Category: Cell Phone Accessories

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Cell Phone Accessories Displays Input Tablet Accessories

Portable DAMO creates wall-sized touch screen for Android devices

While giving a corporate slide presentation, it would be handy to be able to control the images just by touching them on the wall or projection screen that they’re appearing on.

The DAMO from Taiwan is a portable accessory that connects via Wi-Fi to Android 4.2 and higher smartphones and tablets, and then displays whatever is on the Android device screen through any projector. The DAMO sensor connects to the projector via an HDMI cable. The touch screen that is created can be as large as 80 inches. When the user touches the wall or other surface with an included DAMO ring or pen device, an infrared signal is sent to the DAMO sensor and then back to the Android device. Interacting can also be done via hand gestures or controlled via the Android device screen.

The sensor can also be attached to a TV or computer monitor. Backers who provide $99 as part of an early bird Indiegogo special will get a DAMO system when it ships in August of this year. That’s $70 less than its expected $169 price. The money is going to be used to put DAMO into mass production. Its makers are trying to raise $90,000 by March 8.

DAMO holds promise. But the limited number of devices that it supports now will limit its potential customer base. It has some similarities to the cheaper Project Wedge, which supports more mobile devices, but otherwise pales in comparison to DAMO. The main customer for DAMO will likely be people who frequently make business presentations, although there could be some limited appeal among kids. The product’s name is a version of the Chinese name of a Buddhist monk, also known in English as Bodhidharma. Besides being credited with training Shaolin monks in martial arts, Bodhidharma is said to be the founder of Zen Buddhism, which is why charms in his likeness are popular in Japan. The green DAMO logo is a take on those charms, also known as Daruma dolls, the DAMO team says.

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Cell Phone Accessories

Prynt will instantly print photos taken with your smartphone

As their cameras get ever better, smartphones have become the go-to device that many people use to take photos. But although they generate photos that can look amazing, there is no on-the-go way to get a physical photo to post on a refrigerator or a wall, or to give to grandparents who don’t use devices that would allow them to receive the image digitally.

Prynt is a camera case for iPhones and Android smartphones that enables the user to instantly print out any photo that is taken with the device. The San Francisco- and Paris-based team of developers is using the same ZINK Zero Ink printing technology that’s been used in products like Polaroid’s instant mobile printers. The special paper that’s used has ink embedded inside, eliminating the need for any ink cartridges that need to be replaced.

Prynt’s makers have also added a neat additional feature involving augmented reality. When a photo is being taken, the Android and iOS app records a short video and stores it in the cloud. Then, when a user holds the phone over the printed image, the app will automatically scan and recognize it, showing that video on screen in augmented reality.

Backers who pledge $99 will get a Prynt case when it ships in August. That’s less than the $130-$150 that its makers expect to charge at retail. Its makers have set a goal of raising $50,000 in funding.

Prynt holds great promise—adding instant printing capability to a smartphone is a great idea. Other devices have tried to do the same thing, such as Snapjet, which users dock their smartphones on to print an image using analog instant film. Designing Prynt as a lightweight case makes it more portable, and makes the process of taking a photo and printing it out instantly very much like using an old Polaroid instant camera. Using ZINK paper also seems to be a superior alternative to using analog film. Prynt’s augmented reality feature adds even more value to the product. One drawback is that it is only compatible with select iPhones and Android phones, but its makers are trying to add compatibility for more smartphone models, according to the Kickstarter campaign video.

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Cell Phone Accessories Virtual Reality

Master your reality with the SEER augmented reality helmet

The future is truly now, and a procession of various augmented and virtual reality products signify that with their promises of revolutionary experiences. The problem with many of them is their relatively small fields of view that can lessen the illusion of reality.

SEER by Caputer Labs uses a smartphone to fully immerse viewers into an alternative reality with a headset capable of displaying an impressive field of view of 100°. With so much screen space, experiences once limited by the un-augmented world creeping in on the sides are able to become so much more. The campaign touts augmented reality experiences that are already available on the iOS and Android platforms but reinvigorated through the immersion SEER offers.

