Author: Nicholas Echevarria

Categories
Automotive Chargers/Batteries

Pocket Jump charges your smartphone, jump starts your car

Being suddenly stranded on the side of the road because of a dead car battery and a smartphone on its last legs can be a pretty terrible situation. With the unimpressive capacity of our smartphones, this is probably a situation that happens all too often and is dangerous because there just might not be anyone around to help. Viatek Consumer Products Group, Inc. is looking to kill two birds with one stone with their Pocket Jump, a product looking to restore motorists’ peace of mind while on the road.

Pocket Jump addresses our devices’ constant necessity for power as a portable 3000mAh or 4800mAh battery pack with the ability to recharge using a micro-USB connection or a vehicle’s own car battery through the cigarette lighter. In the unfortunate scenario that a car battery dies out, the Pocket Jump is equipped with the technology to jump start a car with that same cigarette lighter so a motorist can avoid the hassle of having to flag down another car, use dangerous jumper cables, and possibly face inclement weather while doing so.

Cars, vans, trucks with diesel or hybrid engines can all use the Pocket Jump, making the tiny device an extremely versatile tool to have handy especially because it will more or less always have some sort of charge within. The 3000mAh version goes for $40, while the Pocket Jump Plus goes for $80. The campaign is looking for $10,000 to get the product in backer’s vehicles by December 2014.

Categories
Connected Objects Fashion

Dazln illuminating interactive fingernails nail a not-so-bright idea

Holiday attire can go one of two ways: either those dressing up do so elegantly, or they miss the mark completely. DazIn falls firmly in the latter category by being a chip containing cover for your nails that lights up when close to a device with NFC (near field communication). An embedded light blinks when close to your Android phone in an effort to add some holiday cheer to any situation, but all it will end up doing is provoke weird stares and questions for all the wrong reasons.

Although DazIn is waterproof, that does little to add to its desirability. The creators behind DazIn have priced a single nail at $10, but just don’t expect it to work with any model of the iPhone at all. Android phones with NFC are fair game, but it seems like an interesting design choice to not have it work with one of the most popular phones in the world. In any case, DazIn is looking for $10,000 to make this bizarre nail light show a reality. Backers can celebrate in time for Christmas with an estimated delivery date of December 2014.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Input

TOHKB offers an attachable keyboard for Jolla phones

The Jolla is a small open-source smartphone that uses the Sailfish OS, capable of running Android apps from a variety of app stores. Jolla’s modularity, both hardware and software-wise, is its biggest selling point, similar to how Google’s Project Ara is tackling the idea of smartphones that evolve over time. The Other Half is Jolla’s proprietary platform that allows for this modularity, and will eventually work to add and customize its hardware functionality. For now, though, it exists to give users the choice of backplate colors. With the most ambitious Other Half so far being an Angry Birds-themed one that offers a paint job and some custom sounds, the fervent user base has clamoring for more utility. That’s where the the Other Half Keyboard comes into play.

The Other Half Keyboard, or TOHKB for short, is a durable Other Half attachment for the Jolla that allows you to attach a fully customizable, LED-backlit keyboard. Users have the choice to leave the keyboard on or attach it at their own convenience. Either way, the keyboard can slide out in either direction, so users won’t have to worry about the phone’s orientation during use. The keyboard is spacious and tactile, and claims to offer a superior typing experience without the crowdedness of other keyboards, and users have the option of ordering a blank versions of the keyboard to engrave with a laser printer. TOHKB gives a lot of limelight to hotkey support as well, offering fully customizable hotkeys to improve interaction speed with the smartphone.

As promising as TOHKB looks, battery life is a smartphone user’s ultimate concern, and an Other Half for battery life might have more legs than a keyboard that isn’t strictly necessary. In any case, the campaign is looking for €55,000 (~$68,100) and at this point, each keyboard is going for €130 (~$160). Backers can expect theirs in April of 2015.

Categories
Technology

HomeHalo router clips kids’ wings with parental controls

For pretty much everyone with access, the Internet is an indispensable part of our daily lives and facilitates more and more of it every single day. The second you become a parent, however, that same marvel immediately becomes a minefield for the little ones. It’s been a struggle for parents to figure out how best to filter the content available and limit the time kids spend on the Internet to protect their growing loved ones. Inventor Chris Gray went through this same dilemma, was ultimately dissatisfied with the options on the market, and created the HomeHalo to truly empower parents.

The combination router, cloud service, and iOS/Android app come together to create a simple system in which any parent, not only the technologically savvy ones, can have total control over their children’s Internet habits across all devices. HomeHalo separates from other products because it allows for different profiles for each child.  This way, younger tykes can have stricter filters and limits than, say, a 15-year-old.

