Tag: USB

Categories
Smart Home

Smart control kit lifts the difficulty in controlling window blinds

One of the biggest hurdles that home automation faces is the cost and complexity of installing devices for every small or mundane aspect of a house.

Tilt My Blinds thinks that smart blinds are a great addition to any home, and wants to make the process simple for anyone. Working with virtually any kind of existing blinds, Tilt My Blinds is a simple device that takes less than 15 minutes to install on each set of blinds and allows for scheduled opening and closing of the blinds as well as control via Bluetooth devices or wireless switches. The blinds are powered by a battery which can be charged using any USB outlet or with an optional solar panel to save even more time and energy. It’s going to take $50,000 to make a properly-funded endeavor. A Tilt My Blinds retrofit kit will cost backers $75 and arrive in February 2015.

For those automating their home piece by piece, Tilt My Blinds is a great way to add some futurism into even the most quaint of dwellings. The solar panel is  great for taking even more effort away from managing the blinds, and the TV plug add-on to reduce viewing glare demonstrates the kind of foresight that should make this product successful.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Chargers/Batteries

Belaycord reversible USB cable always knows which way is up

It’s easy to defend the iPhone from its critics in just about every single way imaginable… except for the charger. Think about the last time there was a pristine iPhone charger cable nearby, and it was probably when the phone was still in its box. BelayCords are fixing this problem by offering a durable charger cord with in its own sense of style and a lifetime guarantee. If that wasn’t enough, BelayCords also have a reversible USB outlet, meaning that it can be plugged in no matter which way the cable is facing. For many people, that would be cause enough to stop this write-up immediately and go buy one.

Though BelayCords were designed for the iPhone, they also have compatibility with Android, Windows, and Blackberry devices with Micro USB, meaning that even after a change of brand loyalty heart, there’s still no need to go buy a new charging cord. Designer Made In College is raising just $4,000 to make BelayCords a commercial possibility, and supporters and phone users can desperately grab one up for $30 with a November 2014 release. It bears repeating: this cord has a USB plug that can be plugged in regardless of orientation. What more is there to want in life?

Categories
Chargers/Batteries

Granola Stroller charger lets the sun shine in to charge your gadgets

photo-mainEco-awareness is an increasingly important design principle being implemented to confront future challenges. Every little innovation contributes towards its spread, which is why the Granola Strolla impresses. The product is a portable solar-powered charger for all your USB devices, reliably charging them by using a multi-directional design that effectively drinks up the sun no matter what orientation it may be in. The whole of the charger features environmentally materials like HPDE and Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries, both of which are non-toxic and last longer. This product could help solve the problem of dead devices and wasteful energy all in one. Econauts can pick up their very own, along with a swag bag, for $55. This will help the company reach their goal of $20,000 by mid-October 2014.

Categories
Tech Accessories

Reversible flash drive always knows which way is up

Super MotorUSB drives are an incredibly useful method for sharing information. The Super Motor USB Flash Drive is a new and improved design on the traditional USB. Not only does it boast more storage space and faster processing, but it’s also reversible. The campaign video shows how the drive can go in one of two ways. It’s unclear why this is entirely necessary, but we’ve all had trouble inserting USBs at one point or another so the Super Motor does make the whole process easier. One will cost backers $15 for 8GB of space. Super Motor hopes to raise $7,000 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Chargers/Batteries

Powerknots keeps an arsenal of backup batteries ready for your powerless friends

20140819083204-imageSmartphones have dramatically increased in versatility over the past 10 years, but that tends to keep battery life a constant struggle. Many people have long cursed the their weak capacities, leading TechSquare to create PowerKnots. Their design holds massive power: each bite-sized block has a capacity of 5200mAh and each station can charge up to eight, allowing a user to have up to 41,600mAh of power at their disposal. A smartphone user (or anyone else wanting to charge something) with PowerKnots is guaranteed to not stare at a dead phone for a very long time. While it’s probably overkill for most folks, it might make sense for those signing up for the smartphone family plan. You can get started in December 2014 with a four-pack and charging station for $70 among other more expansive options.

