Categories
Kids/Babies Toys

Edwin the Duck smart toy teaches the old duck new tricks

No item is safe from becoming smart and connected. From lights and appliances to cameras and scales, everything is becoming connected.

For proof of this, look no further than Edwin the Duck, a smart rubber duck that offers companionship to children and peace of mind to parents. During bath time, Edwin the Duck goes right in the tub and can report when the water is too hot or when it’s just right, and can stream sing-along songs for cleaning. Once in bed, Edwin pairs up with a tablet or phone to read stories aloud complete with sound effects. Edwin also streams lullabies and functions as a night light.

This collection of features makes the part of the day parents and kids both dread a fun and easy experience. Inventor pi lab is raising $85,000 for safety certification, app development, and manufacturing. Parents can grab Edwin the Duck for their children at the $59 tier level, ready to hatch in March 2015.

Edwin the Duck is designed to give kids something positive to relate to bath and bed time, and the online features and interactivity should do just that. It may be strange shopping for a smart rubber duck, but that’s just a sign of the times.

Categories
Pets

PawSpa helps clean Fido’s feet without fuss

It’s kind of like a little vacuum cleaner – only for dog paws. PawSpa is absolutely a step up, maybe even several steps up, from a spray bottle and towels, and seems to be far more pleasant for both owner and his or her furry friend. All components of the paw cleaning system are contained in one box, which includes a wet/dry vacuum, clean water reservoir/submersible pump and a patent-pending wand applicator. These are stored in a unit that looks something like an ottoman. The system is apparently easy enough that even young family members can use it, based on what the video says. PawSpa only requires pet that is cooperative and well-behaved enough to sit still while some lucky chosen family member gets to slide Fido’s legs into the cleaning mechanism – one paw at a time, of course. While a cool idea, PawSpa’s huge $200,000 goal by November 14, 2014 may prove difficult to reach. Early bird backers can get their very own PawSpa for $99 with an expected delivery of April 2015.

Categories
Organization

Clingies make it easier for towels to hang around

ClingiesMaybe, just maybe, the kids would pick up their bath towels if they stuck to the wall and didn’t have to be hung up. Perhaps it’s worth a try, and Clingies is prepared to stick with persistent parents. As for the other adults in the world, the convenience of a magnetized towel, and when needed, a corresponding docking dot, means less hassle when  cooking in the kitchen, working in the shop, exercising in the gym, or wherever one might be that a towel may be needed. For $11, backers get one towel in their color choice and a docking dot with an expected delivery of August 2014.

Categories
Health and Wellness

RazorPOD extends life of razors in the battle of the beard

RazorPODAs if the act of shaving isn’t enough of a hassle and expense all by itself, there’s the added annoyance of keeping up with whether or not your blade is too dull for another usage or not. A blade that lasts might be considered something of a treasure! RazorPOD seems to have found a way to extend them. The foundation for the technology is rooted in the idea that blades get corroded from a combination of water and rust. So if you dry it right away in their 100 percent humidity-free storage unit, blades will last longer. This is a different angle than something like RazorPit, which seems to be rooted in the idea that it’s continuous usage of the razor that makes it dull, and so it needs to be cleaned and sharpened. One thing that might make RazorPod more attractive is that backers can get it for $17, which is less than RazorPit. Expected delivery is June 2014.

Categories
Health and Wellness Tools

The Body Dryer brings the warm to your wet form

The Premise. Pools are a great way to cool off in the warm weather, but getting out of them can often have you sopping and shivering. Towels can be cumbersome to tote and keep dry and clean, and aren’t very sanitary if they have to be shared, especially among kids.

The Product. Extending the concept of air dryers from public restrooms to the rest of the body, The Body Dryer gets you dry and toasty with a device that looks a lot like a bath scale. Its killer feature is In fact, it can even weigh you, helping you to feel better about all that swimming exercise you got in the pool. The device can dry you off in 30 seconds, which is good, because you’ll no doubt be the object of attention standing on it as it gently blows a swirling column of air at you.

The Pitch. The video for the $50,000 campaign intersperses footage of the inventor talking about his product with that of a bikini-clad woman taking a dip in and then hanging around a towel-bereft swimming pool. The makers of the body dryer explain the features of the product and how they’re looking to make this a residential tool that can cut down on towel consumption in the home.

The Perks. There are  two tiers from which backers may choose. For $150 a backer gets their very own Body Dryer, which is $100 off of the anticipated retail price. Expected delivery is September 2014.

The PotentialThe Body Dryer is clearly hoping to capitalize on much of the success of air dryers like the Dyson Airblade, but at a much more affordable price. It may be a more eco-friendly towel alternative that could have primary appeal to commercial owners of gyms with a pool and hotels might take an interest. Even with its quick drying time, though, these settings would probably want a few around to eliminate any drying queue. It may also be more sanitary, doing away with the bacteria that collects on towels. But what about the bacteria, mold and fungus that eventually collects on the area where you stand? It also has to be plugged in, which may be a concern around watery areas in which it must be used without limiting access to it.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories

The Phone Sitter is a phone throne for the bathroom

The Phone Sitter  6b88386fffa1d1483ea6df9b070261ab_large[1]The four hundred billion dollar question posed in connection to this particular campaign via its video: Do you use your phone in the bathroom? Given the fact that 1.4 billion phones have been dropped in the toilet, there are apparently many who do. And the above noted amount is a rough total in losses. The Phone Sitter is a plastic phone mount that is specially designed to dock your phone on your bathroom wall while you dock yourself nearby for a more pressing matter. While it won’t actually do anything to prevent your phone’s demise should it go for a swim in the porcelain pool, the idea is that having a dedicated place to put one’s phone should help avoid positioning that leads to such unfortunate circumstances. The creator’s goal is to get this handy-dandy gadget mounted in every bathroom in America – even in your place of employment. (So much for hiding in the bathroom to escape the boss for a while.) For $30, a backer gets The Phone Sitter in their color choice with an expected delivery of June 2014. Or you could just leave it on the sink