Author: Jeff Berman

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Tech Accessories

Sawtooth dock charger holds up to six devices in its jaws

Most smartphone or tablet docks tend to handle only one or two mobile devices at a time. That’s fine for a single person living alone, but not so handy for a home with multiple people who each own at least two devices that need to constantly remain charged.

The Sawtooth dock charger features six USB ports and a series of ridges that can accommodate the same number of mobile devices. Its design was inspired by the sawtooth roof architecture of the early 19th century. Each port can charge up to 2.4 amps of power independently. Additionally, each port is equipped with OptimalPeak technology that automatically detects and selects the optimal charging amps for each specific device.

One particularly standout feature is the product’s ability to be connected to other Sawtooth docks, thus enabling multiple docks with six devices each to work in unison with just one wall outlet. This feature should certainly come in handy for classrooms and businesses. Sawtooth will ship in April at $85 for Kickstarter backers, with retail pricing expected to be about 20 percent higher. Its maker is looking to raise $10,000 by April 12.

Sawtooth stands to be appealing to many consumers with multiple mobile devices in their homes, as well as in classrooms that use multiple devices. Its feature set clearly stands out among rival products like the Varius Dock.

Categories
Apparel Connected Objects Sports

Turning Shoe helps athletes avoid injury and perfect their form

When playing baseball, golf or other similar sports, stress is often placed on the body when swinging a bat or club, throwing a baseball, or making other unnatural motions that the body is unaccustomed to.

patent-claimedThe Turning Shoe is a smart shoe designed to reduce this type of stress and impact to the body by promoting a more natural swinging motion for baseball and golf players. The Turning Shoe eDrive Plus adds a sensor that sends information about users’ movements to their smartphones via a mobile smartphone app. Its maker plans to ship the shoes in six color designs. Turning Shoes for baseball and golf will cost $299 each, while Turning Shoe eDrive Plus for the same two sports will cost $395 each. All will ship in October provided that a campaign goal of $50,000 is met by April 16.

 

Categories
Connected Objects Wallets

Self-charging Woolet prevents you from losing your wallet

While misplacing a wallet at home is a major inconvenience, losing a wallet in a public place can be a major cause for alarm, especially if it houses credit cards and lots of cash.

The Bluetooth-enabled Woolet is a smart wallet which aims to prevent this type of problem. Woolet notifies its owner when a wallet is misplaced or lost. Woolet is currently Android and iOS compatible, and its makers have plans to perhaps support Windows Phone devices later on down the line.

When in use, Woolet is able to show users where their wallet is within 1.3 feet. Like the similarly designed Where’s Wallet, Woolet can also notify users when they’re separated from their wallet beyond a pre-specified distance. Woolet costs $99 and is slated to ship in May provided its goal of $15,000 can be met by April 2.

Despite an increasingly crowded market for similar products, Woolet holds a lot of promise. One feature that gives it an edge over rival products is that it’s self-charging, which is to say that no battery replacement is needed. Woolet charges itself through a process called electricity harvesting, meaning that when the beacon senses movement, kinetic energy is activated, subsequently building an electrical charge. Notably, its maker is also testing recharging by movement and body heat. Woolet’s makers plan to update Kickstarter backers once a final implementation method is chosen.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Chargers/Batteries

Juicer uses one Android device to help juice another

Power-hungry smartphones often need to be charged frequently. Unfortunately, there isn’t always a charger around or a free electric outlet in sight.

The maker of the Juicer is out to remedy that. The Juicer is a dual-sided charging cable that enables Android phone users to transfer battery power from one Android device to another. The device costs only $10 and will ship in August. Its maker is hoping to raise $65,000 by April 10.

The Juicer holds some promise for Android users. While it isn’t the fastest-charging device around (it’s about as fast as a computer’s USB port) it’s still useful as sometimes all that’s needed is a quick 5 or 10 percent bump, just enough to make a call or send a few texts. Another plus is that the device is small enough to fit on a key ring or inside a purse. On the negative side, its lack of iPhone compatibility significantly limits the device’s addressable market.

