Tag: e-paper

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Connected Objects Displays

The popSLATE 2’s E-Ink screen displays iPhone notifications and content with less power

The original popSLATE promised to ween smartphone users off the compulsion of checking their home screen for updates. To do so, the popSLATE’s E-Ink screen was built into an iPhone case, connecting via Bluetooth to act as a lower power second screen. In the end, the case proved to be less than useful and its 115 dpi screen managed to be an eyesore that got in the way of it truly being practical.

This year, the popSLATE team is back with the popSLATE 2, the sequel to the original second screen E-Ink case. This time, the case uses a Lightning connector to interface with an iPhone 6, 6S, 6+, and 6S+. This not only allows the popSLATE 2 to charge more easily (the last one used a micro-USB cable) but talk directly with the apps on the phone for greater functionality. Through its upgraded 200 dpi E-Ink screen, the popSLATE 2 facilitates everything from news updates and weather notifications to social feeds and loyalty cards, all of which are easily visible on customizable dashboards no matter how bright it is outside due to E-Ink’s naturally anti-glare properties.

Continue reading “The popSLATE 2’s E-Ink screen displays iPhone notifications and content with less power”
Categories
Smartwatches/Bands

Watcher watch watches what warrants watching

Consumers are still trying to figure out exactly what the relationship will be between the smartphone and the smartwatch. However, one popular task that smartwatches can help us with is sensing more about our environment.

In the case of Watcher, that might include things that are in danger of possibly leaving one’s environment. The smartwatch has a number of features common to smartwaatches — an e-paper display like the first Pebble, notifications from a smartphone, and basic step counting. However,  Watcher can also track up to five objects in its proximity via a low-power RF system. These might include a wallet, kids, pets or keys.

A thermometer add-on is also available for, say, monitoring a baby’s temperature. Watcher also can track how long it’s been next to another Watcher for something it calls “sweet time.” It’s a feature similar to the main reason for another recent Kickstarter watch, Serendip.

Continue reading “Watcher watch watches what warrants watching”
Categories
Connected Objects Uncategorized

Calou drags the wall calendar into the digital age with e-ink

In an era before Outlook and Google Calendar, people tended to keep their personal schedules in a pocket planner and group or family calendars on a wall calendar. Smartphones have replaced the former but their larger siblings — tablets — haven’t really replaced the latter. Part of the reason for that is because these calendars should be viewable at a glance, which mean a constant display.

Calou is the closest a digital product has come to recreating the classic wall paper. Like an e-reader such as the Amazon Kindle, t uses e-paper technology to maximize battery life. Calou’s developer, Hamburg-based TECHNIKmanufaktur, says that the iPad-sized product can last two week without being charged. The tablet is encased inside a wooden dish-like enclosure that has a magnetic front for small notes and photographs.

Continue reading “Calou drags the wall calendar into the digital age with e-ink”
Categories
Podcasts

The Backerjack Podcast, Episode 3, with Ross Rubin and Steve Sande

Steve and Ross, your two favorite crowdfunding connoisseurs, check out three innovative products in this leaner Episode 3 of The Backerjack Podcast:

  • The promising Neeo thinking remote that turns an Android app into a true universal remote.
  • The ambitious, Immersis entertainment projection system that turns your liing room into a half-sphere of video entertainment.
  • The potentially useful Vikaura e-paper displays that turn a pricey Kindle-like screen into a home for helpful messages or other information.

All the campaigns are still active so check them out our thoughts before signing up to back them.

Not an iTunes user? You can download the podcast by saving this link, subscribe via RSS, or listen to it with the player below:.