Star maps and gaming take a leap forward in terms of usability, all controlled with a wide-range of inputs like joysticks, gaming controllers, keyboards, or gestures when nothing else is around. Open source hardware and software ensure new applications will be developed, given enough interest. The increased field of view makes SEER incredibly bulky when compared to other, more standard headsets like the Viewbox. (But luckily, it doesn’t look as inane as the AirVR.) SEER is impressively priced at just $119, and its $100,000 goal has a deadline of March 3. Its developers see the product shipping in September of this year.

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Cell Phone Accessories Health and Wellness

Wishbone smart thermometer measures temperature without touching

Temperature-taking is one of the best ways to monitor one’s health. Various thermometers can be used to detect one’s temperature, including ones that go in the mouth, ear, or, well, other places.

Wishbone is a non-contact thermometer. The little green device plugs directly into a smartphone’s headphone adapter. With an iOS/Android-compatible app, one can measure temperature and store such data for reference at a later time. The Kickstarter campaign boasts how Wishbone is excellent to use with babies or any other finicky patient. In addition, this device can measure ambient temperature or the temperature of any object as well. One will cost backers $26 for estimated delivery in April 2015. Wishbone is looking to raise $20,000 on Kickstarter.

The market has been flooded with smart health devices, including MOCAheart which was recently covered on Backerjack. Wishbone will do well as an easy-to-use non-contact device. However, it would behoove the creators to look into adding some more features to their app.

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Cell Phone Accessories Imaging

Snapsme enables your smartphone camera to snap photos of you

While at a party, it would be nice if a smartphone camera could be set up to automatically take photos. That would allow for more mingling at the party without having to worry about snapping any photos manually.

Snapsme allows for exactly that. It consists of an iOS and Android app, as well as a rotating docking station. Users just have to set the number of pictures they want taken and for how long they want it to operate. The dock allows users to fully adjust application shooting to all environments and circumstances. Backers who pay $49 will get the docking station when it ships in May. That’s $20 off the expected retail price. Snapsme’s maker is also fielding a limited edition Lego version of the dock at $99. Its Belgium-based maker is hoping to raise $10,000 on Indiegogo.

Snapsme’s concept is very similar to the Sony Party-shot rotating sock from a few years back that worked in conjunction with a camera from the manufacturer. But Snapsme doesn’t seem quite as sturdy. Snapsme holds some promise if it works as well as its maker claims. It’s likely, however, that at least some of the shots that it takes will be lousy unless everybody photographed is sitting down and not much higher than the tabletop where the docking station and smartphone are placed.

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Cell Phone Accessories Chargers/Batteries

HDkey provides phone-to-phone charging, data sharing

There are times when it would be enormously handy to be able to use a friend’s cellphone to charge a cellphone. HDkey is a device that can be used to do just that. But in addition to phone-to-phone charging, it can also be used for high-speed data transfer of HD video and images.

HDkey offers high speed data sharing with more than 20 times times the speed of Bluetooth. Another key feature is integrated NFC that enables users to share business cards or perform any other kind of data transfer with others in the vicinity. With just a tap of HDkey on a client’s cellphone with NFC capability, the user’s contact details will be stored on the client’s cellphone. Backers can get HDkey for pledges starting at only $10. But it’s not clear how much the device will sell for at retail or when it will ship. WaferLabs is hoping to raise $500 on Indiegogo.

The device is promising. But it’s hard to gauge just how strong demand can be until the retail price is clear. It seems like a strong deal for its $10 or $11 early bird perk offers. However, backers will have to cough up additional money to have it shipped outside of India. HDkey will also only work on phones with microUSB connections.

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Cell Phone Accessories Chargers/Batteries

Ampere wirelessly charges smartphones, tablets in sleeve form

To most people, climate change isn’t the world’s most pressing issue, but the dying smartphone in their pocket or purse is. With smartphones batteries experiencing none of the fantastic leaps forward every other component of modern smartphones have had, people are stuck with incredibly advanced pieces of technology that can’t stay on for a full day.

Power banks and other products like Mophie cases have enjoyed popularity as mobile solutions to the problem, but the folks at Novelsys think it can be so much easier. Their Ampere charging sleeve fits most smartphones and phablets and wirelessly charges them using the Qi inductive power standard along with a 2700mAh battery. This product also features a USB outlet to charge other devices four times as fast. Its companion iOS/Android app allows users to control when charging happens, monitor battery life, and track their device using Bluetooth LE.

