Month: November 2014

Categories
Food and Beverage

Bluetooth-equipped Sonic Decanter lets you Chardonnay your way

Every wine connoisseur knows that wine must breathe before it is served. Decanting is a must for serving a great beverage. Now decanting just got a little bit smarter with the Sonic Decanter. This product decants your wine using water and ultrasound. To set how long it runs for, use the accompanying smartphone app. Simply fill it with two cups of water, uncork the bottle and place it in the decanter pushing the button to activate. According to the campaign, this technique makes your wine, whether red, white or somewhere in the middle, positively delectable. The science behind it all is a bit complicated, but a full explanation can be found on the campaign.

While Sonic Decanter is surely one of those frivolous wine accessories, its claimed capabilities may be too much for the fanatic wine-o to resist. The accompanying app is a nice touch too, allowing the user to adjust times based on what kind of wine they’re about to drink. One smart wine preparer will cost backers a donation of $199 for delivery in May 2015. Sonic Decanter is hoping to raise $85,000 with the help of Kickstarter.

Categories
Imaging

Intrepid large format camera ditches digital, embraces gorgeous photos

Many new digital cameras use filters and special techniques to make the photos they take look vintage. There’s something about old photographs that evokes a sense of nostalgia and old world charm into our minds. The Intrepid 4X5 Camera is a redesigned version of an old camera model, updating technology that is over 100 years old. Made out of wood, the camera is lightweight and can be folded up easily for maximum portability. Intrepid is a film camera and uses the 4×5 format because of its depth and clarity of image. In digital format, 4×5 would be considered HDR to give digital lovers a sense of its sharpness. It’s able to capture both portrait and landscape photographs. While this British camera looks very cool and the campaign shows the magnificent images it can produce, many may opt for the convenience of digital with some old-time filters instead. Lenses and film are sold separately which also may act as a deterrent for backers. Still, camera enthusiasts will surely appreciate the mix of old and new technology to make a cool final product. Another bonus: the bellows come in different colors! One Intrepid will cost backers £129 (~$203) for delivery in March 2015 (not a bad price at all). Intrepid is looking to raise £27,000 (~$42,500) on Kickstarter.

Categories
Tech Accessories

Reversible USB Adapter lets you be smug about your plug

The tyranny of the USB port has finally come to an end with the Reversible USB Adapter. There are no surprises here: the product does exactly what it says. Attach it to any USB connection to instantly tame its fickleness and reclaim the few hours out of the year spent trying to jostle those connections into place. With so much time spent trying to do such an inane task, it sure is welcome. This adapter is part of trend of making what used to be a daily headache just a bit easier to handle: just compare this adapter’s good deeds with what the Super Motor USB Flash Drive does for storage. With both of these products, the utility is certainly there — it just needs to make sure it’ll last. If not, what would be the point of purchasing one now with the advent of USB 3.0? The Reversible USB Adapter is priced at just $7, while the campaign itself is looking for $10,000 to relieve your connection woes. Backers can expect this cure-all by December 2014.

Categories
Home

Time Out locks up temptations for a while

There’s something to be said for removing the thing that causes a person to participate in unwanted behavior – as long as positive habits or alternatives are being developed to replace the bad. Time Out is designed with the intent of giving parents the upper hand in modifying the behavior of their kids. The lock has a digital timer that can be set for up to 24 hours. Keep in mind, though, that it usually takes about 10 constant days or more to replace a bad habit with a good one. So if the kids’ video games are going to be taken away so that they play them less, it’s typically a good idea to make some alternative fun activity available. Locking up food for weight loss or cigarettes or alcohol to reduce consumption only works when the root cause of binging is addressed. Nevertheless, this campaign seeks to raise $24,000 by December 16, 2014. Early bird backers get one product for $29, with an expected delivery of April 2015.

Categories
Chargers/Batteries

ONE CARD sneaks two phone adapters into one thin charger

There are a lot of portable phone batteries that claim to be light enough to forget about while powerful enough to recharge your phone a million times very quickly. Many claims are quickly debunked the moment you realize there’s a brick in your bag for most of the day. The ONE CARD is looking to shame all the rest by offering a 2,200mAh battery in the form factor of a credit card.

Despite its 6.5mm size, small enough to stick in your wallet, the ONE CARD is still extremely versatile sporting connections enough for the iPhone 4/5/6 and Android phone and an LED power indicator to keep you informed. The campaign boasts about its featherweight qualities by saying you can easily walk and talk with it, but who would want to do that? In any case, you shouldn’t have to for too long as the ONE CARD charges devices at 1A, or about 1% a minute, limiting the amount of time you’d need to wait. And if the ONE CARD is too petite for your taste, also on offer is the ONE THING charger which has a 10,000mAh battery in the size of a pack of cigarettes that can charge up to two devices at once. Currently, a ONE CARD is going for $17, while a ONE THING is going for $35, with a delivery date of December 2014. The campaign hopes to raise $1,200.

