Tag: wallet

Categories
Tools

The SCURVO credit card tool packs an ax in your slacks

Sure, there are reality shows based on people prepping for the end of days, but most people just want to prep for every day.

The SURVCO credit card ax is forged from stainless steel and has 21 uses. It’s heftier than typical card-style multitools, but still fits easily into a wallet. As the name suggests, it transforms into an ax for tree hacking or door busting, although it does need to be secured to a handle. Campers or hikers are likely to have such items around, but things may be a bit less convenient for the typical urban serial killer. Options include a serrated blade, a seatbelt cutter, a bottle opener, and an arrowhead.  Each card costs $25, and the developer hopes to raise $6,500 by June 19, 2015, with delivery expected August 2015.

Thicker and sturdier than other similar models, this tool could definitely be great for outdoorsy types. It doesn’t seem as practical for city dwellers, and it’s absolutely not TSA approved.

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.

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Categories
Connected Objects Wallets

Where’s Wallet calls home to your smartphone to avoid being misplaced

Forgetting or misplacing a wallet can be a major inconvenience — especially if it’s left in a public place and has a lot of cash and credit cards in it.

Where’s Wallet is a twist on the increasingly popular Bluetooth item finder that solves that dilemma. It’s a wallet that features a hidden sensor inside. Users just have to download a free Android or iOS app, set a notification range, and their smartphone/wallet will beep to alert them the moment they step beyond that preset distance. Its maker is fielding the product in three versions: a $49 slip model, a $69 bi-fold version and a $99 clutch version. Each will ship in August. Its maker is trying to raise $30,000 through Kickstarter by March 22.

Where’s Wallet is a clever entry in the Bluetooth tracking device category. Applying the technology to a wallet is a no-brainer, and should be especially appealing to consumers with a tendency to misplace their valuables. However, the specific application has a drawback in that some consumers will prefer a small tracking device like TrackR Bravo that can be attached to the object of their choice. For example, folks who are more likely to misplace their keys than their wallet.

Categories
Sensors/IoT Wallets

Jayster wallet lets you know of its absence via Bluetooth

Losing anything valuable can put a huge dent in our day, throwing us off from what we need to do and causing unnecessary worry and stress. Instead of running around trying to get it sorted by retracing your steps or calling your credit card companies, Jayster wants to help you avoid that altogether with its wallet sensor. Without adding much weight or volume, Jayster gives your wallet all the functionality necessary so that you can get it back in your hands when it isn’t.

The slim insert comes in a variety of colors, and is outfitted with both Bluetooth and GPS technology that allows it to connect to your iOS or Android smartphone. If your wallet somehow strays further than 15 feet away from you, an audible alarm on the insert itself will sound in its Nest mode. If it ends up lost even after that, a companion app uses a hot/cold system or a more accurate GPS to find it. Jayster will continue to grow and be useful down the road with its upgradeable firmware and replaceable battery that lasts for two years as well. As much as this will avoid lots of headaches, its $20 price tag certainly reflects its limited functionality. The campaign is looking to deliver the Jayster by November 2014, with a campaign goal of $10,000.

 

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories

Snap adapts to affix your smartphone to nearly anything

The Premise. Phones and other essential items take up valuable space in pockets and purses. They also cause for a messier lifestyle with everything floating around willy-nilly.

The Product. Snap offers a better way to keep your life organized. Snap is an accessory for your phone, tablet or any other portable device that attaches to other essential items such as money clips or earphones. This nifty product can even be used as a mount to put on bicycles or the backs of car seats. Using a male/female connector system, one side sticks to the device using a strong adhesive while the other side clicks into place.

The Pitch. Snap’s snappy video is silly and fresh, making fun of “too cool for school” campaigns. The creators are smart and use the rest of the campaign to articulate problems they’ve encountered with other mobile accessories and say how their product solves those problems. They really emphasize the fact that Snap isn’t the type of accessory that changes with each new device, but that it is universal and adaptable. Pictures towards the end of the campaign show different ways to use the product. These creators from Utah hope to raise $40,000 in a 45-day run on Kickstarter.

The Perks. Snap keeps it simple with only four reward tiers. Right now, Snap’s creators are only offering the wallet and earbud attachments separately. Both go for early-bird prices of $10 and later-bird prices of $12 with estimated delivery set at May 2014.

The Potential. Snap presents an efficient way to organize your life with tons of different possibilities. Lately, lots of other products have been trying to do just that. The Sinch is a small accessory that keeps your earbuds untangled, but can only be used with earbuds. The Nerd Herder gadget wallet is a more elaborate, feminine item that can hold a phone, earbuds, money, credit cards and other things all together. Snap seems to be the most compact of these attachment accessories, but one drawback may be that only one attachment can be used at a time. Still, its universality is welcome in the mobile accessory market where most items are expensive and can only be used with one type of device.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Tablet Accessories

Credit card-sized MUST stand pairs up to take on tablets

MUSTIgnoring the terribly pretentious piano music that plays throughout, the odd use of child actors, and the lack of any real dialogue, the actual MUST product  seems pretty decent. It’s a folding phone and tablet stand that snaps together easily and can be taken apart and stored credit-card style in your wallet. Nifty to have, for sure. The stand can also be used to set up your phone for taking photographs – just a quick adjust on the stand and the phone is good to go. Two of these stands make a holder for a tablet. There are certainly lots of phone stands on the market, but even ones that fit on your wallet can’t accommodate a tablet. Early birds can get the stand for $12.99 and expect delivery in May 2014.