Author: Julia Herrick

Categories
Luggage and Bags Personal Transportation

Commute-Case scooter inches closer to Jetsons’ suitcase car

The Premise. Briefcases serve business people by acting as luggage for all of those necessary work-related items. Sometimes, however, they can become hard to carry, especially during those long commutes to and from work. Perhaps the briefcase should carry you instead of the other way around

The Product. The Commute-Case is so much more than a briefcase. It also acts as a battery-powered personal transportation device and trolley. When folded up, the case looks like any typical bag, but folds out into the two above modes. Currently, the beefed up case comes in blue, black, beige, pink, green, purple, red and gray. When laid flat on the ground, the Commute-Case is 18” long by 13” wide and 4” tall. While in ride mode, the product can go as far as 25 miles at up to 12mph.

The Pitch. Commute-Case’s relatively dry campaign video fails to match up to how cool this product is. Another video in the campaign shows how the product folds out, but does so with an animation instead of showing someone doing it, making it unclear how easy or difficult it is for the Commute-Case to switch between different modes. This product has a lofty goal of $150,000 in 30 days on Indiegogo.

The Perks. Commute-Case offers several reward tiers, but only one with the case itself. Lower reward tiers feature extra cargo bags, warning lights and t-shirts. The last and highest level of $999 gets backers the case along with an engraving option that has an estimated delivery date of December 2014.

The Potential. In the briefcase/battery-operated scooter/trolley market, the Commute-Case may be, well, the only product there is. Its interesting mishmash of uses makes this case worthy of a George Jetson type. In addition, the price seems pretty fair based on the versatility of this product. The only questions that remain are how heavy is the case and how awkward is it to ride while straddling the briefcase? Even so, the Commute-Case is a new and interesting way for commuters to tote around their stuff.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories

Fritzframe is an iPhone bumper that gets a grip

fritzframeWe’re constantly attached to our iPhones and use them as cameras, recipe books, GPS’s and a million other things. The Fritzframe makes the iPhone even more versatile acting as a case, stand, video stabilizer and more. The case folds out so that it holds up the phone on any surface or hangs from a hook. Much like the Casio TRYX Digital Camera of yore, the Fritzframe makes it easy to take photos or videos from any angle. The lightweight aluminum Fritzframe only works with the iPhone 5 and costs backers $71 with an estimated delivery date of June 2014. This product has a modest $1,000 goal in its 45-day Indiegogo campaign.

Categories
Apparel Chargers/Batteries

Buckle Charger helps your smartphone’s charge go to waist

Buckle ChargerWe’ve all had that awful moment when our phone dies and we’re stuck without a way to charge it. With Buckle Charger, the answer lies just above your crotch. This portable charger lives right on a belt buckle and can charge any Android phone, iPhone or Bluetooth headset. It’s subtlety, convenience and portability make this product extremely appealing, much like the Carbon Watch. One Buckle Charger costs buckled backers $49 at an early price or $59 regularly with choice of leather color and three connectors. This product needs to raise $100,000 with its hilarious 40-day Indiegogo campaign.

Categories
Connected Objects Pets

Kittyo keeps your cat fed and entertained, hits paws on the remote

The Premise. For many people, pets are not simply animals taking up space in their houses while furring everything up, but are really members of the family. Leaving them for a week-long vacation or even a day at work can be sad. Unlike humans, pets can’t simply pick up the phone to talk which leaves the question: how do you interact with your pets when you’re away?

The Product. Kittyo is a device that lets you play with your cat when you’re not at home. This compact product dispenses treats, comes with a laser for your cat to play with, and has a speaker and camera so that you can watch and talk to your cat. Using wi-fi and an iOS or Android app, pet owners can interact with their pets in real time to control the laser and treat dispenser. Kittyo is roughly the size of a coffee grinder and comes with a shelf mount to keep it from getting knocked over by hungry kitties.

The Pitch. The video shows a bunch of cat people talking about how excited they are for Kittyo. It also shows the device in action, featuring a woman on her phone watching her cat chase around the laser that she’s controlling, pretty cool. The creators talk about how Kittyo is great for engaging fat cats that could use some exercise, which makes sense. The rest of the campaign shows the specs of the dispenser along with cute, irresistible kitten photos. Kittyo needs has a $30,000 goal for its 32-day Kickstarter campaign.

The Perks. Kittyo’s creators offer two early-bird specials of $99 and $119. The Kickstarter standard price of $139 is $50 less than the expected retail price of Kittyo. All tiers have an estimated delivery date of November 2014.

The Potential. Cat people will do just about anything to interact with their pets while they’re away. Recently the market has been flooded with these types of devices that use wi-fi to interact with cats. PetPal and iCPooch also let users talk to and watch their cats while away. Some focus simply on the dispensing of treats or food, like PETLY and Pintofeed. Kittyo is the first of these devices that have the added laser option which actually lets people play with their cats when they’re out of the house which is fairly cool. The price of Kittyo is also on the lower end of these products, which makes it that much more attractive. All in all, the Kittyo’s awesomeness will have backers thinking the product is the cat’s meow.

Categories
Kids/Babies

Whaleywasher lives on your faucet to keep the water at a kid-safe temperature

whaleywasherGetting kids to wash their hands can be a chore. Water that’s too hot can make them reluctant to want to cleanse. Whaleywasher is a faucet attachment that allows parents to preset temperatures, water flow and dispenses soap for their kids. It was designed to make washing up easier for kids so that they don’t splash water or burn themselves. This attachment also extends the faucet forward and down so that kids can reach the water. One Whaleywasher costs dirty backers $25 with an estimated delivery date of September 2014. Whaley needs $20,000 to reach the mass market in its 30-day Kickstarter campaign.

