Author: Arthur Tufeau

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Smartwatches/Bands

This modular smartwatch and band will make you the coolest kid on the Blocks

editors-choiceSmartwatches are a paradox. They extend some of the capabilities of the smartphone by putting notifications and other functionality on the wrist but they also have serious limitations because of their size (including their puny batteries), comfort requirements, and limited input. They require even more functional tradeoffs than smartphones and unfortunately that may include things important to certain buyers

But there will be a far smaller chance of that for owners of the Blocks smartwatch. The “core” of the device includes a sleek round LCD watch face that provides features such as voice input, haptic feedback, low-power Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, notifications and activity tracking. It works with both iOS and Android smartphones.

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Lighting

Luminoodle sees the lights, strings them up

After a slow ramp, LEDs have been taking over more and more lighting needs. They’ve shown up in light bulbs, flashlights, lanterns, desk lamps and even the running lights on cars. On addition to their low energy consumption, their small size allows them to be shaped in many granular configurations.

Luminoodle takes advantage of this by stringing together LEDs in a waterproof rope-like enclosure that includes a number of ways to connect to various surfaces, including loops and magnets. In addition, the whole thing can be coiled up in a bag and used as a lantern. The standard product measures five feet long, but also comes in an XL version twice that length.

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Automotive

Elevo window shades lets your car keep its cool

Car sun shades come printed with many different and amusing designs. There are the sunglasses, the cucumbers (for the car at the spa) the aluminum foil look to optimize reflection and a host of them that have been offered as promotions. But they’re all rather bulky to manage, which results in many car owners skipping on their benefits and enduring an overheated car during sunny weather.

Elevo does for the sun shade what automated blinds do for the home. The self-extending shades are affixed to the windshield, removing the hassle of  having to prop up and take down shades. In keeping with a history of car shade promotions, the company is pursuing custom logos for its product.

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Podcasts

Backerjack Podcast #24: Security, Safety and Screens That Show It All

In Episode 24 of the Backerjack Podcast, Steve and Ross check out some of the latest products seeking funds and preorders, including:

  • Angee, a hybrid home monitoring system that can capture video in any direction.
  • Skreens, a small TV add-on that lets multiple vide sources go up on the TV at the same time..

We also mentioned a few other products we wished we had more time for, including the Holapex hologram visualizer.

Download the episode or listen below, subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and subscribe to the Backerjack Daily Digest to make sure you catch all the gadgets we’re covering. Also check out Steve’s great work on Apple World Today!

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Imaging Tablet Accessories

Holaplex is a tiny 3D stage for visualizations on mobile devices

Displays continue to get brighter and sharper, but most of them have a significant limitation. They can only display images in two dimensions. Even “3D” displays only provide an illusion of depth. You can’t, for example, see what objects look like from the side or rear.

Holapex is a small, pyramid-like device designed to sit on top of a smartphone or tablet and display holograms. It comes in two sizes optimized for a smartphone or tablet and of course uses a companion app to display them. Things seem pretty early for the project as creator Isaias J. Perez is still working out what the source of the holograms will be. However, the device is only $25 and is due to be delivered in November. Perez seeks only $600 by October 28th.

The Holapex is an inexpensive and possibly useful amusement but of course it’s a far cry from the degree of interaction one can experience with something as sophisticated as Microsoft’s Hololens. Still, it can provide exposure to holograms for a very broad audience in the way Google Cardboard provides affordable exposure to virtual reality.

Categories
Television

Skreens puts multiple video sources on the screen at once

Hulu, Nerflix, Twitter, Xbox One. There’s so much worth watching and so few big screens in the living room. Unfortunately, TVs can normally display only one.

The makers of Skreens seek to change that limitation. The device looks like any number of devices that let you switch between different HDMI sources, but can display those sourced on the TV at the same time. So, for example, one family member can play a videogame with the sound off while someone else catches up on a DVR recording. Or a sports fan can keep tabs on a game while catching the Twitter buzz about it.

