Enjoying favorite tunes on the iPod while exercising or doing random chores around the house is a nice way to brighten up otherwise dull tasks. The challenge is keeping earbuds in one’s ears when doing a lot of moving around. That’s why MagClip was created. This product is a magnetic system that attaches to headphone cords, and then the cords attach to the user’s shirt. And when the user needs to take the earbuds out of their ears, the wires are still held in place because of the magnets. Good positioning is necessary to make sure the shirt doesn’t tug on the wires. Still, it helps prevent tangling when it’s time to put earbuds away. MagClip compatible with most earbud wires. Nunchuk, Nearbuds and Nearbuddy are other magnetic options, or for backers who’d like to go wireless with their earbuds, check out the Earin campaign. This campaign seeks to raise $5000 by November 28, 2014. For $7, early bird backers get one product with an expected delivery of February 2015.
Sometimes it’s the little things in life that help to make life flow and roll along. For example, without car keys, things get pretty stationary. Having other important little things organized and gathered into one convenient spot, like your wallet, phone and other small essentials also plays into this. For those who seem to have too many loose ends to easily tie up, here is a product that can lengthen the rope. Kangeaux is a universal carrying apparatus for small items. How this is much of an improvement on something like a fanny pack or backpack (rucksack) isn’t entirely clear. However, if backers are looking for a way to simplify, it might be worthwhile to check out the Ruitbag, Funnell, and Jayster campaigns. This campaign seeks to raise $10,000 by December 1, 2014. Early bird backers get one product in their color choice of blue or pastel for $18, with an expected delivery of January 2015.
Picnics and camping can be a lot of fun, except for the heavy stuff that often has to be toted to the site. So rather than carrying gear, why not roll it along? That’s the idea behind Parkset. The unit includes two chairs, two insulated bottle bags, and a fold up table that holds it all together. The handle and wheels make for relatively easy mobility to the perfect outdoor spot, whether rekindling romance or lounging lazily. This might be ideal for an afternoon getaway, but picnics usually mean food, too. So backers might also want to consider wheeled coolers such as KruzieCooler, BoomBox Cooler, or Coolest Cooler to compliment Parkset. Otherwise, Parkset is great for some day drinking in the park, but not necessarily a big meal. This campaign seeks to raise $22,000 (~$19,000 USD) AUD by November 28, 2014. Early bird backers get snag one for $135 AUD ($116 USD), which is 40% off the anticipated retail. Expected delivery is September 2015.
Having a child is a life-altering event, full of contradictions. The intense joy and excitement one feels at the child’s birth quickly becomes inundated with the worry that comes along with taking care of that new life. Is the baby sleeping ok? Throwing up? Crying? Breathing alright? And on and on — all parents would attest that it can quickly become exhausting to worry so much.
The creators behind the Monbaby know exactly what this mess of emotions feels like as they’ve had the experience themselves, which led them to create their their version of the baby monitor. Shaped like a small button, the Monbaby clips on to any article of clothing and sends a variety of information every five seconds to your smartphone, including a baby’s breathing, sleeping patterns, and the position the baby is in while it sleeps. This vigilance is a extraordinary relief to parents especially because customizable alerts are available through the iOS or Android app, lifting all sorts of worry from their shoulders so they can more easily relax.
Monbaby’s applications are not only limited to babies: the company sees their device working for toddlers and even the elderly as well. That said, while it uses Bluetooth Low Energy to facilitate these features, it stands to reason many parents wouldn’t want a wireless device so intimately close to their newborn child. Ultimately, though, this may be a case where peace of mind ultimately trumps fear. The Monbaby baby monitor is going for $109 with an estimated delivery date of December 2014. The company has already achieved their funding goal of $15,000.
The holy grail of technology is the facilitation of communication across any and all languages. While we’re a far, far away from some magical device capable of that, there are some companies trying their best to attempt a solution. MotionSavvy presents one such attempt in their debut product, the UNI.
UNI is a communication tool for deaf people that allows them transform their signing to speech in real time. Others will be able to respond and the tablet can transform speech to text for the deaf party to read; speech directly to sign language is a feature they’re working on but is still not yet available. The device itself is comprised of a case that houses a Leap Motion to enable accurate sign recognition, but unfortunately only supports the Dell Venue Pro 8 for now, although MotionSavvy is working on iOS and Android versions.
The UNI’s additional features really make the platform shine. Users can describe and record new signs that are saved in a dictionary, periodically updating for all users — a crowd created dictionary of sorts. In addition, the product can also teach sign language, too. The company’s most impressive accomplishment, though, is having access to all of the signing and recognition capabilities without an Internet connection; anything otherwise would have pretty much killed this product. MotionSavvy is looking for $40,000 to continue testing and refining the product to have in hands by the end of 2015. Interested backers can pay $99 now and $99 at the time of shipping in order to get a hold of one.
