Part of the cartoon ideals of home automation that sell it to so many buyers is the discreet, sometimes imperceptible way that a homeowner interacts with his or her property. The M1 Speaker from Nepsu is designed to follow that philosophy of being functional yet not take up space. These tetrahedral speakers can fit into the corners of any room and mount snugly, working with Bluetooth devices and Android and iOS apps to allow home automation control and audio enjoyment without being bulky and taking up space. However, these speakers are wired, as the out of sight/out of mind design would be compromised if the speakers needed to be repeatedly charged. Alas, Wi-Fi support would allow for longer range for nifty multi-room audio. The M1 speaker will fill rooms with sound in September for $199 CAD.
Month: May 2014
The Premise. When out in the sun, it can be hard to achieve the level of shade needed to read, look at your phone or cool down. Umbrellas are great for several people, but can be large and blow away in the wind. Most opt to use towels or shirts to get the sun off of their faces, but this doesn’t let them do much else.
The Product. ShadyFace is personal shading device that lets you enjoy the sun without squinting too much or getting burned (for at least part of your body). Made out of canvas and aluminum, it is lightweight enough to be portable and swivels so that it can be moved based on the sun’s position. ShadyFace consists of a stand that can rest on the sand, a beach chair or even on a boat. The top part protrudes out to cover the top part of your body when lying down in the sun. It has pockets on the inside as well to hold all of the accessories you may need while sunbathing.
The Pitch. The campaign’s very long video details the product’s inception, prototyping process, features as well as lots of pictures of those without the ShadyFace who would have better luck if they used the ShadyFace. A dermatologist even makes a cameo to testify to the healthful benefits of staying out of direct sunlight, with sunscreen of course, he says. ShadyFace hopes to raise $38,000 in its 30-day Kickstarter campaign.
The Perks. Backers looking to cool their face will have to fork over a cool $139 for one ShadyFace, which includes its own carrying case to ease transport. Higher tiers also offer the ShadyFace Bluetooth speaker which blasts music inside of the ShadyFace space. All tiers have an estimated delivery date of July 2014.
The Potential. ShadyFace won’t provide complete sun protection for your body, but it is definitely useful for those wanting to enjoy easier reading or more comfort in a sunny spot . It seems to work well for using a tablet with a lounge chair in a fully-reclined position or using a laptop if one is lying face down, but isn’t quite tall enough to handle laptop use sitting upright in a lounge chair
ShadyFace’s best features are its portability and ease of use; it likely represents the most shade one can provide in a carryable product. It seems a bit much for an everyday commute to a pool club, but could justify its space in the luggage for a tropical location. In any case, the product is definitely easy to adjust, which may help its success in the summertime accessory market. ShadyFace could be a helper in the battle against the burn in summer 2014.
With the number of crowdfunded solutions to lost objects out there, it’s surprising to think that anything is still lost. FIND 2.0 is another keyring solution that works in tandem with a smartphone app to alert users when they are leaving the vicinity of belongings, or through a reverse notification, the phone itself. Where FIND 2.0 falls short is in its manual search, where the FIND vibrates instead of the app using proximity detection like its competitors, but the ability to crowdsource a truly lost item and have anyone with a FIND app privately ping its location back if it is moved past is a great addition that would make this invaluable if widely adopted. FIND 2.0 is available for $17 and ships in June.
Serious photographers need serious equipment. Taking a selfie at arm’s length is fine if you’re using a stock smartphone camera, but a quality camera calls for a quality camera support. The aptly-named Pop and Lock is an adjustable, sturdy camera support that can be configured a number of ways with four joints that can be locked into place at any 45 degree angle without losing stability. For those who want to beef up their GoPro footage or phone photos, the Pop and Lock is compatible. The campaign video shows off the fun side of the product while still doing a good job of selling its features. Pop and Lock launches in July for $129, far less than many other stabilizers.