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Input

FlyShark 2 folding keyboard offers big returns (and backspaces and tabs)

There are tons of Bluetooth keyboards, a few folding Bluetooth keyboards, and even a crowdfunded folding Bluetooth keyboard. But almost none of them fit in a pocket just like a smartphone does.

However, the original FlyShark keyboard (also known as the iLepo) broke that barrier with a minimalist, affordable four-line keyboard that offered a quality typing experience. After dabbling in smartwatches, the company has come back to Kickstarter with a new FlyShark keyboard that makes addresses a few issues with the original. The company has made the device a bit thinner, strengthened the hinge and given it a bit more traction to stay put on surfaces. The company also promises a more responsive typing experience.

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News

Kickstarter becomes a Public Benefit Corporation

For a long time, Kickstarter’s founders expressed that they had no interest in selling the company and that they wanted Kickstarter to be a public trust somewhat like Craigslist (but without the religious aversion to graphics in the site interface). While Craigslist keeps its finances notoriously close to its vest, though, Kickstarter has been quite transparent about its metrics.

Now Kickstarter has codified its public interest by becoming a Public Benefit Corporation. In a nutshell, that means the company must consider its public good alongside of and sometimes ahead of maximizing profit. This includes measures such as charity, transparency, avoiding tax loopholes and running an ecologically conscious company — a better defined set of obligations than Google’s famous “Don’t be evil.” unofficial motto. One aspect of the new structure that will directly benefit backers is

Kickstarter no doubt has good intentions and has been a great resource for creators, but it — like Indiegogo — has had its feet held to the fire for projects that have not come to fruition and the steps it has taken or avoided to try and resolve such costly disappointments for consumers.  For now, the FTC has started going after the creators themselves when fraud is suspected. But Indiegogo has recently experimented with insurance that backers can buy to protect themselves against projects failing. Hopefully, Kickstarter’s company’s stepping up its commitment to do good will inspire it to find better ways to protect consumers.

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News

Quirky files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as Wink smart home system goes up for grabs

Before Kickstarter emerged as the leading hub of crowdfunded devices, there was Quirky, a company devoted to reinventing invention. Founded by Ben Kaufman, who had previously founded the Mophie accessories company best known for its iPhone snap-on batteries.

Quirky has a model that is in some ways the opposite of Kickstarter’s or Indiegogo’s. Rather than have the crowd fund a product and have inventors create it, Quicky’s model was that the crowd would suggest products and then Quirky would create it. The company’s New York offices were a hub of professionals specializing in all aspects of product creation including marketing, legal, sourcing, branding and industrial and mechanical design. Inventors would get a perpetual royalty on designs that became products, and people who suggested product names and other attributes would also receive a small percentage. Quirky staff voted on which products moved forward in a weekly meeting. It scored what became perhaps it’s biggest win relatively early with the snaking Pivot Power power strip that spawned several spinoffs.

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Home

You may become a fan of the Evapolar personal air condition

Some people are cool and some people just want to be cool. For those in the latter camp who don’t want to make things uncomfortable for the former, the go-to option is generally a small desk fan. But those have limitations. It can be loud and distracting to have air blowing in one’s face.

patent-claimedThe Russian team behind Evapolar seek to create personal microclimates with a personal air conditioner. The cubic illuminated device fills up with water and a special material called Eva Breeze allows it to slowly evaporate. The Evapolar team compares its pint-sized product to the price and energy efficiency of a room air conditioner, but the area covered by the smaller device is only about 100 square feet.

The campaign suggests using two two to cool a larger room and also touts the products air purification and environmental benefits as it uses no freon. Alas, there’s no way to control or monitor the product from a smartphone. Evapolar seeks $100,000 by October 21st. An Evapolar personal air conditioner will set backers back a cool $179 with the final retail price expected to be $250.

Despite its claims, the Evapolar certainly isn’t the first device to market itself as a personal air conditioner although to be fair most of the other products are more like misting fans. On the other hand, those products cost a fraction of what the Evapolar does. The Evapolar’s price requires that it perform well versus real room air conditioners. Doing so will be an impressive feat given its size.