Categories
Tech Accessories

Flio blends wood, magnets to raise your laptop’s screen

Traveling and working have become evermore intertwined in the 21st century. This means more instances in which laptops must be used in awkward positions. That’s why Flio was created. The wooden laptop stand is slim, trim and very transportable. It raises and angles the keyboard for easier typing, which, in turn, lifts the monitor to a more comfortable eye level. This helps to alleviate neck and back strain that can often come when in an improvised office or studio situation. There are small magnets that hold the pieces together during transport so that they are less likely to get lost. Laptops can come in various sizes from notebook to full sized keyboard. That being said, it’s not clear if this stand will fit all sizes of laptops out there, but it looks easy enough to assemble and disassemble, and it appears that it will fit nicely in even a standard laptop case. This campaign seeks to raise €19,000 (~$23,600) by December 7, 2014. Early bird backers get the base version for €20 (~$25), with an expected delivery of January 2015.

Categories
Games Health and Wellness

FitBricks is the Jenga game that gets you moving

For those who don’t like to exercise but like the results that come with working out, here is a product that may make working out a little easier to tolerate. FitBricks was invented by a puzzle enthusiast and who probably likes to think. It offers the user the opportunity to exercise in between considering what their next move will be so that the blocks don’t all come tumbling down – which could still provide some opportunity for a workout because then they all have to be picked up and restacked. The user just wouldn’t get to choose which exercise they will be doing if that happens. If an exercise buddy can be persuaded to get a set of FitBricks, the fun will be doubled without having to workout alone. Just make sure those water breaks don’t go on for too long and prevent the workout from taking place at all. This campaign seeks to raise $19,000 CAD (~$16,700 USD). For $34 CAD (~$30 USD), early bird backers get one set of FitBricks with an expected delivery of February 2015.

Categories
Relaxation

Sleep With Me Pillow offers greater head support when you turn to your side

Getting some sleep at night should never be a complicated thing. However, not having the proper head support often means a person isn’t going to sleep well, finding that they need to fluff and reposition their pillow several times over the course of the night. So the creator of Sleep With Me Pillow is working to change all of that. The pillow includes high resiliency inserts so that when a person rolls over onto their side, their head and neck are given proper support. This keeps their spine in alignment so that they sleep better. While this may be great for back and side sleepers, it may not be the thing for tummy sleepers. The pillow only comes in queen size at this time, but plans are in the works to make multiple sizes available if this campaign goes well. This campaign seeks to raise $25,000 by December 6, 2014. For $40, backers get one pillow with an expected delivery of February 2015.

Categories
Connected Objects Food and Beverage

Connected Bruvelo brewer is a coffee snob’s best friend

Pour over coffee has become all the rage, probably because it’s easy to make at home without the coffee machine. The idea is to place the coffee grounds directly above the mug and pour hot water through the coffee to brew. Bruvelo is a smart, amped up pour over coffee machine. It filters the water, controls flow, adjusts temperature, and weighs and grinds the beans. Best of all, it connects via Wi-Fi to an accompanying app which holds information about different types of coffee you like. This way, you can balance flavor profiles and choose the best way to brew any particular kind of coffee. If you’re not that finicky with your coffee, skip the app because it’s optional. This is a truly all in one coffee machine that thinks no detail is too small in preparing your morning caffeine fix. Bruvelo’s ease of use and convenience will certainly make it a contender with other smart coffee makers. One will cost backers $350 for delivery in June 2015. Bruvelo is looking to raise $150,000 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Smart Home

ShutterEaze makes sure your smart home isn’t blindsided

Home owners over the past few years have enjoyed the explosion of support for all things home automation. Everything from your toaster to your thermostat to your doors can be controlled with a smartphone, leading to increased convenience. Even as so many of these parts of home are being automated, there are as many that haven’t been, like shutters. Automating them is a time-consuming, complex process. ShutterEaze is looking to make it extremely easy.

The ShutterEaze system works with all types of shutter louves and is easily installed using nothing but clip-on parts. When it’s on, the system can be controlled with a remote control or an iOS/Android device. The ability to control shutters in groups, set a sunrise and sunset mode, and set your own schedules are the added benefits of using a smartphone or tablet, relieving homeowners of the daily burden of having to open or close their shutters. No HomeKit integration has been announced, but the company is currently working on ZigBee integration to expand the ShutterEaze system’s usefulness. The product is currently priced at $159 with an estimated delivery date of May 2015. The campaign is looking for $40,000 to make its way into homes everywhere.