Categories
Health and Wellness Music

RealLoud heaphones protect your ear from cranked-up tunes

Our parents always warned us about listening to our music too loudly, but the rebels within all of us never listened, preferring to instead crank it up to the max to enjoy our music. Loud music that crackles in your ear and almost hurts is good after all, right? Well, as much as we might have enjoyed the albums of yesteryear, the increased use of earphones due to the MP3 revolution has clearly shown the auditory consequences of these practices. Unfortunately, the headphone industry has responded to this criticism with larger, louder, and bassier headphones that compound the problem.

The increasing number of both teens and adults with mild to severe hearing loss caught audio legend Stephen D. Ambrose’s attention and he, along with his company Asius Technologies, has created RealLoud Technology as a result. The product reduces harmful pressure experienced by wearing ordinary headphones using bio-mimicry, or the imitation of nature through technology, to include a built-in secondary eardrum to absorb them for you. As a result, louder, more complete sound is produced by eliminating the pressures associated with unnecessary noise, even if actual volume is technically quieter overall. This is the crux of the RealLoud Technology, and the key behind the entire series of 1964|Adel headphones.

Three lines of headphones incorporate the RealLoud Technology. The Ambient line is for casual audiophiles and features up to 12 drivers, the U-Series is an over-the-ear headphone with up to eight drivers, and the A-Series feature up to 12 drivers and are custom to your own ear impressions. With price points ranging from $100 to $1,600, there are options for everyone, all estimated to be delivered between February and May of 2015. The campaign has a funding goal of $200,000.

It’s about time solutions are created for the problems caused by the consumer market itself, and although the 1964|Adel headphones have a pretty high cost of entry, their development is a sign that the technology is being thought about. Soon, they’ll trickle down and hopefully become standard across the board. The cheek is too often turned in the name of profits, and although here profits are still had, at least it’s propped up by actual innovation.

Categories
Displays Tech Accessories

Packed Pixels adds extra displays to your sadly single-screened laptop

Extra monitors at a workstation seems like the height of excess at first glance, but once a second screen has been added for work or play, going back to a single-screen setup is like riding a moped. Unfortunately, laptop users have to deal with this situation every day on the road, unless they pick up Packed Pixels. Packed Pixels is a combination of quality technology and good old-fashioned simple rigging. Using brackets and an elastic strap, Packed Pixels wraps around the back of any laptop screen. From there, the included screen can be mounted and plugged in on either side of the device’s existing screen.

A third screen can be added as well if the laptop supports it, creating a sort of cockpit effect of one main screen flanked by two smaller screens. The displays themselves use the same technology as Apple’s retina displays and are up to the task of streaming video or even playing games. Packed Pixels is created by Dovetail Technology, who is asking for £60,000 (~$94,000) to attract suppliers and handle moulding and testing. Supporters in need of an extra screen can strap one on for £120 (~$194) in May 2015.

Categories
Virtual Reality

Open DoVision creates VR using open components

When Oculus Rift was bought by Facebook, many interested parties suddenly found themselves without that passionate interest in the device. Thankfully, companies like DotLab are working on alternatives, like the Open DoVision; a fully open-source VR headset that is easy to connect and use. By simply connecting the USB cable and the display output cable of choice (HDMI, VGA, A/V), Open DoVision can display any content right in front of the user’s eyes, with head-tracking features by moving the mouse cursor with accelerometers.

Because Open DoVision is open-source, DotLab encourages users to get their hands into the code and create new features and functions for the device. Additionally, a few parts can be interchanged in the headset to create a simple head-mounted display for use in games that don’t natively support VR headsets or for movies or other media content.

DotLab needs $20,000 AUD (~$17,000 USD) to release Open DoVision, and backers can get their head in the game for $99 AUD (~$85 USD) in January 2015. The presentation is a little lacking, and gamers shouldn’t expect direct support for the Open DoVision for a while, but at this price tag, this is a VR headset worth looking into.

