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Connected Objects Toys

It’s your very own light show with the GLOW smart cubes

If someone didn’t know any better, they’d think cubes were the only form crowdfunding campaigns were aware of. With such a large variety of already clever cube-shaped devices like the Sugr Cube wireless speaker to the LED-studded Cuberox, it takes something truly innovative to stand out.

The GLOW interactive smart cubes try to do so but fall a little flat. They react to music and gestures, lighting up in a wide array of colors at various levels of luminosity depending on the stimulus. The company behind GLOW, Yume Cloud Inc., envisions it being used as a device to be played with, a piece of decorative flair for the home or even larger events like weddings, or simply as a visual accompaniment to music at, say, a concert. A set of two GLOW cubes is going for $106 and is expected in April 2016 should its $20,000 goal be met by February 3rd, 2016.

While the accompanying iOS/Android app can be used to play games with the cubes, the product seems like a throwaway. It doesn’t bring anything completely new to the table. Backers would most likely want something with a bit more functionality, and the GLOW doesn’t quite deliver.

Categories
Connected Objects Personal Transportation

This compact scooter can take you wherever you Zar

That pesky last mile: the scourge of all commuters worldwide. After a long day spent working, the last thing anyone wants to do is extend their trip by another 20-minute walk. Fortunately, the last few years have seen an explosion of options. The Zar by Crazyfire Technology is another.

While claims of having created the world’s best anything is usually met with doubt, Crazyfire’s Zar might just be the lightest, smallest e-scooter to date. Weighing in just 8.8lbs, with a length of almost one and a half feet and a height of almost 4 feet, the Zar is tiny enough to be folded up into a bookbag. This is due to the aluminum and fiberglass construction of its frame. The Zar boasts a 6.2 to 12.5-mile range depending on the battery configuration, with both being able to reach a top speed of 12.5mph.

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Categories
Smartwatches/Bands

A modular smartband is what’s Nex

One of the biggest criticisms about most smartwatches and smartbands is unsurprisingly similar to smartphones: they can’t be upgraded. Consumers are forced to buy products with a static set of features that, while they may be expanded on slightly using OTA updates, they eventually become fundamentally outdated after a certain time.

The Nex Band is looking to outfit consumers with a bit more choice. The modular smart band allows users to fully customize it with Mods, small little blocks each with their own functionality. This makes it possible for users to use the iOS app to program hacks in combination with IFTTT, so opening and closing the garage door, turning up the A/C, and controlling every other connected aspect of life is possible — all from the wrist. A community aspect is present where users can share mods with each other.

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Kids/Babies Smartwatches/Bands

Keep an eye on your tykes with the video calling dokiWatch

Parents are constant concerned about their children’s wellbeing. In this hyperconnected world, though, giving them a full-featured smartphone is often a bit of an overkill, especially since parents may want to avoid the excessive screen time younger ones are exposed to.

The dokiWatch introduces a happy medium. The kid-centric smartwatch is made out of colorful, soft, and flexible plastic that house a GPS tracker along with GSM and Wi-Fi technology to allow parents to accurately track their offspring’s every move. dokiWatch one-ups Apple with the ability for children to video call, voice and text message their guardians or any other friends that might have shared a contact with.

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Categories
Connected Objects Nutrition/Hydration

Hydrate Mate helps maintain a fluid performance

For runners, hydration bladders are undeniably better than having to stop and grab a sip of water through a bottle. One of the biggest drawbacks is not having a clue how much water is left. In many cases, it isn’t a problem but for more serious runners, the last they’d want to happen is to have empty hydration bladder with miles left to go.

The Hydrate Mate is a simple solution to what can be an annoying or even dangerous problem. It’s a small, Bluetooth-enabled attachment placed at the end of the hydration bladder’s tube and it’s opening that measures the pressure of the bladder itself, with an algorithm to maintain accurate readings no matter its orientation. These measurements are fed into its iOS/Android app to inform users of water levels through their run.