The Ampere’s main draw is the lack of external attachments, wires, or connections, making the process of charging a smartphone on the go super easy, unlike similar products like the MyQi. Pretty much anyone with a smartphone will be interested in the $79 product, although some untested models may not work. The $60,000 campaign is looking to ship Ampere in August 2015.

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Cell Phone Accessories Connected Objects

Bluewire Bluetooth headset recorder puts the “call” in “recall”

Recording conversations on a smartphone, tablet, or a computer can be an awkward process filled with all kinds of programs that need to be installed and run in a very specific way. While one method may indeed work well enough for one platform, it won’t always work for another. In this space, the need for a one-size-fits-all solution is apparent.

The Bluewire smartphone and VOIP recorder are looking to streamline the process of recording conversations with their Bluetooth-enabled headset from up to 33 feet away. With this device, a user can pair any Bluetooth device capable of making a call and have both sides of a conversation recorded and stored onto its 16GB internal memory. If a user has their own Bluetooth headset they’d rather use, Bluewire can be used as an intermediary instead.

A companion smartphone app unlocks even more functionality. For example, a quick double-tap on the headset or tap of the headset onto an NFC-enabled phone will instantly sync the conversation to the device and email the file. When synced, the app allows users to manage their recorded calls, enables a tracking feature for both keys and device, and activates the BlueGuard burglar alarm. When Bluewire isn’t being used, it supports wireless Qi charging. Early birds can score a Bluewire headset for $149, a significant portion off of its $269 retail price. The $40,000 Indiegogo campaign is looking to ship the product in July 2015.

Bluewire is a promising product that offers tons of functionality in an attractive package for professionals, journalists, and business types looking to make sure they never miss a single detail. It provides a great service for those who may have to keep detailed accounts of calls such as salespeople, interviewers and journalists. While apps exist that can record conversations on smartphones, they aren’t universal solutions like Bluewire, a trait that will ensure Bluewire’s success on the market.

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Cell Phone Accessories

Kalt turns your mobile device into an infrared thermometer

One of the nice, convenient features of smartphones is their ability to tell users exactly what the temperature is outside with just a glance at an app. Kalt is for smartphone users who have wanted to take that a step further and be able to use the device to tell them the temperature of objects all around them.

The Kalt sensor, from Cleveland company Robogaia Industries, plugs into a smartphone or tablet and works in conjunction with an iOS and Android-friendly app. The sensor reads the infrared energy that an object emits without actually touching it and translates that into a readable temperature of the user’s choice between Fahrenheit, Celsius or Kelvin.

The sensor’s case is a semitransparent plastic that lets the user see some details of the internal components. It is being fielded in four color options: blue, green, orange and yellow. Backers who pledge $41 will get one sensor when it ships in March as part of an early bird Kickstarter deal. Robogaia is looking to raise $9,999.

The device holds some potential if its sensor is truly accurate. Certainly it would be nice to know the temperature of certain electronic devices that may be overheating, for example. But the company doesn’t do a good job of demonstrating any perfect use-case scenarios in its Kickstarter campaign video.

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Cell Phone Accessories Games

iPac-Man.com offers Nintendo-like controls and battery pack in one

Gaming and smartphones go together like peanut butter and jelly, or whatever other cliché phrase is most appropriate. It makes sense, too because the kind of power a smartphone has absolutely dwarfs full consoles from the ’90s and even early 2000’s, allowing classics from the Grand Theft Auto series to be emulated pretty much without a hitch. The biggest drawback, however, is a lack of physical gamepad, a problem that relegates most smart devices as gaming novelties rather than the big draws they should be.

The unfortunately-named iPac-Man.com is a combination Bluetooth gaming pad and 2500mAh battery pack all-in-one for iPhones and iPads. While the 2500mAh battery is impressively sized, what’s more impressive is the fantastic construction of the gamepad. It offers a directional pad, two analog sticks and a complete set of shoulder buttons, allowing any gaming experience to be comfortable and enjoyable.

As portable as it may be, however, a Bluetooth gaming pad like the Game Cover seems like it would be more comfortable to tote around. In any case, the iPac-Man.com is just $59, and is expected to be shipped in April of 2015 with a successful campaign of $40,000 on Indiegogo.