Categories
Cycling

Dual Drive Total Fitness bike lets you pedal with your hands

The idea of a bike has remained relatively unchanged, which is a testament to its utility. Even through the removal and addition of wheels, seats, and weight, it has always laid atop the foundation of foot powered pedals. Why is it that the pedal is so sacred, though? Hasn’t everyone wished they could pedal with their hands, t00? Apparently, inventor Ken Haan does and created the Dual Drive Total Fitness Bike to do so.

Born out of the sun and surf of Fort Lauderdale, the Dual Drive Total Fitness Bike not only has foot pedals but chain-less handlebar pedals as well. The inventor claims that the combination of both gives a rider a truly full-body workout by strengthening all major muscle groups. The bike isn’t all about toning those mirror muscles, though. By using your hands, 30% more power is added to your speed with the handlebar pedal, getting you to your destination faster.

As novel and imaginative as the Dual Drive Total Fitness Bike is, it wouldn’t work as much in an urban environment because it’s built to be a coasting bike. As such, its target audience is pretty limited. The bike is currently going for $499 if you’re local or $699 if it needs to be shipped, cheaper than the $999 MSRP. The $100,000 campaign promises backers their very own bike by December 2015.

Categories
Luggage and Bags

Versatile FUGU luggage expands from suitcase to large boxy roller

People love buying souvenirs when they travel. Bringing home gifts for friends and even items for yourself are great ways to remember your trip. Sometimes, though, it’s hard to remember that you can’t come back with more than you went with unless you have a bigger bag.

That’s where FUGU comes in. This suitcase looks like an average-sized rolling carry on bag. However, it zips out and more than doubles in size. In one step, this bag transforms from the maximum carry on bag size to the maximum checked bag size. This way, you can take home a lot more than you started out with if you’d like. FUGU also boasts utility as a table. When stood up, the top zips off to reveal a hard surface that you can use for a variety of things. It also comes with a removable laptop case for all those business trips you may have to take. In addition, FUGU saves space in your home. Most large suitcases are bulky and take up a lot of room, but not FUGU. Depending on what backers vote, FUGU will come in four different colors, still to be determined.

This beefed up bag is a great concept, to be sure. The space-saving aspect of the suitcase makes it great for anyone with limited storage. Otherwise, FUGU really only makes sense in a situation where one would bring back a lot of stuff from a trip. Backers can get their very own for a donation of $295 by August 2015, provided the Kickstarter campaign hits its goal of $50,000.

Categories
Cooking

GrillOven is a dome on the range

One of the best time-saving techniques in the kitchen is when a meal can be cooked all in one pan or baking dish. GrillOven allows for it to be cooked all in one multipurpose gadget. It’s made of industrial quality stainless steel, and the dome shape helps to keep the heat in and reduces the time of cooking. This kitchen tool can be used for baking pot pies, quiches, and pizza; smoking, baking or grilling meats; steaming vegetables and more. It’s portable, but a small chicken or nine inch pizza can still fit in it.

Those who cook know that some dishes require browning on the stove and then cooking in the oven. GrillOven combines these two processes in one in a cool and unique way. It may, however, be a bit awkward to store in over-crowded cupboards. This campaign seeks to raise $35,000 by December 27, 2014. For $13, backers get one product with an expected delivery of March 2015.

Categories
Smart Home

SandboxHome packs in multiple components for a smart security system

Finding a home security system that’s both effective and affordable tends to be a somewhat impossible task. Starter kits are always available, but lack necessary features or only offer enough equipment to target a specific area of the home.

SandboxHome is designed to take all of the advancements in smart home security, bundle them together, and provide enough equipment to cover all the important parts of the home with adequate security. The SandboxHome kit starts with five intrusion tags that can be placed on any door or window to send an alert when these apertures are opened or entered without permission. Next, two HD video cameras are included to allow photo and video recording of any intruders or live feeds of the home’s activity.

Add to this a smart doorbell that has a built in intercom and HD camera so any visitor can be greeted or screened appropriately. For those that prefer a more traditional security system, an optional service of 24/7 live monitoring by security operators can be added in to make sure someone is responding to any break-ins as quickly as possible. SandboxHome has set its goal at $50,000 to assemble the prototypes and build relationships with manufacturers and assemblers. Everything in the SandboxHome system can be purchased for $400, with delivery in March 2015.

