Categories
Cycling Imaging

INDIGLO saves handlebar space by doubling up action cam mounts

Bicycles are fast becoming the favored mode of transportation in large, urban cities. With this increased favor comes the inevitable support of both larger companies and DIY crowd in making their ride more effective and useful. In particular, the glut of GPS devices and action cameras like the GoPro have offered riders ways to make their rides more efficient and plain fun but at the cost of handlebar space — there can only be so many attachments!

With their dual handlebar mount, INDIGLO is letting you reclaim your handlebar space and get back to riding comfortably. The mount is installed without much fuss by just using the flexible clamp bands; the top being compatible with a wide-range of Garmin GPS devices and the bottom compatible with GoPro, Garmin Virb, and Shimano Cameras. Users can also install the INDIGLO5, the company’s own flashlight as well. What the INDIGLO dual mount does, it does simply. The campaign is hoping to raise $5,000 AUD (~$4,300 USD) for success. The product is going for $50 AUD with a ship date of February 2015.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Connected Objects Music Tablet Accessories

CuBund bridges your smartphone to home receivers

Taking music from portable players and phones to cars and home audio systems usually requires specific hardware or lots of messy, tangled cables.

Cubund is a simple USB device that plugs into a car or home audio system’s USB port and receives high-quality Bluetooth audio streams from phones, laptops, or tablets. It allows for complete control using the remotes or onboard controls of the larger device. This allows for quick installation and even faster access to music when moving from public to private areas or from the home to car and vice versa.

Cubund can also handle incoming or outgoing calls from a phone and push them through to the car’s audio or home stereo, allowing for safer, hands-free communication even in the middle of blasting the volume on a favorite song. An additional USB port is added to Cubund to allow the charging of other devices. Cubund needs $20,000 for materials, assembly, and licenses, and can be purchased for delivery in February for $89.

The right kind of equipment or settings handles pretty much everything Cubund does already, but in lieu of buying new phones, new audio equipment, or even a new car, this is a simple, cheap way to bring older equipment into the present.

Categories
Health and Wellness

Clamp-like EnerQi offers DIY accupressure

Acupuncture has long since been recognized as a great way to treat pain and relieve stress. It’s difficult to find the time to make it to the acupuncturist, however, and it seems a little frivolous to go for every ache and pain. That’s why the folks at EnerQi have come up with a way to get that same relief no matter where you are. This product is a clip that can be used to target those pressure points for relief. The pressure it puts out is adjustable and, best of all, it doesn’t use any needles. In addition, EnerQi uses different rubber covers for a range in size and hardness.

Many people need quick ways to lower their stress levels so they can continue to work or do whatever else that causes them anxiety. EnerQi is a great way to get that relief no matter where you are. While they look a little silly when worn, and look like a torture device in general, this is a great way to calm down. To get the EnerQi, backers will need to donate $25 with an estimated delivery date of March 2015. This product is looking to meet a symmetric goal of $8,888 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Organization

Allin combo poker chip and drink holder helps keep you high and dry

Poker is one of those games that resonates with those who are competitive, good at reading people, and enjoy the excitement of risk and thrill of victory. But nothing can make a game go bad faster than when someone spills their beer all over the poker table. That’s why Allin was invented. The combo poker chip beverage holder allows players to not only keep their chips organized, but also keeps beer from flying across the table. The product holds up to 100 chips and can hold a standard, individual sized can or bottle of one’s beverage of choice. Consolidated table space means more room for munchies, and more importantly, keeping score – although with all those organized chips, everyone will probably pretty much know who is winning whether the scorekeeper is accurate or not. And when the night is over, or has turned to morning, holders can be stacked up and stored until everyone who lost has gained enough money to gather again later. This campaign seeks to raise $8,500 by December 1, 2014. Backers get one product for $12, with an expected delivery of December 2014.

Categories
Automotive Connected Objects

Drivebot joins the car diagnostics club

It’s interesting to see the types of emotions we harbor towards the vehicles in our lives. We silently appreciate their hard and diligent work taking us where we need to go everyday until the day comes where they breaks down, where we then proceed to generate a maelstrom of foul language and intense hatred for forcing us to spend ridiculous sums of money to fix them.

Although having a car is heavy financial responsibility, with the Drivebot it doesn’t have to be so expensive. Billed as a Fitbit for your car, the Bluetooth-enabled dongle connects to your car’s On-Board Diagnostic II port and continuously monitors problems in their earliest stages before they become worse, ballooning in cost. It also helps by reminding you of maintenance requirements and analyzing your driving patterns to save you time, gas, and money. Onboard flash storage stores two months of trip data which can be exported as documents to claim taxes on, tacking on the savings. For $75, the Drivebot can be yours in February of 2015. The campaign is attempting to reach a $35,000 goal.

Categories
Lighting

Printed-light has no moving parts, is actually not printed

Adding a little extra light to a workspace or lounging area is often as simple as just finding a suitable table lamp. Printed-light is basically an LED table lamp suitable for any room in the house or personal office space at work. Operated by a proximity sensor, it allows the user some control over how much light is being given off. It doesn’t have any moving parts and can be run by a laptop computer, which might be the one significant thing that sets it apart from the standard table lamp outside of its shape, though there are other lights out there that can be run from a laptop. So, unless one just happens to like the unique shape, it’s not really clear how this particular LED it is an improvement over what is already available on the market. Other LED lights that backers might want to check out include Nimbus and the Phantom light. This campaign seeks to raise £7,500 (~$11,800) by November 30, 2014. Early bird backers get one light for £150 (~$240) with an expected delivery of December 2014.

