Categories
Food and Beverage

The Sippy portable espresso maker offers a caffeine fix anywhere

The experience of enjoying a rich, creamy espresso is one usually regulated to the home or to the swanky cafe down the street, to the chagrin of anyone on the go. While powdered coffee solutions exist, they’re really no substitute for the real thing.

Fikra Design’s Sippy espresso maker was designed precisely for this reason. A lightweight, machine grade aluminium tube houses all the machinery necessary to make espressos anywhere, no battery necessary. By combining a CO2 cartridge with an espresso cartridge from Nespresso or Duck Coffee along with some hot water, a 25-35ml espresso can be made within a minute or two.

Categories
Technology

Sirius B makes a pocketable PC the star of you mobile world

As powerful as smartphones and tablets have become, they’re still nowhere near desktop class. So for all the situations where desktops are necessary, the smartphone is a decent stopgap, although it  inexplicably can’t perform many of the same functions as well are they desk-bound counterparts.

The Sirius B combines some pretty decent technical specifications— an Intel Atom Bay Trail quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM, 2 USB ports, HDMI 1.4 out, 32GB of flash storage, dual band Wi-Fi, a 3.5mm audio jack, and Bluetooth connectivity—all in a slim, smartphone-esque design that comes in at just 4.2oz.

Categories
Smart Home

Angee’s all-seeing eye protects your home from nefarious ne’er-do-wells

Typical home security systems require a lot of input from users every time they leave and enter the home. And while they might alert authorities to sinister plots on your valuable goods, by the time they arrive it’ll have been too late anyway. A smarter type of security system is needed to serve as the best deterrent possible.

Angee has a good shot at making waves in a segment rife with connected security solutions that pretty much all do the same thing. The portable, lightweight device is outfitted with a 360° camera, allowing Angee to track all motion directly around it, record one hour of HD video, and stream video to an iOS or Android tablet from which it can be shared. Angie’s portability makes it so that users can move it to any room but to truly get the most out of her, security tags mounted at entry points throughout the home can expand Angee’s monitoring range. This offers users more peace of mind through more comprehensive security benefits, at-the-door identification, and pinpointed zone detection in the case of a curious toddler, for example.

Categories
Personal Transportation

Portable A-Bike Electric folds small enough for a backpack

While most people are far more comfortable on a bicycle than on anything else, it doesn’t mean most bicycles are suitable for the demands a busy city commute places on someone. Even the lightest bicycles can be ungainly to carry around and a pain to lock up everywhere, making them less than stellar options for getting around quickly.

The A-Bike Electric takes the compact nature of Sir Clive Sinclair’s original idea and supercharges it with a dual chain drive and brushless motor, featuring a 24V battery providing up to 15 miles of assisted pedaling even up hills. Its 26-pound foldable frame uses telescopic design in order to fold up into an extremely portable, place-it-in-a-bookbag form in about 10 seconds, making the A-Bike a worthy alternative to most commute cutting options. An A-Bike can be had for $900 provided its $76,000 campaign sees success by August 13th, 2015. Backers will be able to hop on and ride in October 2015.

The A-Bike Electric is successful at being compact, cleverly designed, and light while still retaining the familiarity with bicycles most people are comfortable with. Being able to take it along on the train or into a coffee shop is a convenience would prefer versus leaving a bicycle unattended outside. The Impossible E-Bike attempted something similar but ultimately never materialized, leaving a huge gap for products like the A-Bike Electric to be successful.

Categories
Food and Beverage

Fizzics makes beers fizzier, can go anywhere beer can

Store-bought beer is just fine, most of the time. But sometimes one just craves the delicious tap taste of beer at a bar.

Fizzics allows beer drinkers to take any store bought beer can, bottle or growler and run it through a tap. It’s lightweight and portable, resembling a Keurig machine. To use, stick the bottle or can into the holder. Insert a tube inside and close the lid. Then place a glass below the spigot and pull the tap handle for enhanced beer. Fizzics is designed to create the perfect foam head. It runs on standard AA batteries so it can be used anywhere including the beach or on a boat.

This may be just the thing for beer connoisseurs. Many other beer makers at home, like the Synek, need to be filled at the local pub. It’s definitely appealing that Fizzics works with any beer. One will cost backers a donation of $119. Fizzics is looking for $50,000 of funding on Indiegogo.

Categories
Lifestyle

Magic Mirror provides a full-length view on the go, won’t tell you Snow White’s whereabouts

Anyone who has owned a full-length mirror knows that, after experiencing the full view, it’s hard to go back. That is why traveling can sometimes be irritating because it’s impossible to bring that long mirror along.

To address this minor albeit vain issue, Magic Mirror has come up with a way to travel with mirror in tow. This product folds up into a lightweight package, but folds out to either provide a small makeup mirror or all the way out for a full length mirror. The outside comes in various fun colors. The unique folding design makes a couple of different configurations possible and, in most instances, the mirror can stand up on its own. For the full length, it comes with a strap at the top so it can easily be hung up wherever’s convenient.