 

Categories
Connected Objects Food and Beverage

Proscan scans food for nutritional content

It’s always best for everybody to know exactly what’s in the food they’re eating -– especially if they’re on a diet or have a serious allergy to foods such as peanuts. Unfortunately, a list of ingredients isn’t always available.

Proscan is a water resistant device that quickly scans any food and displays a list of the calories, energy, carbohydrates, protein, cholesterol and dietary fiber that it contains. The device works by using a load sensor, optical sensor (spectrometer), other advanced sensors and complex algorithms to analyze food and then display its nutritional content on the device’s touch-sensitive display screen or on a Bluetooth-connected iPhone, Apple Watch, Android device, or Windows Phone. In speaker mode, all scan results are read aloud via Proscan’s speakers.

Provided that a $50,000 goal is reached by April 14, Proscan will ship in December in a choice of a Beam (rectangular) model or a round version. The entry price is about $349 for a regular model. Proscan Mini versions will cost about $238, while customized versions with color options and engraved wording will cost about $419. The Indiegogo campaign is slated to end on April 14.

There have been other food scanner campaigns in recent memory. The SCiO is one product that comes to mind, although that product was designed to analyze surrounding environments as well. If Proscan works as easily and seamlessly as it appears to in its Indiegogo campaign video, the product may very well hold some promise. Still, a pocket device like SCiO seems much more practical, especially when dining at a restaurant or traveling, which would seem to be when users would want it most.

Categories
Smartwatches/Bands

After devouring folding keyboards, FlyShark takes on the smartwatch

A common knock against most smartwatches is that their most significant functions, such as making phone calls, can only be used when a paired smartphone is nearby.

Following their successful campaign for a sleek folding keyboard accessory for smartphones, the makers of the FlyShark Smartwatch have set out to remove this codependence from smartwatches. Specifically, the FlyShark Smartwatch can make private calls and send and receive messages all without requiring users to touch their smartphones. Generally, the FlyShark Smartwatch can function independently so long as there is a Micro SIM card installed.

Like other smartwatches, it also functions as an exercise tracker and heart rate monitor. Unlike the soon to be released Apple Watch, FlyCatch also features a built-in camera. Other features include dual Bluetooth 3.0 and 4.0 support. The campaign, which seeks $10,000, will remain open until April 1, 2014.

FlyShark has some nice features, but the jury’s out on just how much appeal there is for a smartwatch whose main selling point is its independence from the smartphone. Many consumers on the market for a smartwatch, after all, likely already own a smartphone. It’s therefore a little hard to see how FlyShark can compete against popular brands like Samsung, LG, and Apple.

 

Categories
Connected Objects

A digital frame, Pigeon carries photos and videos to loved ones

Once upon a time, the digital picture frame was a popular product category. But consumers quickly grew tired of them, in part because they were too difficult to be used by many of the people who often received them as gifts, such as grandparents.

The Wi-Fi- and Bluetooth-enabled Pigeon largely resolves that problem as it allows photos and videos to be automatically downloaded to the frame via an Android or iOS app. As a result, users, and grandparents in particular, won’t be stuck staring at the same 10 photos for years on end, which was sometimes the case with older digital frames that often relied on memory cards. The 10-inch frame has built-in speakers, 2 GB of onboard storage, and USB connectivity for when Wi-Fi isn’t available. It can also be hung on the wall or onto a refrigerator via its magnetic back. Notably, photos and videos are also stored securely via Pigeon’s cloud service while a a motion sensor cleverly ensures that the frame is on only when somebody is nearby.

There are two versions of Pigeon to choose from along with a choice of five frames: the entry-level Winkie version costs $159 while the White Vision model, with backlit LED lighting and a rechargeable battery pack, costs $205. Its maker is hoping to raise $50,000 by March 19.

As mentioned in a recent Backerjack Podcast, there have been a few challenges to digital picture frames. The Pigeon digital frame, however, holds some promise thanks to its enhanced and more modern features. But there is still at least one fundamental cause for the declining interest in digital frames that no new frame –- including this or Fireside — will be able to address: the ubiquity of tablets which many grandparents can use with ease.

