Tag: desk

Categories
Connected Objects Fitness

An atypical elliptical, Cubii lets the deskbound stay active

The Premise. Sitting down all day can be harmful to our health, but what is an office worker to do? Some opt for sitting on yoga balls, while others may try to power walk in place during work. Either way, it’s difficult for corporate drones to get the exercise they need and complete their work at the same time.

The Product. The Cubii is a miniature elliptical trainer for under your desk. You place your feet in the product and rotate them at the resistance of your choice just as you would on a conventional elliptical machine. This device is small enough to be portable and discreet, making it perfect for the office. The Cubii has Bluetooth capabilities and communicates with an accompanying app to track your activity from your phone. 

The Pitch. The long Cubii video features various office workers giving testimonials for the product, all saying that they love being active and don’t find exercising while working to be a distraction. In addition, the creators explain their passion for fitness and personal health. They also talk about how their app can also be used with fitness products, such as the Fitbit. Cubii hopes to raise $80,000 in a 40-day Kickstarter campaign.

The Perks. Early backers can enjoy the Cubii and accompanying app for $279 (shipping not included) or a regular price of $299. Higher tiers offer multi-packs of the product for either couples or an entire office (of eight people). Estimated delivery is currently set at January 2015.

The Potential. Several crowdfunded products have tried to solve the evil office sitting problem of our modern age. Some do it with standing desks, such as the aptly named StandDesk, while others try with robotic chairs like the ChairBot. These other products focus on actually not sitting, while the Cubii is all about staying in motion when parked at your desk. For a sawed-off elliptical machine, the Cubii is a bit expensive, especially since it’s entirely mechanical. However, compared to these other products, this mini-workout device is by far the cheapest option. Its app that is compatible with other fitness devices is especially appealing. All in all, the Cubii could be just the solution for stagnant office employees.

Categories
Furniture Health and Wellness

StorkStand delivers standing comfort, but no babies

StorkStandIncreasingly there has been a push for office employees to work standing up instead of sitting down. This is supposed to increase health as well as productivity and we’ve already seen a number of products aimed at this goal, like the Stand Desk and ChairBot. Similarly, the StorkStand is a mobile desk that easily attaches to the back of any office chair. It provides a sturdy surface to work from that can hold up to 50 pounds. The wooden stand features a mobile phone holder and also folds up, making it extremely portable. One StorkStand costs early backers $129 or $149 at a regular price of $179 with estimated delivery in October 2014. This mobile desk hopes to raise $50,000 in a 35-day Kickstarter campaign.

Categories
Furniture

Frey Desk joins the fray for versatile, adjustable work surfaces

Frey DeskFor those who like a desk that’s as versatile as it is functional, Frey Desk is about as multifaceted and modular  as it gets. It can be just a desk that holds a computer and printer for journalistic types, an easel for artist types, drafting table for engineer and architect types, or standing table when just tired of sitting. The unit includes an adjustable shelf and is touted as being mobile, but at seven feet tall, one might need a truck if transporting it to a work site. The $471 early bird special has an expected delivery of August 2014.

Categories
Furniture Health and Wellness

The StandDesk keeps users active at work with the touch of a button

standdeskThe war on sitting is in full effect, as research has shown that standing throughout the day is better for disease prevention and workplace productivity. Of course, being able to transition from standing to sitting at a desk is rarely both simple and cost-efffective, only recently being realized with products like the Stir Kinetic Desk. The StandDesk is looking to change that with its simple automatic adjustments and ergonomic design. The StandDesk boasts a strength of 225 lbs. at any height, and convenient allowances for both device cables and surge protectors. The StandDesk can be a part of any home or office in September 2014, and the standard kit starts at $399.

Categories
Furniture

MOVE combines bed and desk for easy room configuration

MOVE 20140306071445-Serie_Schreibtisch[1]Perhaps one of the biggest challenges of college dorm life is the limited space. Once you put a bed and desk in there, there doesn’t seem to be much room left. MOVE offers a way to combine a bed and desk into one unit. With the bed on one side, and desk on the other, each piece can be folded up into the unit when not in use. It’s made of wood and multiple units can be hooked together to increase desk space or create a double bed. It does appear, though, that one side needs to be folded into the unit in order to make use of the other side. For €1000, a backer gets a complete unit minus a port for a multimedia and power connection, which can be added for another €100.

Categories
Furniture

SlatePro desk designed to accommodate modern tech products

Picture 3Desks these days get cluttered with all of the devices we carry around. SlatePro offers a desk geared towards people who own a laptop, smart phone, tablet and any other new-fangled gadget. The sophisticated workspace has air vents to cool down your laptop, docks for phones and tablets, a built-in mousepad, holes for wires, a place for pens and files and even a cup holder. One SlatePro costs backers $368 and is slated to be delivered by May 2014. SlatePro hopes to raise $12,000 in its 20-day Kickstarter campaign.

Categories
Connected Objects Lighting

LumiSmart brightens up the smart home, stretches purpose of desk lighting

The Premise. The lamp on your desk right now is probably unremarkable at best. It may be nicely designed or have a few modes of brightness, but its light certainly wouldn’t be one under which you’d pen anything to write home about. Despite its simplicity, it’s still a vital part of your desk layout and you would work in darkness without it. Isn’t it about time that one of the more essential tools of productivity gets an upgrade?

The Product. The LumiSmart is the latest product to enter the “smart” family. The lamp integrates with the user’s living habits in an attempt to seamlessly improves everyday lifestyle. It does this by integrating an ambient light sensor, a temperature sensor, a camera, a motion sensor, a voice recognizing mic, and speakers. By connecting to your phone over Wi-Fi, the LumiSmart can notify you of its surrounding environment. LumiSmart also has an adaptive platform that allows the users to create their own app to customize their lifestyle. Such ideas include an alarm clock, a security system, or a reminder system. The possibilities will go as far as the user’s creativity.

The Pitch. The campaign video shows off the different features of the lamp and how they may improve everyday life. For example, LumiSmart can let you know when someone comes in the house, or remind you when you need to take a break from working. There are tons of examples since the apps can be customized and shared, so its up to the user how they want to use the lamp.

The Perks. The LumiSmart comes with a pretty hefty price tag. The early bird price for a standard lamp will set you back $149, with the price rising up to $200 once that deal expires. Developers can still get a hold to the LumiSmart for $200 to have more access to the platform and various APIs. In what seems like some bad math, people who pledge $999 will receive four LumiSmart lamps with some educational materials. Economic rants aside, LumiSmarts are scheduled to be delivered in September 2014.

The Potential. The LumiSmart embraces some interesting features and ideas, but there’s not much besides lighting that this lamp can do that your smartphone can not. It’s not necessary for a lamp to send you reminders or be an alarm clock, and its simply not necessary to spend hundred of dollars for a redundant piece of technology. Just because something can be a connected thing, doesn’t mean it should.