People 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.
Author: Julia Herrick
For 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.
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.
As the selfie grows more and more popular, people are looking for new ways to bask in the glory of… well, themselves. The SELFIEME is an iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4 case that comes with two detachable lenses. One is a fish eye lens while the other is a wide angle lens. The case comes in different colors and also has a separate slot for the lenses. It is unclear why this is just for selfies, however, when the lenses attach to the back camera and not the front “selfie” camera. For $49, vain backers can enjoy the SELFIEME with an estimated delivery date of September 2014. This product hopes to raise $21,000 in three weeks on Kickstarter.
As everyone walks around constantly glued to their mobile devices, paper still remains relevant. Drawing on a tablet just isn’t the same as drawing on paper. To combine the convenience of digital with the functionality of paper, try out Blerline. These iOS-optimized sticky notes adhere to your iPad or iPhone and allow you to trace the image on your device onto the paper. It’s perfect for recreating a photograph, copying down notes or composing music. One pack of 25 notes for the iPhone 5 only costs backers $4 with estimated delivery in August 2014. Blerline hopes to raise $9,000 in a 41-day Kickstarter campaign.
It’s happened to all of a us. Enjoying a nice time with friends is usually stunted by the inevitable round of phone checking that happens every ten minutes. If you’re looking to have fun in the moment with your friends without cellular interference, try BLOCK. This bulky candle holder burns down a typical tea light, while also jamming the signal to cellular devices to prevent distraction. It has adjustable jamming ranges and can simply be stepped away from when phone time is necessary. One of these high-tech Dutch candles costs backers €19 for delivery in September 2014. BLOCK hopes to raise €30,000 in a month-long Kickstarter campaign.
The Premise. Ever hear of that hoax involving a TV station claiming to transmit scent through a product called Smellovision? And hundreds of people claimed to smell it? It seems that these folks really wanted a way to smell scents through their devices.
The Product. Introducing the oPhone DUO, a new way to send scents along with text messages to give your friends a full sensory experience. It is an iPad sized device with two pillars that raise up a diffuse scent to the receiver. Using several oChips that work together, the device is able to produce over 300,000 unique aromas. With its accompanying app, the user can take a photo of a place, food, drink, etc., choose different scents to pair it with and send it off to the recipient. From their phone, the recipient can open the image and scent and use the oPhone DUO to smell it.
The Pitch. The stylish campaign video oozes Parisian style and sophistication, but offers no smells. In the remainder of the campaign, different photos show oPhone DUO users smelling the device, which looks a little funny. The creator also explains different attempts at smell-transmitting devices in the past that have failed, which doesn’t exactly evoke the sweet smell of victory. This odorous product hopes to raise $150,000 in its month and a half long Indiegogo campaign.
The Perks. For $199 backers can enjoy the oPhone DUO along with a set of different smelling oChips. Higher tiers offer more smell varieties. Reward tiers reach up to $20,000 with an estimated delivery date of April 2015. Stretch goals set at $300,000, $2,000,000, and $5,000,000 are set for more scents, a smaller oPhone DUO version and an aromatic camera.
The Potential. Other products have tried and failed to produce scent to accompany pictures and sounds. For instance, the iSmell operated under the same concept as the oPhone, but failed miserably in its attempt to work. It seems a little strange to want to send someone else smells. And the device begs the question, does it deal in bad smells as well? Still, if aromas are your game and you’re looking for a way to connect on an olfactory level with a loved one, what better way than to do so with the oPhone DUO?
Soccer is a great sport that is enjoyed by many all over the world. However, running around on a piping hot field can get pretty sweaty. The PractiGOAL is a typical soccer goal that converts easily into a shady spot for players and parents alike. This 65 lb heavyweight goal comes with seats to rest out of the sun. It is made out of aluminum and folds up for portability. One of these goal/shades will set backers back a whopping $400 for delivery in February 2015. PractiGOAL is looking to raise $35,000 in its 45-day run on Kickstarter.
The Premise. As summer approaches, there are dangers that we must deal with that are related to heat. Cars heat up extremely quickly when left out in the sun. Many parents absentmindedly leave their children behind in hot cars, resulting in dangerous conditions for the child.
The Product. Babeep is an alert device that reminds parents, guardians and babysitters to check their cars before locking up and walking away. This Israeli product plugs directly into the car’s outlet and even has a USB port on the side for charging phones. When the car starts, the Babeep flashes green. When the car is turned off, it flashes red and plays a prerecorded baby sound to remind the driver that a baby is onboard.
The Pitch. Babeep’s campaign is riddled with terrifying facts of child neglect and death rates. It even features a news story of one such incident. The campaign video shows a dramatization of this occurrence that makes the vignettea little bit more horror than informational. Still, the campaign does a great job in creating a sense of urgency for this product in parents and guardians. Babeep is looking to raise a huge $300,000 in its month and a half long Indiegogo campaign.
The Perks. Early backers will receive the Babeep for $35 or $38 at a regular price. Higher tiers offer multi packages for families with several cars. The highest tier at $15,000 promises to donate 500 Babeeps to new moms in hospitals across the country. Lower tiers have an estimated delivery date of March 2015.
The Potential. As the campaign explains, there are several ways that parents have tried to battle the leaving-the-kid-in-the-car problem, but none are effective when the driver is distracted. Some are simply tags that the parent is supposed to remember to use, like the Baby Bee Safe, but how is a parent going to remember a piece of plastic if they can’t remember their own kid? Others are more high tech like the ChildMinder which senses if a child is in the back and then beeps if the child separated by the parent by more than 15 feet. The Babeep seems to be the simplest, most effective of these options. It requires little action and works automatically which is perfect for the kind of parent or guardian who might accidentally leave their child behind.
In any decent beer chugging battle, one must rely on their eyesight to determine the winner, which isn’t always reliable. To really discern which chugger is the fastest drinker, use the Chugometer. This simple, Canadian device gauges the amount of beer in the beer bong and how fast the beer is emptied. Neat, eh? It attaches right to the bong to help you figure out which of your friends is going to land in an AA meeting first. One Chugometer costs beer drinking backers $47 CAD with a ton of early bird specials for delivery in December 2014. This frat bro-in-heaven product hopes to raise $50,000 CAD on Kickstarter.