Author: Ross Rubin

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Podcasts

Backerjack Podcast #23: Collapsible Drones and Medication Minders

In Episode 23 of the Backerjack Podcast, Steve and Ross check out some of the latest products seeking funds and preorders, including:

  • Lumma, a pill sorting and dispensing device that reminds people to take their meds and alerts if they don’t.
  • Photokite Phi, a soft drone that runs on a tether for easier control and folds up into a tube for easy portability.

We also mentioned a few other products we wished we had more time for, including the Passfort password entry accessory and the OrbMi home messaging device.

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
Podcasts

Backerjack Podcast #22: Cameras That Think and See in 3D

In Episode 22 of the Backerjack Podcast, Steve and Ross check out some of the latest products seeking funds and preorders, including:

  • Graava, a small smooth action cam that can pick out the most interesting parts of raw footage to create a mini-movie.
  • Bevel, an inexpensive smartphone add-on that allows the capture of 3D objects that can be rotated and viewed from different angles.

We also mentioned a few other products we wished we had time for: the TrekAce forearm navigation device and the Nourish nutrition drink countertop device. Also, check out Backerjack’s first hands-on reviews of the Pebble Time smartwatch, Remix Ultratablet and Jorno folding keyboard.

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!

 

 

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Organization

Recoil Power Maze cuts the cord clutter

Life today comes with strings attached. And those strings are cords that plug into the wall. While some devices are going cordless, laptops, monitors, modems, and phones all need to be plugged into the wall. This leads to an unpleasant tangle of cords below the desk that no one wants to see or deal with.

The Power Maze gets the cords off the floor and organizes them on the top of a desk or table. It’s designed to fit a full-sized power strip and up to fifty feet of cords. Plug into the power strip as normal, then wrap the cords around the “Cord Lock Patches”. These spaces have alternating polyethylene protrusions that hold the cords in place. The Power Maze also has space in the sleek design to house the large blocks that come on many laptop chargers to protect from power surge. The campaign hopes to raise $40,000 by August 17, 2015, and is selling the Power Maze for $40, with expected delivery in October 2015.

The Power Maze is great for fixed objects like desktop PCs, but might not be very practical for anything you might need to charge on the go like a laptop given the amount of wrapping around that has to happen to fit the cords inside the small box.

 

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Home

Loogun uses high power water stream to replace nasty toilet brushes

Everyone hates toilet brushes. They’re universally gross but they’re a necessity for keeping the toilet clean.  Although some companies try to make single-use pads to cut down on the gross factor, they’re horrible for the environment and can cost over $100 a year buying refills.

But for $42, the Loogun is a sleek and elegant solution. It features a reservoir and a motor that creates a powerful stream of water that can handle the toughest bathroom messes.  The design is absolutely more attractive than a typical toilet brush, and because it never touches the toilet, it’s free of bacteria.

The creators of the Loogun are in the UK, and they’re hoping to ship worldwide by January 2016 if they meet their $62,850 goal by August 9, 2015. As far as toilet brushes go, the Loogun seems like a pretty and efficient alternative to the usual nasty bristles.

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Podcasts

Backerjack Podcast #21: Dish-sized Desktops and Roving Robots

In Episode 21 of the Backerjack Podcast, the triumphantly returning Steve and Ross check out some of the latest products seeking funds and preorders:

  • Remix Mini, a $30 PC that you can hold in your hands and runs a Windows-flavored version of Android.
  • Buddy, an expressive, face-sensing robot that can interact with multiple family members when you’re home and watch your home when you’re away.

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
Food and Beverage

iCup and iPlate offers a one-hand solution for juggling plates and cups

Barbecue and beer go together like summer and sunburn. But it’s sometimes tough to juggle both food and beverage while mingling .  A plate in one hand and a drink in the other doesn’t leave much for greeting guests at social gatherings and trying to balance the cup on top of the plate risks spillage.

