right next to the other if desired. Using several triangle formations, each outlet is accessible and the strip can be used to its full potential. In addition, fancier versions of the TwistVolt come with USB ports. LED lights are also featured in this product, making it look very cool. Part of the allure of TwistVolt is that it is a power strip that you won’t want to hide.

The Pitch. This is not TwistVolt’s first time at the crowdfunding dance, having had a campaign at Dragon Innovation last November. The video for this revamped power cord shows how it stacks up against its competition and also how many different devices can be plugged into it. The rest of the campaign features the various ways that TwistVolt can be configured, including hexagonal and zigzag shapes. Michael Schroeder, the Bostonian creator of this product, has set a whopping $125,000 goal for this product in his 30-day Kickstarter campaign.

The Perks. For $49, backers can enjoy the TwistVolt standard which includes five outlets and an integrated circuit breaker. One TwistVolt with two USB ports and LED backlit side panels goes for $89. Two other TwistVolt versions with four USB ports and eight USB ports costs backers $99 and $129 respectively. Reward tiers go all the way up to $2,900 with estimated delivery dates of December 2014.

The Potential. Without a doubt, one of the main competitors for the TwistVolt would be the crowdsourced PivotPower by Quirky, that company’s greatest success story. There have also been other solutions to the challenge of wall wart proliferation. Particularly with its LED lighting option, TwistVolt truly looks cool, even with a bunch of cords sticking out of it, and the way it bends makes traveling much easier. While a little expensive particularly for the high-power USB versions, the TwistVolt could make up some of ithave USB s expenses because they customers may not need to buy a USB-to-wall outlet converter. All in all, this product combines the best parts of functionality, design and innovation in an item that we use every single day.

Categories
Imaging

FlashQ lights the way to approachable use of the off-camera flash

The Premise. Lighting is the most important aspect of photography; without light, there’s no picture. Capturing an image with ideal lighting can be a challenging exercise for most new photographers, but using an external flash can help make it easier and can also be an inspiring catalyst for creativity.

The Product. FlashQ is a wireless flash trigger designed to work with external flashes for mirrorless and DSLR cameras. The transmitter attaches to your camera via hot shoe and using a radio signal it connects to the receiver which is attached to your remote flash either by hot shoe or sync cord. Three LED lights indicate whether the product is operating, triggering the flash, or pairing the devices. The FlashQ system can support up to eight receivers on remote flashes as long as they are paired with the transmitter. Small in size, but packing a big punch, FlashQ’s specifications state you’ll trigger your flash more than 100,000 times on the life of one battery.

The Pitch. Anita Yim introduces herself in a female-centric campaign video as an engineer and inventor of FlashQ. She explains that she was frustrated with other wireless flash triggers on the market because they were either large in size or looked ridiculous when using with her compact system camera. The rest of the campaign page focuses on additional accessories like a cold shoe adapter and a compatibility list of all camera manufacturers who use the standard size hot shoe that FlashQ employs. You will also see the variety of colors that FlashQ will be available in, including Midnight Black, Snow White, Macaron Pink and Knight Blue.

The Perks. For a $30 pledge, early-birds can receive a FlashQ in any of the four colors. Regular birds will be able to obtain a FlashQ for $39, once the early-birds have claimed all. If you’re willing to pledge $129, you will receive a custom FlashQ with your signature printed on the devices. If the project is funded, estimated delivery of FlashQ after initial production is September 2014.

The Potential. Use of the off-camera flash is a key way to create better lighting in your photographs, but using many of today’s systems can entail a steep price and learning curve. FlashQ could broaden the appeal of similar products such as PocketWizard and RadioPopper that are more popular with pros. but the product’s unique design and significantly cheaper cost may sway consumers to give it a shot (pun intended).

Categories
Camping

WorkingStick supports you, your stuff and your camera on the trail

WorkingStickCampers or hikers look for products with various uses to lighten their loads when they’re enjoying the great outdoors. The WorkingStick is more than just a walking aid, it’s a phone-holder, picture-taker, and quad-pod for holding your various camping accoutrements. The stick folds out into a teepee shape, has a screw for digital cameras and a slot to hold phones. Each stick has extender capabilities and can reach up to 60”. Early-bird-watchers will receive the WorkingStick for $55 or for a regular price of $59 with an estimated delivery date of June 2014. WalkingStick has a low $2,000 goal in its 29-day Kickstarter campaign.

Categories
Automotive Safety

Doughnut Safe gives your spare tire another way to protect you

Doughnut SafePeople often travel with valuables in their car, but rarely have peace of mind about the safety of their things unless they use a clunky and heavy safe. Doughnut Safe takes advantage of space you already have in your car by turning your spare tire into a strongbox. The 4” x 12” product is reinforced and made out of steel to ensure that your valuables stay safe. One of these hiding-in-plain-sight products with two keys goes for $180 with an estimated delivery date of November 2014. The Doughnut Safe hopes to raise to raise $9,000 on Kickstarter in its 31-day campaign.

Categories
Input Video Games

Aimpad gives gamepad sensitivity to keyboard controls

The Premise. The decades-old debate of “keyboard vs. gamepad” rages on as strongly as ever, with things like Steam Big Picture adding native gamepad support to bring the console experience to PC gaming. It still causes sacrifices to be made, and a better solution surely still exists.

The Product. The Aimpad is a device for gamers that offers PC keyboard-like control using analog keys for a better variation of movement. Whether sneaking around a corner or making that perfect race-track turn, Aimpad’s infrared sensor keys let gamers push their movement down with all the precision of an analog stick on a familiar keyboard style controller. When paired with a mouse, this allows for full analog control in any game that supports it. The device is fully programmable to allow macros and key remapping thanks to an included license of Pinnacle Game Profiler.