The Nintendo 3DS is a great handheld for wirelessly playing games together with friends no matter where anyone is, but one of the system’s greatest shortcomings is a lack of dedicated voice chat options. The CHAT-PAK fixes that in a rather simple fashion, by attaching a two-way FRS/GMRS radio to the system in a plastic protective case. This allows players to communicate with each other from a distance of up to four miles, making it ideal for road trips or neighborhood contests. The device even includes a ping feature with up to ten unique alerts, letting users know if someone nearby wants to chat. The CHAT-PAK will be done in August for those that pledge $29.
The only thing that might be less appealing than spending a warm summer’s evening pulling hot clothes out of a dryer is folding them. Of course the distain for having to fold them is not exclusive to any particular season for many people. That’s where Arc Shelf comes in handy. Freshly washed and dried clothes can just be laid across a shelf unit that’s 12 inches wide and 8 inches high. Each curved shelf means no wrinkles for at least ten items, and better yet, no hassle. For $26 backers get two units with an expected delivery of November 2014.
The Premise. Dog owners know that part of having a pooch entails taking them for several walks daily so that they can do their business. Those up north have trouble with this when the snow and ice settle in for almost half of the year. For dogs that are unwilling to brave the cold, most opt to use smelly, gross pee pads in their house for their pets to go on.
The Product. FIDO stands for the Fully Integrated Dog Omni-Trainer. It is basically a pee pad on steroids. This product features a large grassy square of turf that dogs can “go” on. Underneath the grass there are several other layers designed to guide all the “ick” onto a pee pad below. It comes with drawers that hold the replacement pee pads, the current pad as well as scent strips to cut down on nasty odor. An added treat dispenser helps to reward and train dogs with the FIDO even includes the option for a prerecorded message from the owner. Can smartphone notification be far behind?
The Pitch. The campaign video shows the sibling creators of FIDO taking about how their elderly parents who live in the cold inspired their product. It also shows dogs actually using the product with ease. The rest of the campaign goes into their long prototyping process and details each attachment of FIDO separately. This product hopes to raise $30,000 in a 45-day Kickstarter campaign.
The Perks. FIDO itself will cost backers a donation of $50 with delivery expected in November 2014. Lower reward tiers offer a medication for dogs with hip and joint issues. Reward levels go all the way up to $1,000.
The Potential. FIDO seems like well-considered approach to get your dog to pee inside. The campaign doesn’t say much about number two, but for number one, FIDO is the way to go. Regular old pee pads are kind of disgusting and smelly. Other products in this arena that also feature turf, like the aptly named Tinkle Turf, are extremely messy and collect the urine in a large, sloshy tray making it difficult to clean up. All in all, FIDO gives dogs and owners alike the chance to remain indoors when the snow and ice are too much to bear, or pee on.
The smartwatch race has suddenly gotten pretty crowded with many more devices on the way now that Google has officially blessed them., but the features can vary widely. Most of these products connect to a smartphone. But in addition bo hosting an HD camera, fitness tracking, and cloud services rolled into a customized Android UI?, the inWatch Z packs in a cellular radio while retaining a pretty svelte profile. Battery life, though, could be an issue. Interested backers can get their very own inWatch Z for $199.
For those who would say that the golf course or driving range is a little slice of heaven on earth, there is now a way to transport ecstasy. Whether you want to practice in their backyard, basement, garage, dock or even as the sun sets on the beach, Range to go is a portable option for a little white delight whenever the ideal time and place converge. Golfers can even take full swings, avoid scuffing their clubs, and actually tee up the ball. Rough and fairway surfaces are also included, and it’s weather resistant. While there are other portable ranges out there, they don’t seem to offer multiple surfaces, weather resistance, or location versatility. For $79, backers get one product with an expected delivery of June 2014.
In an increasingly wireless world, we still need a whole lot of wires to keep our devices charged. It can be difficult to remember your charging cord at all times and definitely inconvenient when you’re caught without it. Echo Connect aims to fix this problem. This product is a small, silicone keychain that syncs and charges your iPhone, iPod, iPad or even Android phone from anywhere. This British product is a slightly more stylish version of the Chargekey device made with the same idea in mind. Echo Connect costs backers $15 and hopes to raise $50,000 over 60 days on Indiegogo.