Category: Connected Objects

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Connected Objects Music

Mars Bluetooth speakers levitate, more impressive than David Blaine

Should there be a robot-led apocalypse in the future, there’s no doubt the majority of their ground forces will be comprised of portable Bluetooth speakers. It’s easy to see, too: the last few years have witnessed a onslaught of speakers in all manner of sizes, shapes, colors, and prices. With all these options, though, it has become difficult to really capture a consumer’s attention.

For Hong Kong-based crazybaby, this isn’t a problem at all. Their Mars portable Bluetooth speaker has the unique distinction of incorporating levitation in an effort to improve acoustic fidelity, and looking mighty cool while doing so. The speaker sports a 360°, UFO-like shape, so no one in the immediate area is spared audio quality as there’s technically no back to it. Its aircraft-grade aluminum design also makes it a stunner while still being able to take a few tumbles thanks to its shock and waterproof design. Mars is also magnetized, so users can take it along with them and clip to a bike or pretty much anything else for up to eight hours. A successful $100,000 campaign will see the $189 Mars levitating speaker shipped in April 2015.

The Mars levitating speaker is simply impressive, and isn’t as expensive one would think something as sleek and functional would be. A companion app allows users control over neat tricks like proximity-based volume adjustment, an old but well-executed idea that makes the Mars sleeker than it already is. The bullet-like Archt One also spreads sound around equally and looks good too, but the Mars speakers levitate.  

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Connected Objects Sleep

Hush smart earplugs offer tranquil sounds, noise masking

After a long day’s work, most people want to just lay in bed while the silence and calm of the room around them take them off to slumberland. However, for many people around the world, this scene itself is a dream and almost impossible to experience. College students in hectic environments long for the same type of restorative sleep business travelers do, but unfortunately none of them get what they want. People in these situations usually opt for earplugs or noise canceling headphones, but most don’t work after a while or are just plain uncomfortable.

Hush manages to combine sound eliminating foam with noise masking sounds like white noise or a soothing waterfall, avoiding the use of noise canceling technology that can eventually become a problem itself. The earplugs have gone through much tweaking to ensure they are ergonomical, and side sleepers will especially enjoy the padded insides that make the product easy on the ear canals. One of its most important features is that it still keeps users informed as Hush connects to your iOS or Android smartphone and therefore to their most important contacts. With that, users can always have the option of catching some shuteye no matter where they are without sacrificing alertness. Unfortunately, it’ll be another rechargeable device that needs added to the roster.

From what it seems, the team behind Hush has a winner on their hands. Their attractive design and future potential as a study or therapeutic aide points to a bright future. Backers who plunk down $115 for it, though, need to be weary of potential shipping issues they bring up in their $100,000 campaign. If all goes well, they can expect it on their doorsteps by June 2015.

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Connected Objects Smart Home Technology

PLAYBULB rainbow light offers energy efficiency, color LED lighting

Consumers looking to save money on their electric bills represent one major audience for the new PLAYBULB rainbow LED light bulb from San Jose company MiPow USA. But the likely smaller base of consumers who want to add color lighting–red, blue, green and white–to their rooms represent another target audience for the product, which is from the same company that made the PLAYBULB color.

Each bulb offers 5 watts at full power with 280 lumens and an estimated 30,000 hours of lifetime performance. That compares to standard incandescent light bulbs that offer comparable lumens, but use up 40 watts of power and only work for a total of about 1,000 hours. A free PLAYBULB X app at the Apple App Store and Google Play can be used to set the timer for when the bulb turns on or off. Users can also select what color they want at any specific time from the color wheel on the app. Backers can get one bulb at $22 in February as part of a super early bird special. That’s $12.99 off the $34.99 retail price. The bulb’s creator set a Kickstarter funding goal of $10,000.

The bulb will likely appeal to many consumers. But it’s questionable whether the average consumer will want to pay more than $30 for one LED bulb, regardless of its energy efficiency, smart functionality and color choices.