Single devices have popped up recently to offer the smart doorbell/doorman system, or the live feeds from security cameras placed in the home, but SandboxHome is offering all of that functionality at a price that’s actually pretty reasonable. The app looks fully featured and easy to use, and for homeowners or renters looking to just make one purchase to encapsulate their entire security needs, this may be the product for them.

 

Categories
Safety Smartwatches/Bands

Bluetooth iChild tracker monitors skin temperature to detect a snatching

With the ubiquity of smartphone use, child tracking solutions continue to surface. Some are hit or miss, but all are better than walking around with your child on a leash. The iChild is another product that promises to make keeping track of your little one easier. It comes in the form of a red or blue watch that pairs with a companion smartphone app and does exactly one thing only: every 10 seconds, the watch sends a ping to the smartphone with your child’s temperature.

How does that help? This ping of information does two things: receiving the information at all lets you know your child is within 50 feet of you, and also alerts you to abnormal temperatures as well so that you can head off that cold or fever. While the iChild is a novel idea, its premise is a little flimsy and does more to fuel worry than actually help you solve the problem of a lost child. With no GPS, it can hardly compete with the scores of other child safety wearables. In addition, even if you were to receive abnormal temperature readings, wouldn’t it be too late to do much of anything? The iChild’s one saving grace is its $40 price point, but even that is too much for a product that isn’t really useful in the long run. The campaign is aiming for a ridiculously high $1,000,000 funding goal.

Categories
Television

MaxMyTV puts everything on your TV that isn’t TV

Even with smart TVs, the use of applications often requires navigating menus, creating tiny picture-in-picture windows, or navigating away from programming completely. Not only do smart TVs need to become smarter to adapt with the change in technology, they need to become more intuitive.

MaxMyTV is a simple smart hub that does both of these things by using overlays and a remote designed for calling up functions without interrupting TV watching. Connecting via HDMI as a bridge between the existing cable or satellite set-top box and the TV and communicating with other devices through open source ZigBee, MaxMyTV then functions with a host of accessories including a sensor, an IP camera, a smart outlet, and more.

This allows MaxMyTV to function as a social media hub for live-tweeting popular shows, a front door camera, and much more. The included remote offers buttons that directly pull up sidebars offering email accounts, sports scores, social networks, and smart home sensors for temperature, lights, or security. The basic system includes a MaxMyTV Smart Hub and the remote control, and goes out to backers who pledge $149 in March 2015. MaxMyTV is hoping to generate $250,000 worth of support to improve the product, get certified, and also pay for tooling, production, and shipment.

Adding more features and a better interface to smart TV functions is a great idea that is easy to get behind. As to whether MaxMyTV offers the best features, the sharpest interface, and the best way to go about expanding the smart TV/home experience, that’s a bit harder to call. The overlays look like they still take up a good deal of screen space, and, since it’s an additional device, it doesn’t appear to shrink down the display to account for this. Ultimately, MaxMyTV just looks like a stopgap to tide consumers over until something better comes along.

Categories
Aquatics Cell Phone Accessories

TOUCHBAG offers play-through water protection

Water is the natural enemy of the smartphone. Underwater phones do exist, but leave something to be desired. TOUCHBAG protects your phone in water, but still allows you to use the touchscreen. This product resembles a Ziploc bag. The air in the bag is what makes the touchscreen usable. As the campaign says, this is great to use in the shower, pool, or while snorkeling.

If we need to use our phones in the shower, it’s clear that we’re doomed as a society. Perhaps the only reason one would need a phone in the shower is for an emergency call, but it looks like the phone doesn’t work for calls in the TOUCHBAG, only the touchscreen works. Also, the video doesn’t do a good job of convincing us that alternative options are lacking. Still for the almost inapporpriately named product, backers can shell out a $30 CAD (~$27 USD) donation for estimated delivery in March 2015, if the creator can raise $12,000 CAD (~$10,600 USD).