Categories
Nutrition/Hydration

Water Fall is a filtering system worth pouring over

Filtered water is all the rage these days. People simply can’t abide water straight from the tap as some claim it has a “funny taste”. For those who like filtered water, but don’t want to wait too long look to Water Fall. This filter takes the best ideas from the pour over coffee design by poising the filter over the water. It uses a stand to hold the filter above a water carafe. In this way, the user can filter as much water as they’d like, whether they want to use several pitchers for a dinner party, or simply filter a glass’s worth. The design of Water Fall is sleek and discreet. One will cost backers $59 for the filter, stand, two carafes and one filter for delivery in March 2015. Water Fall hopes to raise $50,000 on Kickstarter.

Water Fall is the best option out there for filtering large amounts of water. Other systems focus on one container at a time like the LiveWell Water Filter. It’s a pain to have to purchase filters from Water Fall, however, most popular systems work this way as well, like Brita. All in all, Water Fall may prove to be the most convenient option for pure water enthusiasts.

Categories
Tablet Accessories

Sevastone serves up your iPad in virtually any usage situation

Whether you’re walking, hopping on the subway, driving, or using some other mode of transportation, hands-free usage of iPads is always ideal. Sevastone is able to offer a variety of options, beginning with a protective case that’s made of lightweight polycarbonate. The back of the case can either support a mount or serve as an anchor for the carbon fiber fabric flap that helps protect the screen when not in use. One clever feature to this flap is that it folds back and can function as a stand to prop up a tablet. The Fintie Apple iPad case offers a similar idea, as does the Mükava Table and Yohann.

A few things that set Sevastone apart are its GPS tablet mount, headrest road trip mount, and the handy messenger bag, all of which are specifically designed for Sevastone’s unique mounting system. Perhaps the only negative here is that compatibility is limited to iPad mini and iPad Air. The campaign is working to raise $35,000 by October 30. Backers can get the protective case for $50 with an expected delivery of December 2014.

Categories
Organization

HatPegz offers a home to hang your hat

Sports fans are a little enthusiastic about their favorite teams. Okay, very enthusiastic. Most show their support through T-shirts, jackets, posters and hats. Now fans can show their love for their favorite team with HatPegz, team-themed pegs for your hats. These fashionable pegs come in five different colors for 22 different teams which are as follows: the Packers, Jets, Eagles, Colts, Giants, Lions, Bills, Seahawks, Broncos, Chargers, Bears, Cowboys, 49ers, Patriots, Chiefs, Redskins, Texans, Steelers, Saints, Ravens, Raiders, and Falcons. For $30, backers will receive four HatPegz in their choice of color and team logo. These pegs’ creators hope to raise $30,000 on Kickstarter.

Who knows what those sports fans do at home or how they store their hats? If they actually hang up their hats, what better way to do it than on HatPegz? It seems like regular hooks would be more convenient and cost-effective, however, for die hard sports nuts, HatPegz may be just the way to show their love for the game.

Categories
Relaxation

Ostrich Pillow Mini offers no-nonsense napping

While our lives are busy busy busy, we still feel the need to nap every now and then throughout the day to feel rested. One may fear looking like a hobo, however, when trying to catch a few z’s out in public. The Ostrich Pillow Mini makes sure you don’t look (as) weird. This soft pillow hooks through your hand or arm so that, when sitting, you can rest your head against the pillow for a little snooze during the day. Not to be confused with the original Ostrich Pillow Mellow Yellow that looks kind of like a boxing glove, costs a ridiculous sum and is dry clean only. The Ostrich Pillow Mini is much more affordable at $25 and suggests hand washing, slightly better than dry clean. Ostrich is hoping to raise $15,000 on Kickstarter. This new take on the travel pillow finally updates the u-shaped design for maximum comfort. A good purchase for those constantly in motion.

Categories
Fitness

Battle Flex aims to be your home gym away from home

An awesome work out at home?! Okay, the concept isn’t entirely new. We see tons of at-home fitness products almost daily on Backerjack. Here to join the pack is BATTLE FLEX FITNESS. The campaign doesn’t do a great job of explaining exactly what this product features but it looks like BATTLE FLEX focuses on ropes and elastic bands to provide resistance training. To get the complete set, backers will need to shell out $159 for estimated delivery in April 2015. BATTLE hopes to raise $40,000 on Kickstarter.

This fitness system looks versatile and boasts usability *virtually* anywhere. There’s not much else to distinguish it from other at home systems like the XBAR and MostFit. Rope and cable systems are great for a well-rounded workout, however backers who don’t value this have literally hundreds of other options. BATTLE will need to figure out a more niche market to target in order to set themselves apart.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Smart Home

Rico reuses your older smartphone into a smart home station

Keeping current with the latest smartphones is a battle with many casualties, namely all the old phones that just wind up in a closet or a drawer collecting dust. What if there was still a way to put their processors to use?