While few would want to admit owning a Magic Mirror for fear of being accused of vanity, many could benefit from this product. It’s a clever way to stay looking cute while on the go. The campaign is marketing the product to music festival goers, which is a clever strategy considering the fact that summer is coming. For their own, backers must donate £28 (~$42). Magic Mirror is hoping to raise £7,500 (~$11,200) in funding with the help of Kickstarter.

Categories
Food and Beverage

Hotshot contains its excitement, brings the heat to canned coffee

People waste so much money each year on coffee runs. Whether they’re visiting a chain or their local coffee shop, most can’t help stop in at least once a day for that much-needed boost of energy.

patent-claimedHotshot provides a way to save money on coffee while still enjoying that little kick. The Hotshot system consists of a heater that can hold up to 12 cans at once. That’s right, it heats up coffee in cans. Hotshot features many different flavors and even has hot chocolate. From a safety perspective, the label on the cans prevents users from burning themselves. Hotshot’s heater, the HotBox, plugs into the wall and measures 10” wide, 4” deep and 10” tall. It uses innovative conductive heating technology and uses 75% less energy than a refrigerator.

Hotshot does seem like a good alternative to traditional ways of drinking coffee. It’s cost-effective and offers a chance to carry around more coffee than is possible with a traditional thermos. The product also claims to be more environmentally-friendly than the K-Cup. While a little silly looking, Hotshot does manage to give people hot coffee on the go. One will cost backers $99 for delivery in December 2015. This product is looking to raise $100,000 by May 13 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Luggage and Bags Tech Accessories

GateMate keeps your coffee upright and devices charged while waiting to board

For those who travel often, using and charging mobile devices on the go can sometimes be a hassle. This problem is sometimes compounded by the frustration that results from what have increasingly become prolonged check-in procedures.

GateMate is a portable table that aims to make the entire travel experience much more convenient. GateMate is essentially an attachable table one can connect to their suitcase handle. Once clipped on, the table is perfect for storing items like keys and cups of coffee. It can even be used as a platform for a laptop if you want to get some work done. Even better, the GateMate has the ability to charge electronic devices. Notably, the product is small enough such that it can be stashed away in a suitcase’s front compartment.

Other travel accessories that frequent fliers might want to consider include Smart Unit, Lugabug, and RuitBag. This campaign seeks to raise $50,000 CAD (~$39,300 USD) by April 15, 2015. Backers get one product for $45 CAD (~$35 USD) with an expected delivery of August 2015.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Input Tablet Accessories

Stacking TextBlade slices through bulky Bluetooth keyboards

editors-choiceThe introduction of touch screen devices necessitated the use of touch screen keyboards, a pretty difficult problem even now. Most people, though, would agree they’re a necessary evil. They can be unreliable for anything more than short notes or messages, take up half the screen they’re being used on, and can’t be felt. For people whose jobs rely on any amount of typing, that last downside is a deal breaker, relegating the touch screen keyboard to the very last option on the list.

patent-claimedBluetooth keyboards have long been available for these platforms, generally to underwhelming response. They can be too big, or if they’re small enough, they aren’t practical for long typing sessions. WayTools’ TextBlade marries multi-touch functionality with a very physical, tactile typing experience to give users the best of both worlds — all while maintaining an incredibly slim profile with little tricks like a space bar/battery combo to save space. Indeed, the whole combo stacks neatly enough to fit into the coin holder of a jeans pocket.

Utilizing magnets gives the TextBlade its svelte construction along, but what it does best is reduce the standard 70 key QWERTY keyboard to just eight, intelligent multi-touch keys complete with full-finger spacing. The creators insist the keys are smart enough to know exactly what the users intend want to write, but those who purchase it will have to see for themselves. Some may want to take that plunge, while other may want a more certain solution like the FlyShark. The $99 keyboard is compatible with iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows platforms and is shipping on a rolling basis.

 

 

Categories
Accents

Décor Flame might help you kindle the fires of romance

There are certain things that add just a touch of romance to getting together with that special someone. One thing in particular is a cozy spot in front of a flickering fireplace. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford a fireplace, which is where Décor Flame steps in as a possible substitute.

The small fire containment unit includes fire-resistant glass that appears to encase a base of one’s choice of either stainless steel with a wood-looking surface, or plain stainless steel. The fire itself runs on bio-fuel. Whether or not the gadget actually produces any heat is questionable, but it may serve as an interesting conversation starter. Though the product is touted as being portable, it’s not clear what its measurements are. Backers might also like to check out the Lampp, the Playbulb, and the Prizim.

This campaign seeks to raise $20,000 by March 17. Early bird backers get one product for $150, with an expected delivery in June of this year.