Categories
Technology

swivelCard is for the truly plugged-in business networker

swivelCardBusiness cards are a great way to get people to remember you. The only problem is that most only contain little information. With the swivelCard, a combination business card and USB, it’s possible to show people not only your contact information, but also photos, videos and presentations. The flat card folds into a lightweight USB drive. For a set of 200, swivelCard will cost backers $319 with estimated delivery in October 2014. These smart business cards offer the perfect way to show someone tons of information while making a great impression at the same time. On Kickstarter, swivelCard hopes to raise $10,000 in 35 days.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories

CasePlug provides handy USB charging in the case

CasePlugRemoving your phone from a case in order to charge it can be a hassle. That’s why the creator of CasePlug decided to create a case that allows users to protect, mount, charge, sync and prop an iPhone conveniently. The ability to connect to a variety of devices while the phone is still in the case is a nice convenience, but one will need to weigh if said convenience is worth the $15 dollars for not having to remove the phone from the case — perhaps based on how frequently a USB hookup is needed. Anticipated delivery is December 2014.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Connected Objects

Relive the days of pagers with Smart Keychain

smartkeychainThe great thing about all-in-one devices is the way that they reduce both clutter and the bulky, pants-sagging weight caused by having a gadget for each function. Smart Keychain is one such device that combines a key-finder, a flash drive, and an email reader into a keyring display with a USB port. At the same time, the low-tech look and feel of the product and the bulky addition it makes to any keyring detracts from features mostly offered by the phone that isn’t being ousted from the pocket. There are some really good tools here, but this feels like an unnecessary reinvention of the beeper. Smart Keychain is available for $59.

 

Categories
Chargers/Batteries Tech Accessories

ChargeAll kills the low battery warning once and for all

chargeallWith every device consumers add to their daily routine, the need for more electricity is added. Phones, tablets, laptops, e-readers: if it’s electronic, it needs to be charged. Rather than carry around a bag full of chargers, now there’s ChargeAll, a pocket-sized power outlet that’s only slightly larger than current phones. With fast charge technology, ChargeAll charges quickly and still holds enough juice to recharge a smartphone seven times or a laptop twice. With USB ports and standard outlet sockets, almost anything on the more portable side of a laptop can be powered by ChargeAll. ChargeAll launches in August and the basic model will be available for those that pledge $99.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Tech Accessories

MBLOK is a tiny cube of connected storage for mobile devices

The Premise. File storage is something one can never have enough of. Whether it’s for music on the go, apps, or taking extensive photos and videos, it’s important to know that running out of room is never a concern for any device.

The Product.  Fitting in the palm of a hand and offering up to 256GB of storage, the MBLOK is a portable storage device that can sync to any device using a traditional fold-out USB connection or via Bluetooth. The USB port is also used to charge the device’s 300-hour battery, while still allowing it to transfer files. Files can be moved at speeds up to 24 Mbit/s and can store any kind of files to be moved from phone to PC, or tablet to tablet, all wirelessly.

The Pitch. The MBLOK’s campaign mirrors the device itself: urban, fast-moving, stylish. The man-on-the-street interviews with people about the device paint a common picture of a device that is portable, useful, and attractive. MBLOK creators Kwelea Inc. are looking for $120,000 CAD to produce components and give the storage an interface for iOS and Android devices. Numerous stretch goals are offered to provide native audio and video output at $300,000, and official support for many more devices after that: $500,000 for Blackberry, $700,000 for Windows, $900,000 for the Pebble watch, $1,100,000 for Kindle Fire HD, and $1,300,000 for the Neptune watch. At $1,500,000, a final stretch goal is unlocked to create a smart shuffle algorithm for playing music through the MBLOK.

The Perks. A 128GB MBLOK is available in either emerald green or sapphire blue for $189 CAD.  The 256GB model will cost backers a pledge of $279 CAD. A stylish wood-faced model is only for those who kick in $499 CAD to the campaign. All rewards will ship out in January 2015.

The Potential. This is the natural evolution of the thumb drive — something pocket-sized that can easily share files between any USB or Bluetooth device without the need for complex bridges or file sharing setups. MBLOK isn’t the first to attempt this, with storage big shots like Kingston and Seagate offering the Wi-Drive and Wireless Plus devices in the market already, but MBLOK looks like the first to do so via Bluetooth, offering a week of battery life as opposed to the mere hours offered by the competition. Add to that the even smaller body and the MBLOK looks like a great way to move files around painlessly and easily across any compatible devices.