The app will let parents approve or deny additional time requests, and review, approve, block, and whitelist Web sites in real time using push notifications. HomeHalo will also alert you if its hardware is being tampered with or turned off as well, letting you take action immediately. The HomeHalo campaign is pushing for a £30,000 (~$47,000) infusion. Those who are interested can grab a beta version with no fees ever for £75 (~$117), while a regular version goes for £140 (~$220). The device is estimated to be delivered by February 2015.

The HomeHalo is a promising little product built atop a categorization system that doesn’t strictly rely on DNS addresses, which greatly reduces the chances something like this will be bypassed. Even still, systems that try to limit and filter Internet time like the HomeHalo and box&rox are based on the assumption that kids will never figure out ways around them, underestimating the incredible tech savvy of young ones.

Categories
Furniture Technology

Redidesk is a desktop PC that’s serious about the “desk” part

Classroom computing is hot button topic nowadays. School districts are pouring ungodly sums of money into procuring the most advanced technology for their children only to have it broken, stolen, or just plain ignored by teachers who care to use their time in a more constructive way. There’s no doubt that it’s important to integrate a sound digital curriculum, but it seems like the way it’s done now racks up bills without much to show for it.

The REDIDESK is a promising all-in-one touchscreen computing solution built within a classroom desk. This combination reduces the chance of breakage or theft, and makes it easier for instructors to integrate computer learning into the curriculum without wasting time, hoping for no technical difficulties. REDIDESK is Wi-Fi enabled and its retractable computer screen still leaves lots of desk space for students to learn with. For example, it offers many orientations to facilitate group work. The desk is also easily assembled, and inventor Darren Riley hopes this aspect will offer the community of those who the REDIDESK will eventually serve the employment opportunities necessary to be empowered. Any donation amount goes toward their $70,000 funding goal so that they can begin a pilot program in Baltimore to test the REDISDESK out on a larger scale. From there, they’ll have enough data to put the desk into production.

The work done here with the REDIDESK is admirable, especially the push to create more employment opportunities in those underserved areas where the REDIDESK would cater to, but the link between superior education and computing remains to be seen. Technology cannot act as a replacement for traditional teaching, something a project as well-intentioned as REDIDESK may not completely understand. In any case, the idea is interesting, and barring exuberant costs for schools themselves, should do well considering school districts will do anything to save a buck.

Categories
Input

Hashkey dedicated keyboard lets you #beonewiththehashtag

The last decade has seen the humble little hashtag shoot to meteoric heights of global importance due to the prevalence of Twitter pretty much everywhere. No one saw it coming, and even the hashtag itself doesn’t even know what to make of it. What used to be the lowly pound symbol on a telephone is now a global phenomenon, and what better way to acknowledge that than taking it off its shared space on the keyboard and giving it its own digs?

The HashKey is a USB-connected single key keyboard featuring the star of the show, the hashtag. That’s literally it. The entire thing is all really tongue-in-cheek and charming, and most will pop a smile watching the campaign try to jokingly convince potential backers of the economic impact of the time wasted finding the hashtag. The HashKey is reminiscent of Art Lebedev’s mini keyboards, but where those have OLED displays that are customizable the HashKey is dedicated. In any case, a Bluetooth connection rather than a wired connection for the HashKey would’ve been nice considering its £17 (~$26) price tag. The campaign is looking for £15,000 (~$23,300) to ship out this social media novelty by March 2015.

Categories
Connected Objects Health and Wellness Sensors/IoT

uHoo monitors your air, doesn’t taste like chocolatey chemicals

Every single second of our lives, we breathe. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale: it is this unconscious rhythm that keeps us going, but seldom do we stop to think about the quality of the air around us. We can only do so much about the air outside, but there’s no excuse to being ill-informed about the air in our own homes. The company behind the uHoo is looking to make it easy to know what’s lingering in our own bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms so we can take the actions necessary to protect our health.

