Categories
Home

PackagePal holds your parcels close, hides them from bad weather and bad guys

Mail order items can be some of the easiest and best money-saving ways to purchase items for one’s home, vehicle or for home entertainment. The problem is that these items usually arrive when the person who ordered them is at work. So in an effort to take the weather worries and theft concerns out of the mail order scenario, PackagePal was created.

No tools are required for what is touted as easy installation, and it keeps packages out of plain sight. The package gets inserted into the giant bag-looking device attached to the door, and then the user writes a message and Mr. or Ms. Postman will just pick up the package.

It’s questionable, however, as to whether either one would leave a delivery in the attachment. Also questionable is whether the package is truly out of plain sight when the gadget itself still seems to be fairly visible. Still, it’s a pretty decent alternative to services like Doorman.co. Interested backers might like to check out Postifier. This campaign seeks to raise $20,000 in funding. For $29, backers get one product with an expected delivery of December 2015.

Categories
Connected Objects Food and Beverage

Pizza Bite Button summons extra cheese, avoids extra effort

Pizza Bite ButtonItalian eaters and pizza enjoyers usually order pizza quite a bit. The worst part about ordering is trying to talk to your favorite pizza joint over the clanking of pots and pans and angry Italian patrons. The Pizza Bite Button is a magnetic button that, when pushed, orders a preset list of items to your favorite local pizza place. This button even pays automatically as well. Backers must shell out a whopping $100 for this product with an estimated delivery date of September 2014. Lazy pizza eaters may opt to just pick up the phone instead. The Pizza Bite Button hopes to raise $56,000 in its 45-day Indiegogo campaign.

Categories
Connected Objects Maker/Development

Postifier notifies of letter delivery, won’t scream, “You’ve got mail!”

PostifierOne of the benefits of digital communications that we take for granted is the (optional) notification of new messages. Postifier brings what many have a love-hate relationship with to physical mailboxes via a Bluetooth-Arduino mashup. While there’s an element of “because we can” to the product, the creators appeal to the utility for those who have a hard time getting around having to go down to the driveway to pick up their mail. Another option would be to ask neighbors to pick up mail when one is on vacation. However, the Postifier uses Bluetooth, so notification is confined to a relatively short range for now. On theo other hand, the battery is expected to last around nine months. It’s not much to look at now, but should be available to backers in June 2014 for $35 AUD plus another $10 for shipping outside of Australia.