The Pitch. Aimpad is clearly serious about its gaming, showing off admitted limitations of playing highly popular, AAA games using a standard keyboard. The same games are then played using the analog keys of the Aimpad, and the difference is immediately noticeable in terms of control and performance. This kind of technology is surprisingly largely absent from the hardcore gaming market, and so Aimpad wants to change that with its dedicated keyboard controller. Aimpad wants to raise the oddly specific total of $159,999 to refine the design and enter the manufacturing phase.

The Perks. The Aimpad is available at the $119 pledge level, ready to go in February 2015. For the gamers that simply can not wait, an early prototype beta model is available in July 2014 for $799, and an earlier prototype will ship in May for backers of $1,999 or more.

The Potential. There is a lot of potential here for gamers who prefer PC, specifically for keyboard and mouse control. While it does allow for a greater variety of control schemes, the lack of analog control has been missing for far too long. The developers admit that the current design is a little lacking, so it remains to be seen what they do with the finished model, but for now, the mere promise of analog keys is enough for some people to put their money up. The simple integration of just this single feature means not having to learn a whole new control scheme (such as with the King’s Assembly). A device like this will be a great companion for the Steam Machine as well.

Categories
Home

Stick n Store shelves your K-Cups, makes 2014 a space poddity

Stick n StoreIf it seems that your kitchen space has somehow been taken over by the clutter of food and beverage boxes, Stick n Store may very well help you to regain control. The storage units mount easily to the inside of a pantry and cabinet doors via industrial mounting tape. While the kitchen decluttering pods may give you multiple ideas for what they could hold, the company specifically had coffee pods and K-cup boxes in mind when designing these tools of organization. For $18, backers have to postpone their jitter lifters with an expected delivery of October 2014.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Chargers/Batteries

Chargearoo lets your iPhone hang at the local outlet

ChargearooSo you’re on vacation, getting ready to climb into bed and realize that you need to charge your iPhone. You don’t want to leave it in the car and risk vandalism and theft, but your hotel room’s outlets are either too near to the floor or way to close to the bathroom sink for your comfort. That’s where Chargearoo comes in handy. A slightly more evolved and customized version of this generic, throwaway promotional item, the charging gadget safely holds your phone in a built-in pocket that keeps it out of harm’s way. For $10, backers get their choice of white, red or green with an expected delivery date of May 2014.

Categories
Maker/Development

Novena gives hackers the portable, customizable PC of their dreams

The Premise. In some circles, it’s become increasingly commonplace to want to build  a computer rather than buy a ready-made model. Even when building, however, buyers are at the mercy of multiple manufacturers who may or may not want to add things like unwanted programs or trackers to prevent any tampering with the hardware.

The Product. Going far beyond lower-end hacker hardware like the Raspberry Pi, The Novena Open Laptop is a device designed by two men with a passion for open-source, flexible computers made to be hacked and played with. Developed entirely in-house from the ground up, from motherboard to operating system, the Novena is meant to be a powerful computing option for people who want their machine to do a lot, and who want to do a lot to their machine. With a 1.2 GHz quad-core processor, 4 GB of RAM, a 4GB microSD card, and onboard Wi-Fi, Novena is built to crunch some serious code.

The Pitch. From the get-go, the passion of Novena founders Andrew “bunnie” Huang and Sean “xobs” Cross regarding open-source and hacking is apparent. That passion translates to every aspect of the Novena system, from the easy-open case to the extensive documentation for the boards that makes the hardware (relatively) easy to tailor for any need. Novena wants to raise $250,000 to bring this openly designed laptop to market, mostly to handle manufacturing and finalization of the firmware.

The Perks. Hardware junkie DIY builders can receive just the Novena board and build their own case for $500. The pre-built “desktop” model is available for $1,195, the laptop for $1,995, and for those that are obsessed with style, a hand-crafted wood and aluminum case laptop is available for $5,000. The boards are expected to ship in November, with each higher tier launching in subsequent months.

The Potential. Let’s be clear, for everything the Novena can do, it is certainly not going to be a mass-market, user-friendly option. What it can do is give hardcore tech lovers a device that is flexible and accessible to any need or hypothesis that can be tested. Because everything is open and accessible, some professional knowledge of usage and safety is required, but for those who have that knowledge, this is a compact, modifiable solution for any kind of software or hardware development needs.

Categories
Apparel

ZipSeam clips shirts for tighter torso textiles

ZipSeamIf you’re one of many who is textile-challenged, tailoring your own clothes has just become an option. ZipSeam appears to be made of a plastic material and consists of two pieces that allow you to reduce the size of an article of a shirt that is too big. One piece has a thin slit into which you push the excess material using a credit or debit card, and the other thinner piece locks it into place. If you happen to be a person who is particularly petite or who has lost weight and finding clothes in the right size is a challenge, this may be an option that you find useful. For $8, backers get one complete product and an expected delivery of June 2014.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Imaging

COVR Photo offers a new angle on iPhone photography

COVR PhotoEver wanted to capture a candid moment with your iPhone camera, but ended up spoiling the scene when you were too obvious about taking the photo? COVR Photo is an iPhone case with a slide-able prism that fits over your camera, allowing you to take photos discreetly. You only need to point the top of the phone to the subject in order to take the photo, much like the Peek-I that allows you take photos in secret. One COVR Photo lens cases costs backers $55 with an estimated delivery date of September 2014. COVR hopes to raise $80,000 in a 33-day Kickstarter campaign.