Tag: input

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Input Television

GoTouch transforms your TV into interactive whiteboard

editors-choice-300x96It would be nice to use that TV or projection screen one already owns to make interactive presentations without running out to spend money on a whiteboard.

GoTouch is a small, portable device that instantly turns any TV or projector into an interactive whiteboard using an infrared tracking pointer. The device connects to smartphones, tablets or PCs via Bluetooth. If using an iPhone or iPad, it can be connected wirelessly using Apple TV’s AirPlay, or via a Lightning to HDMI cable. If using an Android device, GoTouch can be connected via a Micro-USB to HDMI cable or by using Chromecast or similar screencasting devices.

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Cell Phone Accessories Displays Input

Superbook makes your smartphone a super cheap laptop

Smartphones have become the one device that people don’t leave their homes without. But smartphones aren’t so hot when it comes to word processing and other productivity functions.

The Superbook is a laptop-like shell from Andromium that provides keyboard input and an 11.6-inch display for Android smartphones and tablets, basically transforming the small mobile device into a complete laptop with a larger screen at a low price. Superbook promises more than 8 hours of battery life. Other features include a multi-touch trackpad and phone-charging capabilities. When plugged into an Android device, it launches Andromium’s app that offers Microsoft Office suite compatibility.

Superbook ships in February 2017 at future pricing of $129-$139 for a basic version. But Kickstarter backers can order one at pricing that starts at $99. Early bird backers were able to order one at $85 for January 2017 delivery. Andromium hopes to raise $50,000 by Aug. 20.

There have been several hybrid products that combine smartphone and PC functionality, including Hybrx. But Superbook provides one of the best value and feature propositions, thanks to its low pricing and Office software compatibility. However, one’s Android device must be running Android 5.0 or later with at least 1.5 GB of RAM and USB-OTG support for it to work with Superbook, limiting the number of compatible devices. And, obviously, consumers using iOS or any other mobile operating system besides Android are out of luck, at least for now.

 

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Input

Ultra-slim Wekey Pocket folding keyboard may be thin on experience

Just because a keyboard folds up doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s easy to drag around with us while traveling. If it can’t fit in a pocket, one can make a case that a keyboard still isn’t much more portable than a traditional keyboard that doesn’t fold up.

Wekey Pocket is a wireless, foldable keyboard with a QWERTY keyboard and a thickness of just under .24 inches, allowing it to easily slip inside a pocket. Its makers claim Wekey is the world’s thinnest and lightest keyboard, pointing out that existing foldable keyboards are more than .39 inches thick when folded.

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Input

Aerion mouse lets your fingers stick together through air travel

Gesture control continues to find its way into a wide variety of consumer electronics devices including TVs and videogame consoles.

Aerion Mouse is a gesture-driven computer mouse that’s somewhat smaller than traditional mice. It gets placed between the top of any two of the user’s fingers. The user then points the mouse at the display to operate it and, instead of clicking on any buttons, just leans to the left to achieve what a typical left click on a mouse would and leans to the right for a right click.

One main benefits to Aerion is that it allows one to keep fingers close to a typing position without having to grab a separate device when moving between the keyboard and pointing device. It also works even when there’s no convenient focus on which to set a mouse.

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Input

Sensel Morph force-sensitive input pad pushes past keyboards and trackpads

The keyboard and trackpad are cornerstones of mobile productivity, but they take up a lot of room. We’ve already seen one crowdfunding approach to combining them but the combination isn’t necessarily greater than the sum of their parts.

The Sensel Morph is a Bluetooth touch input device that’s sensitive to pressure — so sensitive, in fact, that it can pick up the bristles of a paintbrush with its 20,000 embedded sensors. The company is taking advantage of its versatile surface by making available a series of magnetic overlays that have raised surfaces. Some of the first are a DJ control pad, a typing keyboard, a music keyboard, a drum pad and game controller.

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Displays Input

Touchjet Wave transforms your TV into a touch screen device

Tablets may never have a large enough screen to please some users. That’s especially the case when using a tablet to view a widescreen movie that begs to be seen on the largest screen possible.

Touchjet Wave is a new device that adds touch screen control and Android apps to any TV that has a screen from 20 to 80 inches large. The device clips onto the TV and gets connected via the TV’s HDMI port. An HDMI cable is included, along with a stylus. Touchjet Wave uses infrared technology to track finger movements and taps across the TV screen.

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Input

Glide your fingers over the Moky keyboard to use a virtual trackpad

The keyboard is a popular accessory for mobile devices because it’s often much easier to type with than the tiny one featured on a smartphone or tablet. But they take up a fair amount of space, and their footprints are made even larger by the trackpads that they sometimes bring along with them.

patent-claimedMoky is a twist on the typical mobile keyboard, featuring a large, invisible touchpad that’s controlled by the user’s gestures. An infrared laser sensor module provides a thin optical surface on the keyboard. The device communicates wirelessly with whatever mobile device is used with it via Bluetooth Low Energy 4.0 technology. The keyboard cover, meanwhile, doubles as a portable device stand. Moky costs $149 and will ship in October. Its maker is hoping to raise $30,000 by July 9.

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Connected Objects Input

Phree lets you scribble on any surface, saves notes to your phone

editors-choiceWhat do Texas and mobile device interfaces have in common? Everything’s bigger there. Touch screens such as those in nearly every smartphone and tablet today set a new bar for ease of use. But their fingertip friendliness came at the price of precision compared to the mouse, which could pinpoint things on the screen.

patent-claimedPhree, however, takes a fresh approach to the idea of a pointing device for smartphones. Unlike other smart pens that work directly on the surface of the smartphone or on paper, Phree allows scribbling on virtually any surface and sends its output to the screen and is compatible with existing pen-aware applications.

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Podcasts

Backerjack Podcast #13: More USBs, Sliding Keyboard Discs, and Robots for Kids

In Episode 13 of the Backerjack Podcast, Steve and Ross check out some of the latest products seeking funds and preorders.

  • SnapPower, a replacement outlet cover that adds a USB port in seconds
  • Octodon, a wild smartphone input device that uses magnetic disks mounted to an unfolding smartphone extension
  • Codie, a little robot loaded with treads and loaded with sensors that teaches kids to code

Many thanks to SnapPower for sponsoring this episode! Please support its campaign.

Download  the episode or listen below, subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and follow Backerjack on Twitter and Facebook.

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Input

ODiN claims rule of virtual computer trackpads

There isn’t a whole lot of innovation being made in the computer mouse category. You might even say that if you’ve used one mouse, you’ve used them all.

patent-claimedBut the makers of ODiN are attempting to change that.  ODiN is a laser projection mouse that aims to help users whose arms and wrists tend to hurt after using a traditional mouse for extended periods of time. ODiN works by projecting a laser onto a flat surface, subsequently creating an area that can be touched with one’s fingers to perform functions ordinarily performed with a mouse or a trackpad.  Instead of expending energy and moving around a computer cursor with a mouse, users can simply move their fingers across a flat surface instead.

The mouse is compatible with both Windows PCs and Macs and can be easily connected via USB. It’s being fielded in a choice of three colors –- black, green and silver. It’s priced at $66 and will ship in June. Its maker is hoping to raise $50,000 by May 8.

The ODin mouse holds promise because of its innovative design and functionality. The campaign’s emphasis on the device’s portability, however, seems a bit over the top. Indeed, it doesn’t seem much more portable than a traditional mouse, especially when one considers that the ODiN is not wireless capable.