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Connected Objects Health and Wellness Lighting

Sunn smart LED fixture fights off winter blues

It’s been proven that natural light is key in maintaining the body’s internal clock. Unfortunately, most people don’t get the exposure necessary to keep their internal rhythms in check, which can lead to a myriad of physical and psychological health issues. The team behind the Sunn is looking to bring the sun indoors to address the issue.

The product is a smart LED light fixture that replicates the rhythm of the sun, bathing any room in a person’s home with diffuse light of gradual strengths throughout the day. Sunn gradually brightens to gently waken users in the morning, produces cool, white colors to stimulate focus and productivity during the afternoon, the lights wind down to during sunset, and at night Sunn glows warm like the embers of a fire, a natural indicator it’s time to go to bed.

A companion app places total control of Sunn in a user’s hands, and can be used to sync the light to a location, change lighting conditions, or set alarms using gradual light. It can also be used with Philips Hue and LIFX lighting, as well. The science to support a product like this is there, so the idea definitely warrants a backing. The standard 19-inch Sunn is $289, and the 24-inch Sunn Plus is $349. Backers can expect the Sunn in April 2015 provided the campaign reaches its $50,000 goal.

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Cell Phone Accessories Connected Objects

HIRO connected tag swoops down and rescues your lost things

Bluetooth tags or tiles that help people find their things are a dime a dozen nowadays. They come in an extremely small portable form and usually connect via Bluetooth or GPS in order to lead distracted denizens back to their misplaced goods.

The HIRO is another one of these devices that essentially fits the mold of most Bluetooth trackers, offering iOS and Android compatibility along with the option of using a loud buzzer to help find things in piles of clothing, for example. A proximity sensor works to inform users about HIRO’s Bluetooth signal range of 200ft. While it’s not as good as having full GPS support, packing these features in its extremely diminutive size is impressive. The HIRO Bluetooth tag can be had with a $10 backing, and is expected to ship in February 2015 provided the campaign reaches it $5,200 goal.

The HIRO doesn’t offer anything out the ordinary when compare to similar tags like Tile, TrackR, or FIND 2.0. What it does offer interested parties is a break in price, something anyone can agree with.

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Connected Objects Technology

Appiom censorship app gives parents control over kids’ Wi-Fi usage

As more and more Lifetime movies revolve around the dangerous effects the Internet can have on young ones, parents are beginning to think they should limit online usage. However, these damn millennials are smart and have figured out ways to get around a lot of censorship tools.

Introducing Appiom. A little box and app that casts a safety net over the kids. The app allows users to choose different profiles and collect devices for each profile. For instance, one child’s profile may include their smartphone and laptop. With Appiom, parents can block certain apps entirely, like Facebook, or for just one hour. Similarly, they can set a timer on Internet usage, blocking kids from going online after their bedtime. Understanding that these kids are much more tech savvy than any other generation, Appiom also has capabilities to block 4g and LTE usage, preventing kids from switching from Wi-Fi to phone data to surf the Net.

Installation for this product is quite easy, requiring no router configuration or software downloads. Best of all, for smartphones at least, it only blocks certain apps, letting parents customize phone time for their kids. It would beneficial if there could be some sort of Web site blocking customization too for laptops. Still, this is an easy-to-use product that allows parents to be reasonable in their control over Wi-Fi time instead of downright Web Nazis. One will cost backers an affordable $29 donation for delivery in March 2015. Appiom is hoping to raise $25,000 on Kickstarter.

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Connected Objects

socialBrite connected light serves up synchronized light shows, mirth

Wearables usually offer something tangible to the user, like heart rate data or fitness results. The socialBrite is yet another wearable, but this one offers small, clip-on lights that offer the potential for synchronized light shows across devices. When many are in close proximity to each other, the one paired by Bluetooth LE to an iOS or Android smartphone will dictate patterns and colors to the rest through an RF mesh network, creating vibrant displays that can be set automatically to music or customized by the user.

The socialBrite not only offers an aesthetic treat, but doubles as a sort of Bluetooth tracker for little ones because it also functions as an anti-loss device. Whenever the distance between the clip and the smartphone becomes too great, an alert is sent to the phone to inform the user providing peace of mind for parents everywhere.