Categories
Music

DrumStooled weds a bass drum and stool to keep you strummin’ and drummin’

DrumstooledMusicians who travel around must bear the weight of their instruments constantly. Drum sets in particular can be cumbersome to tote around and a pain to set up. DrumStooled combines a stool with a bass drum so that musicians who are so inclined can play the guitar and the drum at the same time. It cuts down on luggage for bands that travel around. One of these French instruments costs rockin’ backers €600 with an estimated delivery date of September 2014. DrumStooled hopes to raise €30,000 in its 60-day Indiegogo campaign.

Categories
Kids/Babies Tablet Accessories Toys

DiDi puts an iPad in a teddy bear’s tummy

The Premise. Stuffed animals are a staple for any child’s box of toys. Most, however, are limited in the interaction that they have with children, showing them how to cuddle but not much else.

The Product. Powered by iPad, DiDi is an interactive teddy bear system. Using an app, an iPad, and special touch toys, DiDi teaches kids the fundamentals of eating healthily, brushing their teeth as well as the fundamentals of reading. The iPad fits right into the body of the bear so that kids can use the touch screen to play or cuddle with DiDi without the iPad at night.

The Pitch. The DiDi video shows a little girl playing with her bear and all the different ways that the bear can be used.  The rest of the campaign shows the myriad of accessories that the bear comes with how they help kids with their reading skills. DiDi is shooting for $25,000 in 30 days on Kickstarter.

The Perks. The limited reward tiers offer early backers the DiDi package for only $25. This includes the teddy bear, Magic Touch toys and another stuffed bunny. The regular price is also $25 but doesn’t include the extra toy. Each teddy bear comes with the app needed to power it. Estimated delivery date is currently set at August 2014.

The Potential. We’ve seen a lot of these super teddy bears lately. The ZiBear is similarly powered by a device, though it isn’t directly connected to the bear. The ZiBear lets parents program what they want the bear to say. DiDi is interesting in that the touch screen is directly on the bear, giving kids the added visual aspect of the toy. It is also specifically a reading tool, which is a perfect way to get kids to learn how to read by incorporating their reading into playtime. One crawback to DiDi, though, is that only kids in iPad households can use the toy. However, the cost of the bear, app, and related accessories is relatively low which partially makes up for needing an iPad to use it. All in all, DiDi seems like a fun learning tool for kids and will certainly be entertaining as well as educational.

Categories
Tech Accessories

This Python protects MacBook adapters by reinforcing the MagSafe cable

PythonThose of us who have laptops end up bringing them absolutely everywhere and plug into every outlet that we can find, even if the cord barely reaches. While this is convenient at the time, the laptop cords wear down and eventually break. The Python Cord Protector snakes around the cord and loops over the battery pack of a Mac cord to keep the wire casing straight and intact. One Python only costs backers $11 with an estimated delivery date of July 2014. This product hopes to raise $5,000 in its 30-day Kickstarter campaign.

Categories
Toys

ME Model Railway System expands Lego train options

Me Models Railway SystemToy train sets have been a favorite for kids and future engineers for many years. Lego has their own version of the toy train set for a long time, but has a few limitations. The ME Model Railway System has taken the Lego model and expanded upon it, offering a more versatile range of rail shapes and sizes. With this freedom, kids are able to create more elaborate rail systems than they could before. Backers can enjoy a sampling of the different pieces in this set for only $12 with an estimated delivery date of September 2014. ME Models needs to raise $79,000 in a 30-day Kickstarter campaign.

Categories
Connected Objects Imaging

Famatic tries tapping into the senior market with a cloud-connected photo viewer

The Premise. There’s nothing that grandparents love more than photos of their grandkids. Photo sharing these days is easy with the Internet and social media, but grandparents are notorious for having trouble using these new technologies. From a distance, sharing photos with older people can be difficult.

The Product. Famatic is a digital picture frame with an added touch screen bonus. People can share photos via wi-fi directly to the frame so that grandparents can enjoy a slideshow of new material right from their living room. The 8 GB device connects to Instagram, Facebook and e-mail as well so that people sharing on these platforms can easily upload their photos or videos to Famatic. The screen shows who shared the photo or video along with the caption and allows users to comment on each photo.

The Pitch. Famatic’s pitch begins with a charming video showing a family using the product with ease. It manages to use the same infomercial format that many campaigns use, but does so in a cute way that will make you laugh. The Famatic creators express an interest in the rest of the campaign to connect their product to more social media, including Flickr and Picasa. Famatic hopes to raise $75,000 in their 42-day Kickstarter campaign.

The Perks. This-amped up digital frame from the Netherlands offers a $169 early-bird special for the U.S. which includes shipping and a $209 international early-bird special with shipping included for the EU. At its regular price, the Famatic frame costs Americans $189 and the rest of the world $229. The highest reward tier of $329 offers different color options for backers. All tiers have an estimated delivery date of October 2014.

The Potential. The glory days of the digital photo frame have faded in the wake of tablet popularity. However, cloud-connected frames have some potential. Prior to leaving the consumer imaging market, Kodak had some success with the Kodak Pulse More recently, Flink went the crowdfunding route for its cloud-connected picture viewer, but fell short in its campaign. That said, Famatic is a promising way to share photos with friends and families alike and will improve as its creators add to their product in the future.