Categories
Automotive

Easy Breeze car cooler keeps parked cars the coolest during summertime

Getting into the car on a hot sunny day can be torture. The air of the car’s interior is impossibly hot and the leather seats and seatbelt buckles can burn. Some opt to crack a window, but that doesn’t always do the trick for ventilating the car while it’s parked.

Easy Breeze is a way to keep the parked car cool. This ventilation system runs on a battery that can be charged through a USB cord. Each charge lasts for about a week. Included in the system is a vent, a powerful LED light and weatherstripping for the doors. Easy Breeze is designed to pull the hottest air from the roof out through a crack in the window to cool things down. The product itself looks a little bit like a black mailbox. For extra convenience, the battery pack can also charge any smartphone with a USB cable.

Easy Breeze is a cool product for a number of reasons. First of all, it cuts down on A/C usage when back in the car saving on gas and helping out the environment. Second of all, there have been a number of recent products, like the Babeep, that combat leaving children behind in hot cars. While it’s never advisable to leave a child alone in a car, Easy Breeze is a product that can fend off the heat if this mistake is made, keeping the child safe.

With its ease of charging and convenient uses, Easy Breeze is surely a product most will want come summertime. One will cost backers $38 at an early bird price for estimated delivery in June 2015. Easy Breeze is hoping to raise $50,000 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Home

Sun Petal shading system keeps the sun out of the house, lowers A/C bills

In the summertime, the only way to stay cool is with the A/C. However, energy costs run high and, sometimes, the A/C has be switched off in order to save money. Some rooms just can’t keep cool without central air because they get too much sunlight.

Sun Petal is a modular shading system that aims to combat this. This shading system can be mounted over a number of different-sized windows. Its lattice design keeps direct sunlight out of the house. This way, those rooms that get sun all day will remain cool. The shade itself is white and attaches to the side of the house. It’s designed to withstand high winds. In addition, Sun Petal can be left up all year round because its design allows rain and snow to pass through.

The campaign claims that installation is easy. However, it doesn’t really go into detail about what’s involved in that process. The campaign also shows photos of Sun Petal at work, but each features a house with traditional siding. Is Sun Petal compatible with stucco or brick houses? A question the campaign may like to address.

Despite the confusion about installation, this product is certainly a neat one. Many awnings that exist now really can’t be used during inclement weather. While Sun Petal can’t be retracted, a definite drawback, it still has many uses as there’s always one room in the house that simply gets too much sun. For their very own, backers must donate $199 for an estimated delivery month of July 2015. Sun Petal is hoping to raise a ridiculous $750,000 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Apparel Chargers/Batteries

Power Kicks keep your devices topped up until well past mid-afternoon

Access to electricity is such a vital component to a modern lifestyle that most people have an abundance of it. Still, many carry multiple portable batteries just to make sure their all of their devices are topped up with energy. For the 20% who don’t have ample access to electricity, cycles of poverty and illiteracy are only reinforced. Without enough electricity, a lot of very good things to help people around the world just cannot happen.

Power Kicks don’t claim to be the total solution the world’s electricity problem, but the tiny generator looks to provide enough power to keep devices at 100% at the very least. The Booster modules, the sneaker’s generators, are attached to their soles and turns kinetic energy into electrical energy with no more than a firm press of finger. In this case, though, body weight will be routinely applied, generating up to 5mW per shoe for a total of 10mW. And no, devices won’t need to be connected directly to the Power Kicks as the Booster modules will be easily detachable to serve as spare batteries. With no moving parts present, the Booster modules look like they’ll last a long time. Interested backers can grab a pair for $250. The $42,000 campaign is looking to ship the product out by July 2015.

The area of self-power generation is becoming increasingly crowded as more and more products are introduced, making it for an interesting sector. Products like the SolarHug and the Carbon make a fashion statement while keeping the power flowing, so it’s only a matter of time before more articles of clothing and accessories that go with them eventually get the same treatment. Sneakers are a good choice, but are subject to people’s own style. An attachable unit that happens to be universal might be a better fit.

Categories
Relaxation

Foot Hammock invites your weary feet and legs to hang out under the desk

Long days and late nights in front of the computer, whether work-related or game-related, can make for stiff legs and uncomfortable feet. And if it seems like the space under the desk is colder than the rest of the room during the winter months, that’s because it is.