Bad quality air can be the cause of all kinds of immediate respiratory issues like allergies, and chemicals and other pollutants can affect our health in the long term. That’s why the uHoo has five sensors that measure particulate matter, airborne chemicals, temperature, humidity, and CO2. It communicates this information to you through a companion app compatible with iOS using Wi-Fi, with an Android and Web-based app coming later. The sparse app gives you an overview of your home’s air quality and gives you details about specific sections of your home, sending alerts whenever it senses something out of the ordinary. Stay on top of your air with $129, and expect a uHoo in June of 2015. The campaign is looking for $30,000 to get uHoo out to backers.

uHoo is continuing the trend of arming users with lots and lots of information about the air, like the similar Table Air. But even if the information it provides is valuable, it isn’t doing enough. A device like this should serve not only as a data recorder but intelligently connect to and control other devices in a home to actively provide that cleaner, healthier environment while you go about your business. It was minimally designed to blend in with your home, but maybe it blends in a little too well.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Input

GoGlove comes in handy for controlling music via gestures

The devices in our life are so incredibly useful, but sometimes that utility can get in the way. Who hasn’t felt somewhat idiotic taking out their phone to do one thing and return it, only to realize within a few seconds that it needs to be fished out again for something else? Headphones with remote controls have alleviated some of that juggling we do but haven’t truly disconnected us from our touchscreen overlords.

The GoGlove wants to make it easier to handle your devices by allowing you to wirelessly initiate a wide variety of actions with just a few finger taps. To use it, a tap of your middle finger activates the gloves and awaits other taps. When input, these taps can do everything from raise the volume of your favorite tunes to begin a recording session on your GoPro, ensuring that you won’t have to stop running or dig deep in your pockets for your device. Each finger on the GoGlove is fully customizable to suit your needs with its iOS or Android companion app, and its Bluetooth LE connection allows for an estimated battery life of a few years of normal use. When weather makes the use of this glove impractical, its embedded remote can be removed for use as well.

The GoGlove will no doubt be useful, especially because it can easily be worn underneath another glove when it gets really frigid out. But the number of actions available looks fairly limited, but there is some work being done in that area so we can expect some more uses out of it. The GoGlove is going for $99, which is $30 off its eventual MSRP. For backers, $40,000 is the magic number that will get this product their hands by June 2015.

Categories
Input

Tiny Swiftpoint GT mouse offers touchscreen gestures without screen touching

The introduction of the touch-centric Windows 8 and the impending advent of its big brother, Windows 10, have given manufacturers headaches in trying to figure out how to best design a computing system comfortable enough to take advantage of their features. Trying to reign its many tiles along with getting the start menu under control with an ordinary mouse just doesn’t cut it. Although trackpads have fared OK, even touchscreen laptop combinations have come up short.

The Swiftpoint GT is a extremely compact mouse with the ability to use natural touch gestures in a non-touch environment. Its ergonomic design has a point-and-click mode with which all the standard mouse functions are available, but the magic begins with a light press of toggle at its front. A comfortable pen-like grip facilitates natural touch screen gestures like scrolling and flicking with natural motions of the wrist, so as to avoid the dreaded crab claw that results from long periods of mouse use.

It sports a Bluetooth LE connection for up to several weeks use, and a separate USB dongle should the computer it’s used with not be equipped with it which doubles as its rapid charger: just 30 seconds of charging time gives user one hour of use. The Swiftpoint GT goes for $93 and should the campaign reach its $25,000 goal, backers should receive their very own December 2014.

The Swiftpoint GT can also be used with an iPad or Android device as well, but the former exists only more as a portal to Windows than anything else. In addition, learning an entirely new manner of input may actually might make using Windows more difficult for some, especially since left-handed users are left out in the cold. Still, the Swiftpoint GT seems like a must have for Windows users who can grasp its benefits, and probably is a bit easier to swallow than the ThumbTrack — fellow hardware manufacturers should take note.

Categories
Aquatics Augmented Reality Connected Objects

Scubus S offers augmented reality under the sea

Scuba divers are lucky; they get to explore parts of the world that most people never get to even see. Unfortunately, they’re limited to using complicated gestures to communicate with each other. The Scuba S is upping the underwater technology game as an augmented reality scuba mask.

The Scuba S is special in that almost anyone but children can wear it, giving it lots of versatility. When worn, the onboard dual core CPU along with the 1GB of RAM work together to provide users with a HUD water temperature, depth and access to a group chat with pre-programmed messages that travel with acoustic waves. The HUD is maneuverable with a small, wrist-worn remote, and can also control a LED flashlight and an HD camera capable of 1080p video. Anti-fog glass is the cherry on top and prevents the Scuba S from being unusable. The early bird price for the product is $499, shooting up to $699 after the end of the $200,000 campaign. Backers can expect their own Scuba S in June of 2015.

The Scuba S offers a lot of functionality in a familiar package, but it’s worrisome to see tech creeping underwater alongside us. Is the vast splendor of the ocean not enough to maintain a diver’s attention span? Won’t there be more missed if we’re busying toggling group chats and cameras?