The iCup and iPlate hope to slide in a solution to the issue of one-handed consumption  The cup attaches into grooves on the bottom of the plate so that it doubles as a handle. The plate also acts as a lid to keep the bugs out of the drink and the cup acts to stabilize the plate. If the food needs utensils, the iFork and iKnife snap into the sides of the plate for easy access. Finally, by helping guests keep their cup close at hand, the system helps address the issue of identifying whose cup belongs to whom. A starter set of four (dispsoable) cups, four plates, and four sets of utensils is only $15, with expected delivery of November 2015. The campaign hopes to raise $10,000 by August 13, 2015,

It would be nice to have a non-disposable option. And, of course, taking full advantage of the plasticware requires getting all the products from one source. Still, the plate and cup combo is an ingenious solution to an age-old problem that looks at the drink-balancing issue from the reverse perspective. It doesn’t make guests look silly even though they’ll probably have to be shown the sliding trick.

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Cell Phone Accessories Food and Beverage Tablet Accessories Travel

Airhook makes airline trays useful when they’re in the upright and locked position

Anyone who flies knows that the tray table is an uncomfortable evil that food and drinks often claim at the expense of tablet-resident entertainment or productivity.

Airhook is a compact, portable solution that works with the existing tray tables but makes them more useful. The simple design features a collapsible hook that gets widged between the tray and the seat into which it folds. The cupholder portion folds down, making a convenient storage place for a drink throughout the duration of the flight – including take-off and landing.  The Airhook also features a docking station for a variety of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, with a bungee cord that helps lock the device in place from the top.

The design is well-executed, and the designers are selling Airhook for $20 each, to raise $15,000 by July 26, 2015, expecting delivery by December 2015. However, frequent travelers may find that the elastic may stretch with continued use, making the device less stable as time goes on.

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Food and Beverage

Bartesian cocktail mixer is a Keurig that swears it doesn’t have a drinking problem

Mixing cocktails can be fun but it can also be time-consuming and expensive if you need to hire a bartender. And at a party, the host can get bogged down making drinks.

Bartesian hopes to solve the cocktail crisis. The idea piggybacks off of the popular single-serve coffee maker by Keurig. If that device is designed to wake one up, this one is here to help one party down. Essentially, the drinker provides the alcohol and the Bartesian uses recyclable pods to mix the drink with aplomb. Right now, Bartesian offers three well-known drinks and three signature drinks that include a margarita, cosmopolitan, and sex on the beach. Each Bartesian costs $299, and the campaign hopes to raise $100,000 by July 26th. The robot bartenders would be delivered by April 2016.

Bartesian’s main challenges will be whether its pod-enclosed drinks live up to freshly made ones as well as trying to develop a wide range of pods for the endless varieties of cocktails. As we learned in the coffee pod wars, only one or two can really survive. Bartesian is not only a far cry from those industrial bartenders promoted on luxury cruises, but comes on the heels of another crowdfunded cocktail maker in Somabar, which is $150 more.

Categories
Podcasts

Backerjack Podcast #20: Catching Thoughts and Generating Buzz

In Episode 20 of the Backerjack Podcast, guest host Michael Rose and Ross check out some of the latest products seeking funds and preorders:’

  • Myle Tap, a Bluetooth microphone that captures your thoughts on the go and can route them to a wide range of apps.
  • Doppel, a watch-like device that rhythmically buzzes your wrist to calm you down or rev you up..

Download the episode or play it below, subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and follow Backerjack on Twitter and Facebook.

Categories
Games Sports Toys

On Wheelz fuses shoes and skates, makes crowded streets a roller derby

Remember those Fisher Price skates everyone had as a kid? They transformed sneakers into skates, and for most kids, they were the coolest thing ever.

On Wheelz has taken that simple idea one step further. They’ve upgraded this common kids’ toy into a grown-up mode of transportation. Wear stylish sneakers or dress shoes that snap on to the skate “chassis”, and get rolling! The On Wheelz concept is elegant and simple. In the factory, the name-brand sneakers and dress shoes are fitted with a snapping port in the sole. The port slides into the four-wheel chassis, and all bets are off. The creators are hoping to reach a goal of $32,851 by June 30th, 2015 and deliver in Oct 2015. Backers can pay $356 for a pair of the skates (stylish shoes included!)

Personal transportation doesn’t come much more discreet than this adult version of Heelys, but it’s certainly more apt for recreation than the daily commute. The company also offer a service where a backer can send in their shoes and have them retrofitted with the port, making this product unique and customizable.