That’s why Foot Hammock was created. The suspended foot rest hangs under a desk via straps on either side that get strung through a plastic holding device. The holder sticks to the underside of the desk so that no tools are required for installation. The straps appear to adjust easily so that it can be set to one’s preferred height. Foot Hammock comes in mesh, fleece and a heated version.

It would be especially interesting if that heated version had a built-in foot massager. As well as this campaign seems to be doing, maybe that will be considered for the future. As the warmer months approach, backers might be interested in Adventurers Hammock and Bungalow Beach Chair. In the meantime, this campaign seeks to raise $15,000 by February 8, 2015. For $20, backers get the mesh version with an expected delivery of July 2015.

Categories
Food and Beverage

Handle This Cup helps keep your brew where it belongs

Some people would say that there’s nothing that rounds out a great sporting event like a cup of beer. But getting that golden delight from concession stand to stadium seat without spilling it can be challenging. Especially when one has been delegated as the group beer-run-boy.

In order to help keep as much brew in everyone’s Solo cup as possible, Handle This Cup was created. The plastic cup carrying system allows for multiple cups to be carried in one hand, and the only apparent limit is how much beer one can lift and how rapidly one’s head happens to be spinning from any previous beers. The product can be customized to have the logo and colors of one’s favorite team, or with one’s business logo for advertising.

Even though this product is really for those game-loving beer drinkers, it’s still useful, albeit slightly silly. Beer-loving backers might also enjoy checking out Kickoff Kaddy, Das Kühling, and Brewie. This campaign seeks to raise $13,421 by February 9, 2015. Early bird backers get one product for $10 with an expected delivery of May 2015.

Categories
Safety Sensors/IoT

Instantly inform loved ones of accidents with Ridersmate safety device

As enjoyable as off-road cycling, horseback riding, or hopping on a motorcycle can be, one wrong twist or turn can mean the difference between narrowly avoiding an unfortunate accident or being on the wrong end of one. Sometimes, these accidents can happen in remote places, so it’s extremely important to get in contact with those who can help. The problem is that it may not be so easy to do so while possibly incapacitated.

Like a small traveling companion, the Ridersmate is always by a rider’s side. One end of the lightweight, portable device attaches to a rider and the other half attaches to the ride, whatever it may be. In the unlucky event that the two halves are disconnected, the dongle sends text messages to three pre-programmed contacts with information of exactly where and at what speed the accident occurred, along with a Google Maps link to the location itself. All this information allows emergency contacts to make informed decisions vital to making sure help arrives on time. The £199 (~$310) Ridersmate is looking for £19,900 (~$31,000) in funding. The product is expected to ship March 2015.

The Ridersmate is bright and features anti-crush construction to survive any type of mishap. In addition, its eight hour battery is USB rechargeable and can possibly last much longer due to how it doesn’t need to constantly check GPS. Something like the Urbanshell would go well with the Ridersmate to make sure others aren’t the cause of an accident.

Categories
Television

JB Flat Screen TV Stand gets your TV off the wall and moving around

For those who have an aversion to having their TV hanging around on the wall or using a bulky  and often size-limiting TV entertainment center, JB Flat Screen TV Stand offers an alternative. The telescopic stand can be adjusted from 43 inches up to 81 inches, and supports a TV that is anywhere from 27 – 65 inches. Its basic and simple black design also includes a small floor shelf for storing a few DVDs and perhaps some game accessories.

As for the creator’s claim of being the first telescopic stand, a quick search reveals that Displays2go and Chief PF are just a couple examples of others that are out there that may even be better. Backers interested in home entertainment products might want to check out the Ovoid HomePod, and Vibro Vest campaigns. This campaign seeks to raise $19,500 by February 8, 2015. For $200, backers get one product with an expected delivery of April 2015.

Categories
Fashion

Smooth and Shape tames heinous manes with no heat necessary

Any curly girl knows that straight hair is more or less a fantasy without the help of a professional stylist. Hair straighteners and hot rollers can help tame the frizz, but many warn that the use of too much heat can damage the hair or even cause it to fall out.

Smooth and Shape is a new way to straighten hair using little to no heat. The system consists of boards and clips, both made of plastic. To use, section out wet hair and smooth hair over the board. Take one clip and attach at the top by the root of the hair and the second clip attaches to the bottom of the board. This way, it’s possible to adjust the tension. Then, it looks like the hair can either dry naturally or be helped along by a blow dryer.