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Kids/Babies Technology

This mechanical canine is a CHiP off Aibo’s shoulder

As devoted owners of the  Sony Aibo face the mortality of their precocious robo-pups, the rest of the world realizes how close a mechanical companion and their human caretakers can really be. Aibo isn’t the only case of digital attachment: everything from the Tamagotchi to, a certain extent, the AI we interact with every day in the form of Siri and other virtual assistants all kindle this unlikely connection.

WowWee, an established company that specializes in creating intelligent robots, is looking to assuage fears of post-Aibo loneliness with its CHiP robot dog. Instantly, the charming four-wheeled, dual stereo-ed computerized canine barks, whimpers, and growls its way to the heart by showing affection to whoever is sporting the included smart band. With it, the user can have CHiP follow him/her around, control it directly or issue it a ‘sic ’em’ command. Crucially, the band contains a like button to reinforce behaviors and change its personality over time.

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Categories
Imaging Smart Home

Spot is a low-cost, feature-rich camera for the connected home

Home security cameras have a bit of a reputation of lacking the kinds of features worthy of the excessive prices they’ve demanded. Seeing an opportunity, there have been a rash of companies looking to make better money by advertising a better product. iSmartAlarm is hoping their version of a lower cost yet versatile smart home camera will strike a chord with consumers looking for a better value.

Spot has all the expected features for a product in this category: HD-resolution video, night vision, sound and motion detection, push notifications, and both cloud and local storage supporting up to a 64GB micro SD card. The company tries to set its product apart in two ways.

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Categories
Sleep

With Sleepion, your rest is like sleeping on clouds

Humans spend a third of their lives sleeping, and there’s pretty much nothing that can be done about it. It’s essential to everyday functioning, and a lack quality, restful sleep key contributes to lack of energy and ailments from high blood pressure to stroke.

Cheero USA Inc created the Sleepion to help people get the kind of sleep necessary to live healthier lives. The compact device is home in the bedroom, where it focuses on Stage 3 and Stage 4 slow wave sleep by stimulating the senses to facilitate a higher quality rest.

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Categories
Cell Phone Accessories

ViKC projects a simpler way to text on your smartphone

Typing on a smartphone is notoriously difficult -– and also uncomfortable — for many people. Whether somebody is texting, emailing or filling out an online registration form, the phone’s buttons tend to be too darn small to type anything –- especially complete sentences -– without making at least a few mistakes.

The Virtual Keyboard Cover (ViKC) is designed to address that issue. It attaches to a smartphone like any other cover, but features a red laser diode on top that aims down onto a flat surface and can be powered on to project a virtual LED keyboard onto a table or any other flat, non-reflective work surface.

It works in conjunction with an Android and iOS app that recognizes what the user is typing and transfers it to the screen. ViKC ships in July at the expected price of about $107. Its makers are hoping to raise $162,634 by Jan. 17.

Some consumers –- especially middle-aged ones — may want to give ViKC a try. Younger smartphone users tend to have little problem typing on their mobile devices for some reason, while many older consumers are too technophobic to use a smartphone to begin with. This is a variation on the projection keyboards that have been around for a long time and have tended to not work very well. A further negative is that, for now anyway, ViKC only works with an iPhone 5, 5S, 6, 6S, 6 Plus or Samsung Galaxy S5 or S6.

Categories
Connected Objects

Alger prevents a stranded smartphone, uses tags for everything else

Despite the advanced, technologically-connected aspects of everyday life, simple yet small annoyances still abound. Some examples of these types of annoyances range from forgetting to lock the door to locking the door and forgetting keys inside altogether. The beauty of crowdfunding, though, means there’s most likely a solution for life’s tiny bothers.

Alger is billed as the world’s first preventative anti-loss system, improving on the overdone item finder category by informing users of things left behind as they leave their front door. Without any additional accessories, the Alger’s Bluetooth door attachment communicates with a smartphone’s motion sensor to keep users from leaving it at home. By combining the door attachment with more traditional tags, users can keep tabs on other important things as well, from keys to pets.

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