Rico is a cute little smart home sensor package that can function basically on its own to do motion detection, smoke monitoring, and controlling devices connected to smart outlets. What makes Rico unique however is that it also serves as a housing for smartphones, that combines the strengths of smartphone hardware with home automation sensors. As a result, this opens up the possibility of having an HD security camera with microphone and speaker connected via 3G and Wifi.

In doing so, Rico pushes two important realities of the modern age: finding a use for devices that are too often simply discarded or forgotten and helping consumers more easily enter the era of the smart home. Rico developers MindHelix, Inc. are trying to raise $100,000 to finish design, testing, and production phases on the project. Interested supporters can grab a Rico for $99, with an estimated delivery in November 2015.

While the individual feature set of the Rico may not be anything groundbreaking, the method that it goes about accomplishing home automation is very clever. It would be nice to see the addition of a smartphone provide more than just audio/video functions and network access, but ideally this will help some consumers save money on home automation.

Categories
Television

Vega Android TV box apes Sony’s 4K set top puck

Like the original transition from black and white to color TVs, and then SD to HD, the time has come for people to start the upgrade to 4K TVs. With Sony pioneering the technology, getting an alternative product may be difficult at first.

The Vega S82 4K set top box is incredibly similar to Sony’s 4K set top in terms of functionality, features, and even design. The key difference between the two is that the Vega S82 runs an Android OS on a Quad-Core processor and has customizable user interfaces and more. The campaign is looking for just $5,000, though the purpose for those funds is not stated. Supporters can get a Vega S82 for $200 in December.

Having more options for 4K media is a welcome addition to the market, but there just aren’t enough details about this product to instill consumer confidence. With a few technical specs, a very unimpressive pitch video, and not much else, it’s difficult to make a determination if this is a worthy competitor to Sony or just a product that’s more concept than reality.

Categories
Food and Beverage

Connected Ozz mixer gets lit up before you do

Unless you’re a bartender or, dare we say it, mixologist, making cocktails can be a bit of a mystery. There are so many recipes to try and getting the exact measurements for several ingredients can be tricky. Ozz helps you embody your inner Moe. This product features a lit up drink stand that monitors the ingredients going into your drink with an Android and iOS compatible app. This app features recipes, reviews, your own custom drink list and suggestions for how to fix a drink. It tells you to add a little bit more of this or that so that you have the perfect cocktail. One will cost backers €99 with estimated delivery for April 2015 from the Netherlands. Ozz is hoping to raise €150,000 on Kickstarter.

Ozz is a rather fancy and somewhat pricey way to make drinks. Still, it presents endless possibilities for novice drink-makers and even for bartenders looking to up their game. This product offers fun training with the even more fun reward of a perfect cocktail at the end. Some may ponder the need for such a first-world niche product, however others will certainly be on board with adult drinks made better by smart technology.

Categories
Pets Sensors/IoT

Pod pet locator can withstand the elements

When a pet goes missing, it creates a tense situation full of nerves and panic as the family members try and locate a living being that could be absolutely anywhere and is unable to pick up a phone or write.

Pod is a GPS tracker that can be clipped onto a pet’s collar that provides a mixture of tracking and social features to push notifications to phones when a dog or cat goes wandering off  unsupervised. In addition to being able to simply locate a pet, Pod functions as a sort of local social network for pet owners to compare running speeds or area explored. The tracker is lightweight and waterproof, so it won’t risk shorting out and won’t weigh the pet down or make it uncomfortable. Pod needs $50,000 to do its part in preventing lost pets. At the $149 pledge level, supporters can get this real time tracker and attach it to their beloved pets.

Anything that can prevent a lost or endangered pet is a great tool to have, although a lot of the core design is built around letting pets run free. That kind of attitude is not global, and owners will still be responsible for their pet’s behavior, so buyers beware.

Categories
Imaging

Elephant Steady is a smart, affordable smartphone video stabilizer

Amateur movie makers around the world have learned that while a smartphone may be a great tool to have on hand in terms of video quality and convenience, the shaky, unprofessional shots can be distracting. Quality video requires a stabilizer, and a stabilizer should have some personality.

Elephant Steady was a project that received funding on Kickstarter and Campfire, but developer Adplus was disappointed that the stretch goal to offermultiple colors was unmet, so they’ve taken to Indiegogo to offer five new colors.

With a variety of different colors available, backers are able to vote for their favorites, and the five colors that receive the most votes will be created for distribution and sent out to backers. Adplus is asking to supplement their original campaign with $10,000 to customize colors. Backers can get their Elephant Steady for $79 to ship out in February 2015.

The Elephant Steady itself seems like a handy stabilizer for iPhones, with a solid construction, and anyone who missed out on the first campaign should check this out. Starting a new campaign to fund an unmet stretch goal might not yield the most positive results however, especially for something as superficial as new colors.