The campaign features a video comparing the results of braiding the hair to using the Smooth and Shape. The creator, an African American woman, shows both results and demonstrates how her product produces more consistent results for an afro-type style that won’t shrink over time.

The videos showing the Smooth and Shape at work don’t really do much to convince that the product straightens hair very effectively. As its name would suggets, it seems to more smooth rather than full on straighten hair and does so a bit awkwardly. Still, this product isn’t a bad one for those with unruly manes. Backers can donate $30 for a starter kid of five boards and 10 clips with estimated delivery in May 2015. Smooth and Shape is hoping to raise $45,000 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Imaging Interviews Wearables

The Backerjack Interview: Narrative’s Oskar Kalmaru on the evolving wearable camera

Raising over half a million dollars as Memoto, the Narrative Clip has been a pioneer in the field of wearable cameras. Originally marketing a life-logging device, the company has seen its cameras embraced for more diverse scenarios. Backerjack caught up with Narrative CMO and co-founder Oskar Kalmaru to discuss what the company has learned from the first Clip. Kalmaru also discussed some of the cool features of the Clip 2, which will include better image quality, better connectivity and 3D-printable mounts, but take a pass on Kickstarter.

Backerjack: It’s been about a year since the Narrative Clip shipped. What have you been hearing from your customers?

Kalmaru: It’s a really nice feeling to be able to go from being a Kickstarter project where everything is just pre-everything – pre-users, pre-product —  to having an actual product out with actual users actually using it and seeing that it does work. It does help people to live in the moment and capture things as they happen and relax in the moment and still get photos out of it People use it in 52 countries now and have been using it for travel, taking pictures of their families, photographing weddings.

Backerjack: From those use cases, it sounds like people are using it more situationally rather than wearing it all day every day and sorting through the photos. When I tried the product, I was pleased with the picture quality but it makes you realize you’re not doing the most exciting stuff every day.

Kalmaru: It’s a camera that’s great for life-logging if that’s what you want to do. But if it isn’t, it’s great for a lot of other things, too. And as with most wearables, what we’re seeing now is that they aren’t necessarily meant to be used all the time. There are a few wearables that are used all the time — maybe your watch, maybe your glasses. You use the camera in situations where it would make sense. It could be having dinner with friends, spending time hiking with your family. It could be doing things that are maybe out of the ordinary or you want to be able to do those activities and stay in the moment and still capture it.

Backerjack: When you launched, you had a competitor that was priced quite a bit higher. It looks like they’ve exited the hardware market so what do you take away from that? Do you think it was just the price point they were at? Or is it a setback for the category?

Kalmaru: I can’t really tell why they pulled out. We’re having a fantastic year. We have users from all over the world using it all the time. We raised another $8 million from Khosla Ventures in Menlo Park. Again, this is proving that this category is the future. Just look at the trends. The photo trend, that’s one megatrend. There are two billion photos uploaded every single day and you have the wearable trend next to that. People are getting more and more used to wearables devices. Combine those two and you have wearable cameras.

Categories
Connected Objects Kids/Babies Wearables

NapTime alerts parents to baby’s crying, still gives them a chance to sleep

New parents have it rough. They have cute little babies who end up keeping them up all night. It’s difficult to be constantly watching a child when sleep deprived.

NapTime is a baby monitoring device that divvies up the parenting work. The device uses a camera and microphone to monitor the baby. When he or she wakes up and starts crying, the camera sends that information to the accompanying smartphone app. In turn, the app will send a notification to one of two wristbands worn by each parent. In order to keep things fair, the app alternates which wristband vibrates so only one parent will have to get up at a time.

In addition to its practical applications, the app also allows parents to customize their sleeping patterns. This way, if one parent is out of town, the app will only notify one wristband. Similarly, it also keeps track of the baby’s sleeping patterns. Each wristband is rechargeable via a micro USB cable. NapTime can also be used as a silent alarm clock so as not to wake a partner in bed.

New parents struggle with the jarring sensation of being woken up in the middle of the night to care for their child. With NapTime, both parents can get just a little bit more sleep. Its design is clever and will certainly delight parents everywhere. To make their product extra convenient, the creators should consider adding some kind of failsafe in case both wristbands run out of battery. Parents can have their very own system for $150 with delivery in June 2015. This product hopes to raise $100,000 on Kickstarter.