Ultimately, however, the product isn’t as appealing as other platforms like the Waves system of connected lights that, while not portable, offers more openness and personalization. The socialBrite campaign is looking for $25,000 in funding to get the $25 clip on the heads of little girls everywhere by March 2015.

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Connected Objects Cycling

COBI connected bike system stylishly declutters handlebar gadgets

Most riders who take their biking seriously pony up the cash for all sorts of mounts and lights to make their trips more manageable, but their handlebars end up being anything but. To put it simply, handlebars are extremely cluttered and the more functionality a rider wants, the worse it becomes.

iCradle, Inc.’s COBI connected biking system is taking what cyclists want in their ride and combining it all into an unobtrusive, wireless system. On its own, COBI gives riders an automatic flashlight, turn signal, and a proximity start-up that senses a cyclist’s iPhone or Android device and reacts accordingly. The COBI’s main draw is its handlebar dock. When a smartphone is inserted, COBI instantly adds over 100 intelligent features to any standard or electronic bike, all controlled with a handy thumb controller that allows focus to stay on the road ahead. A lot of these features, like intelligent navigation, the ability to call friends, a fitness tracker, Spotify integration, and a smart theft alarm, all make use of their large, colorful screens, and their high-powered internals —all while being charged with a 6000mAh battery pack for standard bikes or an e-bike’s hub.

COBI is extremely modular, allowing riders the freedom to pick and choose which components they’d like to add or remove from their systems, handy when more are created in the future. The company has created four separate types of designs to accommodate different types of riders: racer, city, urban, and mountain. They mainly differ in aesthetic, though. A complete kit for standard bikes goes for $255, while an e-bike gets a small discount being that they come with compatible controllers at $199. iCradle, Inc. is looking to ship the product in June 2015 provided they reach their $100,000 goal.

The COBI connected system is extremely polished and full-featured, traits sure to attract a large number of supporters and adopters. With add-ons to protect from tough terrain and inclement weather, the thought behind the design and implementation of the product is obvious. Combine with the Helmetor to get maximum efficiency out of any bike.

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Connected Objects

Fizzly is another Bluetooth mashup of smart tag, button and sensors

Why buy one device that does a single thing, or wait for apps to be created before you have the functionality you need? The tiny square Fizzly will put the power back in your hands with its multitude of arrays and sensors designed to track and react to all sorts of movement.

While impressive in and of itself, the real magic starts happening when Fizzly is attached to your body or other real-world objects to make them interactive. Attach it to your skateboard and make every trick and grind a part of a Fizzly-enabled game on your iOS or Android device. If everyday functionality is more your thing, place Fizzly in your mailbox and set an alert to trigger whenever it is opened so you can be in the know, for example. The company stresses the open nature of the platform, and encourages backers to try and find their own uses. In many ways, it’s $39 price tag is getting you a product that changes depending on who uses it, an exciting prospect for something so small. The campaign’s $49,000 goal aims to have Fizzly in backer’s hands, bags, shoes, or wherever else by April 2015.

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Connected Objects Pets

Pip pings pooches, passes on perpetuating perennial payments

One of our biggest worries concerning our four-legged friends is the possibility of them getting lost. Microchips work only 50% of the time, while Bluetooth trackers only function in a very limited range. Pip is combining a Bluetooth-capable receiver with a GPS and a CDMA radio in order to keep tabs on your pet’s paws no matter where they may wander off to.

Pip relieves the dread that comes along with a pet’s disappearance by simply being attached to a collar. It’s combination of utility interfaces with the PIP companion app to show a pet’s location with an accuracy of five feet. It also tracks activity as well, keeping you in the loop on the benefits of your pooch’s tail-chasing session. The device boasts a three month battery life because of its low-power mode when in safe areas, and with Kickstarter backers enjoying no fees for the lifetime of the product, Pip provides peace of mind outside of pet protection. International folk are out of luck though, due to its CDMA radio. In any case, Pip is going for a hefty $179 and is expected on doorsteps by June of 2015. The campaign is trying to raise $50,000 by mid-December 2014.