Month: June 2014

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Home

Ecopad is a smart, affordable housing unit

EcopadEvery year, Americans buy homes that they cannot afford. These homes tend to be larger than they need and not all of them are environmentally friendly. Ecopad is a small home of 384 sq. ft that is built to be eco-friendly. It comes with all of the traditional amenities of a typical home and uses solar and wind power for energy. Ecopad’s creators will help Ecopad buyers build the house. Best of all, the Ecopad is extremely affordable, costing only around $45,000. The Indiegogo campaign offers no reward tier featuring the actual Ecopad, but hopes to raise $45,000 with a stretch goal of $100,000.

Categories
Health and Wellness

Oto-Tip hopes to swab the floor with alternatives for ear- cleaning.

Oto-TipPeople use Q-Tips and cotton swabs to clean their ears not realizing that they’re actually risking their health by doing so. These conventional ear-cleaning methods can push wax further into the ear or even puncture the eardrum. The Oto-Tip offers a safe and environmentally-friendly way to clean your ears out. It has a soft, flexible tip that goes into the ear canal. Using a carefully placed attachment, the Oto-Tip prevents the user from traveling too deep into the ear. It charges much like a conventional electric toothbrush and only costs backers $30 with other reward tier options to help clean the ears of less fortunate children in India. Oto-Tip is looking to raise $30,000 on Indiegogo.

Categories
Imaging Video

Lightbox frees social video from the camera in your smartphone

lightboxSocial video is king these days, whether it’s livestreaming an event, sending quick videos through Instagram or Vine, or even just playing video games to an audience. Lightbox is a device designed to make social video that much easier, streaming video and photos through a smartphone and to the cloud for instant access. Lightbox is small but packs some serious picture quality, and comes with a magnetic clip to make mounting the camera on an object or article of clothing incredibly easy. We’ve seen other “smart cameras” before, such as the MADICE, but Lightbox looks powerful enough to hold its own. Lightbox is due out in November 2014 to backers who pledge $149 or more.

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Music

BAT D-1 offers rich distortion for shallow pockets

For those who understand that overnight success generally takes several years and have the bank account to prove it, BAT D-1 offers a distortion peddle built to compete with the big names in every way – except price. Through the use of two double triode valves, the makers of the distortion pedal boast of not only 100 percent valve distortion, but also harmonics that have an unusually rich quality combined with high gain for a great rock sound. For wireless control and fourth wall freedom, Soul Pedal may be another option that holds appeal with rockers. As for BAT D-1, backers get one pedal for £150 with an expected delivery of September 2014.

Categories
Music

Sprout is a simple amplifier focused on audio quality

sproutEven though audio technology has taken leaps and bounds over the past half-century, it seems to move more towards convenience and away from the pure listening experience. Audiophiles are all too commonly putting on their boxy retro headphones and dropping the needle on a vinyl record to get the sound they want. Sprout is a simply designed, intuitive stereo amplifier that features all the necessary inputs in the back, but just two dials and a headphone jack in the front. Working with both home audio systems or simple headphones, Sprout is designed to bring back powerful audio fidelity into homes around the world. Sprout takes the stage in October 2014 for $499.

Categories
Cooking

OneBowl creates pasta meals with less noodling around

OneBowlFor those crazy days (or nights) when even microwaving pasta is too much of a hassle, OneBowl offers the solution of cooking, straining and even eating all in one bowl. The dishwasher-safe kitchen helper has a built in strainer, so when the nuking process is done, all that’s necessary is to twist, let it drain, top with one’s choice of seasonings, and eat. Although, a built-in cooling mechanism might be nice so that tongues don’t get burned. And perhaps also some type of built in auto-feed so that utensils and self-feeding aren’t necessary. For $16, early bird backers get one product, with an expected delivery of August 2014.

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Kids/Babies Safety

HERA wristband is another bid to help track your kid

HERAFor parents, keeping an eye on their kids at all times is a must. With the HERA wrist watch, it’s always possible to keep tabs on your child to maintain their safety. This product features GPS, a speaker and microphone so that kids can call pre-programmed numbers or be reached by the same numbers. We’ve seen many of these products recently, like the Safelet bracelet and Tinitell watch. One HERA costs backers a donation of $160 for delivery in December 2014. HERA hopes to raise a huge $500,000 in its month and a half-long Indiegogo campaign.

Categories
Connected Objects

LaMetric is the personalized ticker worth sharing and showing off

lametricSmartphones and smartwatches keep everyone in the know on important things like emails, stock prices, and breaking news. Still, the data is often private and requires interrupting what’s going on to take a look at notifications. LaMetric is a portable or desktop ticker that can be programmed using its app to show various kinds of data and can filter out the things that are less important. The device uses bright pixels to display text, logos, charts, and more. The device appears to be extremely flexible, giving users the ability to get all the information they want without having to dig out their phones. LaMetric is available for $119 and will be available in January 2015.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Music

Tiny Earin wireless earbuds fit in a charging case for discerning music lovers

EarinWhat if it were possible to listen to music on a personal gadget without the hassle of earbud wires getting tangled or kinked? With Earin, that idea is a reality. The two earbuds function as  Bluetooth headphones that feature balanced armature speakers. These are the same type of speakers used in professional in-ear monitors and hearing-aides, so the best sound experience is offered without a great deal of power consumption. The wireless earbuds are rechargeable when stored in their capsule. For £79, early bird backers get one set with an expected delivery of January 2015. The earbuds are expected to retail for £159.

Categories
Tools

Cliris provides a quick cleaning for your glasses

The Premise. Cleaning eyeglasses can be tricky. Most methods either don’t get the job done well, create micro scratches on the lenses, or leave smudges behind. It’s difficult to find a fast, efficient and effective way to clean your sun or eyeglasses. 

The Product. Cliris is a glasses cleaning system that requires very little effort on your part. Simply place the glasses in the black or white pod and push start. Four minutes later they’ll come out clean and dry with an added fragrance. The product uses an environmentally safe, biodegradable cleaning solution for the glasses. Each month of daily use requires a new cartridge that gets placed in the back. Cliris plugs into the wall for power. 

The Pitch. The Swiss creators of Cliris spend the campaign video discussing the design and manufacturing of their product. They assert that this product is great for kids, teachers and business people alike. For their 33-day Kickstarter campaign, they’ve set a $280,000 goal.

The Perks. For one Cliris, early backers can donate either $269 or $299 with their choice of either black or white color and two cartridges. At a regular price, the creators are offering one Cliris and two cartridges for $328. Higher reward tiers offer the product in multi-packs with several cartridges. Estimated delivery is set for May 2015.

The Potential. The market has plenty to offer in terms of electronic eyeglasses cleaners. Most out there are also sold to clean jewelry. For instance, the Magnasonic uses only tap water to clean glasses and jewelry and has five different settings. Cliris, on the other hand, uses its special cleaning solution and add fragrance to the glasses, which other cleaners don’t generally do. Although, some might think it unnecessary to have glasses that smell like anything at all. In addition, the separate cartridges might be a hard sell as they are expensive and don’t last very long. All in all, Cliris appears to be an expensive way to get the job done right.