Categories
Food and Beverage

Laminar Bowl keeps poured milk in cereal bowl, may save civilization

Cereal is an integral part to the mornings of many. Though adding milk to a heaping pile of delicious cereal can result in spills, the last thing anyone needs first thing in the AM. Laminar Bowl works to eradicate spilt milk and cereal. It’s manufactured with a large bump in the middle, designed to absorb the impact of the milk so that everything stays put right in the bowl. In addition, Laminar features high sides and won’t tip over. This bowl is also great for soups, stews, or any other liquid delicious food. Coming in blue, red, orange, purple or green, Laminar is completely dishwasher safe for maximum convenience.

For only $8, backers can enjoy this product with estimated delivery in January 2015. With a goal of $49,500, the guys behind this bumpy bowl hope Kickstarter will help them with their goal. For the overzealous, milk and cereal spillage do certainly happen. This can usually be avoided by pouring the milk more slowly into the bowl. Still, for those who just can’t seem to master this simple skill, Laminar may be the bowl for you.

Categories
Connected Objects Luggage and Bags Travel

Bluesmart connected luggage offers remote locking, weighing

The concept of luggage for all the travel we do hasn’t really enjoyed a major upgrade for the 21st century. With the idea that everything we own shouldn’t just fulfill one need but instead address every concern by utilizing technology, a piece of luggage that serves as just a bag is, frankly, very dated. The Bluesmart connected carry-on is a refreshing new take on what luggage can be and is a step in the right direction on the process of streamlining travel itself.

Bluesmart Technologies has created their product with a Bluetooth antenna that connects it to an iOS or Android smartphone, with smartwatch integration coming soon. With Bluesmart, gone are the days you pay extra fees for overweight luggage with its built-in digital scale. Locks and keys are no longer necessary to protect our valuables, either — it does so itself with an option to either automatically lock when you aren’t near using a proximity sensor, or remotely lock and unlock the carry-on with a companion app. The dread that comes along with losing luggage is also addressed with GPS, allowing you track to track the bag wherever it is in the world.

Easy access to electronics comes in the form of a compartment at the front of the carry-on where you can also charge up to two devices at once, ensuring you’ll breeze through security. All this is housed in a three layer polycarbonate construction that sports waterproof zippers to protect all this coolness. At the moment, the only option for a Bluesmart is a personalized version with custom engraving for $295, about $200 off the final retail price with delivery in August 2015. The campaign has absolutely demolished its funding goal of $50,000.

The Bluesmart is a solid, well-thought piece of technology. It eliminates some of the many hassles of traveling and finally gives some power back to the traveler. It doesn’t hurt that it’s also pretty stylish, although looks can’t hide the obvious privacy concerns something like this presents. Convenience and a sheer cool factor will probably win at the end of the day, though.

Categories
Kids/Babies Television Wearables

box&rox measures kid activity, lets them trade it for TV time

One of the foremost concerns for parents is the amount of time screens take up in their children’s lives. With smartphones, tablets, computers, consoles, and television all vying loudly for their time, it’s easy to see how most kids can forget about the outside world.

box&rox is a multi-layered system to ensure that children get the required amount of physical activity each day, with a goal of supporting healthy habits young to develop a solid foundation as they grow into adulthood. The system is comprised of three parts. The rox is a wristwatch that comes in a variety of colors that tracks a child’s physical activity throughout the day, earning sparkies as a reward. The box portion of the system connects to a television or a console’s power supply and meters the electricity available for use depending on how many sparkies were earned on a connected rox. The final of this system is an online world that serves as a place to use sparkies to gain more access to it, although the campaign didn’t do a great job at explaining why a child would interact with the world. The box&rox system serves as a warden of sorts that encourages physical activity and rewards it accordingly, taking the worry off the parent’s shoulder. The core system is going for £125 (~$198), while the campaign itself is looking for £10,000 (~$15,900) in funding.

The box&rox system is similar to what the Kudoso is doing for Internet access, and continues an overall trend of gamifying access to entertainment for younger children. Combining both in one household would lock down overuse for sure, but who’s to say kids won’t figure out a way to game the system itself? They usually always do, but I suppose an all night binge in Mario Kart could be viewed as an exercise in problem solving.

Categories
Luggage and Bags

Laptop backpack disguised as a guitar case offers protection, deception

Wannabe guitar players can now fool the general public into thinking that they are something that they aren’t. How? By packing their laptop in a guitar case. Yes, Social Camouflage Laptop Backpack is a real product created by a guy who thinks that guitar players look way cooler than computer geeks when they walk down the street with their instrument strapped to their back. Extra padding that isn’t generally available in a backpack is included to reduce shock to the laptop when traveling where the wearer may get pushed around. But if flying, something this size would have to be checked and relegated to the baggage hold. Multiple pockets help to organize cords (as opposed to chords) for easy play…er…toting from gig to gig. Seems that it would be better to put the fantasies to rest and learn to play the instrument. Then the dream can be lived out. But for those who prefer their rock and roll fantasies, this campaign seeks to raise £20,000 (~$32,000 USD) by November 29, 2014. Backers get one laptop guitar case for £39 (~$62 USD), with an expected delivery of February 2015.