Ownership of a smartphone gives users control over their environment that at one time in the past seemed unimaginable. That awesome level of control is unfortunately tempered by the need to have to fish it out of a purse or pocket for every little action. Voice control was touted as the answer, but has only proven to be mostly ineffective.
Programmable one-touch button solutions have offered users a tactile alternative, and Flic is another entry into the space for iOS and Android. It uses Bluetooth LE to do whatever a user would like, from placing a usual phone call, ordering a pizza, sharing a GPS location, taking pictures, or skipping a track. A full list of the possibilities would be impossible, but suffice it to say the Flic is incredibly versatile. Hold options along with single and double clicks increase each button’s functionality.
The product featurs a reusable sticky base and a 150-foot range from the smartphone, so buttons can be placed pretty much anywhere inside or outside the home to streamline normally cumbersome actions. Contrarily, most wireless buttons like the Gyzmo or Qblinks aren’t made to be placed in the home but rather be taken with you. A single Flic is $27, while six can be had for $99, and is expected to ship in March 2015. The campaign is looking for $80,000.