Sitting on the ground waiting in an insanely long line for the concert of your favorite rock star can be plenty uncomfortable. But it was this situation that inspired the creator of Sitpack. From a more practical standpoint, waiting in a crowded airport, subway station or train station can be just as daunting, and who knows what awaits unsuspecting travelers should they actually brave the floor. Sitpack is a portable chair made of stainless steel. It folds up small enough to be carried in the back pocket of one’s jeans, a backpack, or purse. While it doesn’t look particularly comfortable and it’s not entirely clear if there is a weight limit in connection to its effectiveness, it does seem like it would be very convenient for commuters and travelers, much like the Purrch. Backers who prefer more back support in a portable chair might want to check out Chair-Pak and NeXstep. This campaign seeks to raise kr450,000 (~$75,000 USD) by November 29, 2014. Early bird backers get one product for kr175 (~$29 USD) with an expected delivery of April 2015.
One of the greatest challenges when camping is all of the planning, packing and organizing that has to be done, especially for families with several small children. CampCaddy was designed with the busy family in mind. It’s a table, small pantry, camping storage container, and all around organizer blended into one unit. While it won’t do the cooking, it will store everything you need in a simple package. The handle and wheels make for easy toting to the campsite, while towel racks help to keep messes under control. CampCaddy can be easily modified to fit both a day at the county park or a longer camping excursion. The lightweight unit is made from injection molded plastic, has aluminum features, an aluminum top for easy cleaning, and fits easily into the trunk of a standard sized car. This campaign seeks to raise $200,000 CAD (~ $175,500 USD) by December 1, 2014. Early bird backers get one product for $200 CAD (~$175 USD) with an expected delivery of May 2015.
Perhaps there is little that is more disappointing for a budding musician with a CD than to realize the importance of having a way to sell that CD before going to all the expense of recording. That being said, Guit Stix was created by a musician who apparently has lots of CDs to give away if backers will donate to his campaign. And just what is this product? It functions as a stand, pick holder, and tuning holder. The product appears to be wooden and rather bulky for attaching to a guitar. It doesn’t appear to be particularly sturdy. But hey, this guy should probably be given some credit for attempting to come up with a creative way of getting his CDs marketed and promoted and making some extra money off of a unique product idea. As for the pros who are interested in some useful performance gear, consider checking out the A Little Thunder campaign to add some live bass boost to that upcoming concert. This campaign seeks to raise $5000 by November 27, 2014. For $100, backers get one product to compliment that CD, and an expected delivery of January 2015.
One of the biggest critiques of video games is that they doesn’t promote enough physical and social activity, leading many to shun the medium entirely without considering their many positive benefits. The inventors behind Hybrid Play have a love for both video games and outdoor physical activity, leading them to create a product that bridges both worlds.
Hybrid Play comes in the form of a Bluetooth-equipped sensor that clamps onto any sort of rotational or static playground element, like swings or slides. Once attached, with the help on the onboard accelerometer, that element can be used as input for a game on a smartphone connected nearby. This leads to a group of children shouting instructions to another group of children on a slide or wherever else to successfully control the game, encouraging activity, verbal communication, and teamwork. And if the two exclusive games for Hybrid Play get stale, the iOS/Android companion app allows users access to the rest of the both exclusive and classic games like Pac-Man for the platform, along with the ability to create your very own. Hopefully, all this together will actually keep a child’s notoriously fickle attention span occupied over the long run.
Hybrid Play is not only about bridging this divide, but also teaching as well. Gamesonomy support means that users without any programming knowledge will be able to create their own games for use with Hybrid Play, and one of the campaign’s stretch goals includes Scratch Jr. integration, an introductory language that teaches five to seven year olds how to code. The campaign is looking to raise $140,0000 by November 28th, 2014. A Hybrid Play kit is going for $124 with an April 2015 delivery window.
Trying to enjoy a meal in a non-fast food restaurant with one or more small children is generally something of a hairy situation. Little ones usually don’t have the patience to wait for food to arrive at the table. That’s why BizeeBaby was invented. This gadget keeps little fingers, eyes, ears and, of course ,the mouth busy and stimulated so that mom and dad and maybe even a couple of friends can have an actual conversation that lasts longer than six seconds. While this won’t eliminate the need for a diaper bag, it might be ideal for slipping inside of one, especially since it folds up. And when toys don’t seem to keep baby busy enough, there is an iPad holder so that baby can watch something onscreen.
While the BizeeBaby seems like a quick way to keep your kid distracted, ultimately it doesn’t seem to solve a larger problem of public misbehavior. Pushing the child aside and keeping their attention glued to a screen may not be the best way to parent your kid. This campaign seeks to raise $55,000 by November 28, 2014. For $100, backers get one product and an expected deliverance from mealtime insanity sometime during May 2015.