Hasta La Gadget!

If funding is successful, you’ll be able to wave hello to Edison Junior’s DoorBot — an app-enabled, WiFi-connected video doorbell. Sure, it’s not exactly the first time we’ve seen such an idea, but the “weather-resistant,” aluminium enclosure makes it one of the best looking concepts we’ve seen. Better yet, the system is set to work in unison with the Lockitron (a smartphone-controlled keyless door lock that was recently crowd-funded, albeit still yet to ship) allowing you to let welcome visitors inside your abode at the tap of your iOS or Android Device’s app screen.

The DoorBot installs with four screws, but it’ll have you running through four AA batteries once a year for power (which, based on the video, seem easily removable by strangers, unfortunately). There’s no word on the quality of the camera onboard, however, it’s infared-equipped, so you’ll be able to see who’s there at night. Lastly, the actual doorbell button is wrapped with an LED light, and, as you’d expect, it alerts you via the app when pressed to see and speak with whomever is at the door.

In total, Edison Junior hopes to raise a lofty $250,000 to make the DoorBot more than a concept video, with 45 days to reach the goal. If you’re willing to take the gamble as backer, $169 is what’ll cost to secure a pre-order, and $319 snags you one bundled with the Lockitron. We’re told that we’ll see a working prototype in the flesh at CES, but until then, you can catch the full sales pitch at the source link and video demo after the break.

Continue reading DoorBot lets you see and talk with who’s at the door from the comfort of your smartphone (video)

Filed under: Household

Comments

Source: Edison Junior (Christie Street)

When it became apparent not too long ago that the LG Nexus 4 was selling out of the Google Play online store faster than free bricks of gold, we immediately asked ourselves: was this by design, or was it a mistake? There are two possibilities that remain even after the information being reported today by no less than the head of mobile at LG UK has been released – even after Andy Coughlin spoke up with CNET about the fact that the device “had proven extremely popular” when it was released initially to Google Play. One possibility is that yes, indeed, Google simply did not expect so many devices to be sold, so they didn’t order a supply to meet the demand – the other is more nefarious.

This set of quotes from LG also includes a couple of sentences that should be analyzed by you and I, those interested in how Google went about setting up sales for the Nexus 4. “As with any sales process, LG supplies product quantities against partners’/customers’ (ie retailers, operators etc) forecasts,” LG’s Coughlin said, “demand via the Play Store has been very high in this instance.”

See both our T-Mobile Nexus 4 review and our original Nexus 4 review for two perspectives and more details than you could possibly ever want!

The Nexus family is one made by Google to present a pure version of their newest Android operating system without mobile carrier software add-ons. In the past, Google had presented each new Nexus device as one made for developers primarily – a software developer looking to make Android apps would always benefit from having a device that not only had the newest Android software, but was able to access the newest updates from Google faster than any other device on the market. With the Galaxy Nexus from Samsung ramping up to the LG Nexus 4, the public started seeing the Nexus platform as the true Android hero, a hero for all consumers, not just developers.

The other option that isn’t simply Google not seeing this demand for what it was is the possibility that Google ordered less than they expected they’d sell on purpose, this creating artificial demand and many more interesting stories in the press than there otherwise may have been. Of course this would presuppose that Google did not have enough confidence in the selling power of the Nexus 4 for it to sell massive amounts of its own merit, and we simply cannot believe such nonsense.

Instead we must believe that the projected numbers simply did not meet the end demand and that the scramble Google and LG are experiencing is real – and that the Nexus 4 really is the start of Google’s initial vision for Android in which one device could be released straight from Google across all carriers at once. One hero device, one Nexus. Perhaps with the 5th handset this will be true – we know people want it, now it’s time for Google to make it.

Google’s Royal Nexus 4 Supply Miscalculation is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nobody thinks about batteries—until they’ve run out of juice, of course. But this humble and surprisingly ancient technology has done far more for human civilization than most people realize. More »

BBQ devotees come in all forms: Those who meticulously craft the most delectable fire-cooked treats, and those who just wanna live the life. Fortunately, this means that grillmasters are hellafied easy to shop for. More »

We’ve already gotten a good look at Crytek and EA‘s upcoming Crysis sequel, and to say the least, we’re pretty excited for yet some more graphics-intensive first-person shooter action. We’ve already been giving a rather vague release window of February 2013 for the game, but it’s finally been announced that Crysis 3 will officially release on February 19 in North America, with a European release happening on February 22.

Also during the announcement, Electronic Arts revealed that they have signed on director Albert Hughes for a new online video series called “The 7 Wonders of Crysis 3,” which we covered earlier this morning. Hughes is known for directing From Hell, Dead Presidents, and American Pimp. The series will introduce players to weapons, enemies, locations, and gameplay features that will be featured in the upcoming game.

As far as PC requirements, we also covered that a few days ago, but to refresh your memory, the minimum system requirements include a DirectX 11-compatible graphics card with at least 1GB of video RAM, a “dual core CPU”, and 2GB of RAM (3GB if running Windows Vista). Also, you’ll need to be running at least Windows Vista (sorry, XP users).

Crysis 3 is available now to pre-order, and if you do end up pre-ordering the game, EA will give you a digital copy of the original Crysis to play through while you wait for Crysis 3 to release. It’s certainly not a bad deal, but it would be better if they offered both the original Crysis as well as Crysis 2.

Crysis 3 coming to North America February 19, Europe February 22 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.