Categories
Smartwatches/Bands

Pebble Time arrives in time to go head-to-head with Apple Watch

The first Pebble smartwatch was so popular when it launched via Kickstarter in 2013 that its maker couldn’t supply enough to satisfy demand as it set a record fundraising. But, since then, Apple has created more buzz in the smartwatch category than any smartwatch to date. Pebble fans have likely been wondering what the company would do to remain relevant.

The new Pebble Time, being launched via another Kickstarter campaign, offers various enhancements over the two prior Pebble smartwatches, including certain unique features that not even the Apple Watch can claim. An example is the smart accessory port to be added later in 2015 that will provide a way for other companies to add additional sensors to Pebble Time. Pebble Technology has also boosted battery life to seven days and shifted from a black and white to a color e-paper display.

Also new are a microphone, a 20 percent slimmer design and a new timeline interface that highlights what’s important in the user’s day. The timeline organizes all kinds of relevant information, including appointments. And Pebble is asserting its independence from the smartphone platform makers via Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that can push information from the Internet directly to the timeline without any apps required. Another feature coming later this year is voice to text, which adds voice recognition to the user’s apps. Pebble Time is fully compatible with the more than 6,500 existing Pebble apps for iOS and Android. The company is also fielding the new model in three colors: black, red and white. And unlike the original that was months away at the time of its campaign, Pebble Time is shipping in May at $199. The company has set a goal of raising $500,000 by March 27.

While it’s starting to be a very crowded space. Pebble Time has potential thanks to its wide set of features, and brand recognition. It remains to be seen if the Time has what it takes to slow the Apple Watch juggernaut, although as noted on the special edition of the Backerjack podcast devoted to it, the new Pebble model has a clear price advantage over the $349 and up Apple device..

 

Categories
Connected Objects Lighting

Playbulb garden lights up your garden, saves you some green

Outdoor garden lighting tends to be pretty routine, offering little in the way of color. Few outdoor bulbs can also be deemed to be green, as in environmentally friendly, because they require the same electricity that indoor lights use.

However, the latest Playbulb LED lighting product -– the water-resistant Playbulb garden –- adds multiple colors, special lighting effects and smart functionality, and is driven purely by solar power. Each light is controlled via Bluetooth 4.0 by the accompanying free Playbulb X app for Android and iOS mobile devices. Users can change each light’s color with the app and also select from rainbow, fading, pulsing, flashing and candle light effects.

The built-in sensor detects lighting conditions and automatically turns on or off accordingly. The included monopod/spike allows more flexibility for installation. Once attached to the bottom of a Playbulb garden light, it’s easy to push into the grass to make the bulb secure. The monopod can also be removed if the user just wants to place the light directly on the ground. Each Playbulb garden costs $29.99 and will ship in May. Its maker set a goal of raising $10,000 by March 27.

Playbulb garden follows the Playbulb color and Playbulb rainbow, and will likely appeal to many homeowners with gardens. Other good features include its ability to run up to 20 hours on a full charge. One drawback is that its light might not be bright enough for some consumers. Customers shouldn’t expect to be able to use one to read a book outside at night. The product is featured in a recent Backerjack podcast.

 

Categories
Music Technology

Stream delivers open source multi-room music streaming

Multi-room, Wi-Fi music systems have become increasingly popular as emerging technology standards in the category, including AllPlay, continue to try and gain a foothold. But Sonos and other options on the market, such as the Core multi-room speaker system, are too costly for many consumers, often coming in at $300 or higher.

Stream is being touted by its maker as a highly affordable option, coming in at $199. Like similar products, Stream enables users to listen to music from Spotify, Amazon, YouTube, iTunes and their own personal music collections in all rooms of their homes. It’s an open system that can be connected via a free app for Android and iOS devices. Alternatively, iOS users can run Stream via AirPlay. Stream will ship in May. Its maker is looking to raise $50,000 by March 24 to give the manufacturing supplier a first order and pay for research and tooling costs, according to Stream’s Indiegogo campaign.

Stream holds promise largely because of its price tag, which separates it from much of the rival pack. But it’s not clear if that will be enough of a selling advantage. For now, the actual quality of Stream’s sound isn’t known, and that’s the most important feature of any music system.