If you’re doing Christmas shopping for a friend or loved one who happens to be a gamer, why not try looking at some of these awesome gift ideas? Chances are pretty high that anyone who plays video games will appreciate at least one of the items on this list.
After a turn as a provider of software for the Philips Hue ecosystem, startup Goldee is getting into the messy hardware game. The company’s first product is a smart light switch designed to be used with Hue, as well as with other connected bulb systems including LIFX and iLumi. It also works with regular bulbs, but in tandem with smart bulbs, it adds a number of smart features and so-called light scenes, which cherry pick colors from photographs to compose different lighting effects.
The Goldee Light Controller is up for pre-order via an independent crowdfunding campaign starting today, and it starts at $249 for the controller alone, with general retail price expected to be $349. Goldee is also offering up kits that include LIFX smart LEDs so you can have a complete set for a smartly lit home right out of the box.
Features that Goldee’s Light Controller offer include turning on lights automatically when outside light gets low, turning off lights when you leave and turning them back on again, and turning your light off when you get into bed, and turning it back on should you need to get up in the night again. It also follows in the footsteps of things like Nest in terms of delivering an extremely attractive piece of industrial design to grace your walls.
The Goldee device works using various sensors in tandem, and then sending that data to the startup for processing. All that info is used to predict when and how you need lighting.
“Goldee contains various sensors (proximity, ambient, sound volume, motion) that continuously gather information about the environment in your room,” says Goldee CEO Tomas Baran. “All of the information is processed in Goldee’s processor and in our cloud server, where the heavy computing power is used. Using special algorithms, Goldee then converts all that information into smart functions that respond to your lighting needs.”
You can also control Goldee via gestures thanks to the inclusion of gesture recognition tech from Microchip Technology, Inc. This solves one of the biggest problems of Hue and other connected systems: the fact that you have to use your smartphone, computer or tablet to turn lights on or off if you want the system to work correctly.
Each Goldee system serves an entire room, regardless of how many wall switches there are in that room. For maximum fun, you can get a Home Pack which contains four controllers (covering four rooms), as well as 12 LIFX bulbs for $2,099. That’s pretty pricy, but it’s remarkable compared to what it would’ve cost to install a whole home remote-controlled lighting system a few years ago. Baran says the one controller per room policy is in part to enhance the usefulness of the system.
“Having one Light Controller for several rooms would, to some extent, beat our purpose of creating a lighting system that brings more comfort to people’s lives,” he said. “Since it would not be very convenient having to run to the hallway when you want to set a light scene in your living room, for example.”
As for the partnership with LIFX, which is itself a crowdfunded hardware startup that has just begun shipping its product, Baran says that their interests simply aligned, as Goldee admired the device they’d built. “LIFX also liked what we have created, so there was a mutual interest for a collaboration,” he says.
Goldee hopes to ship its Smart Light Controller by summer 2014, and is seeking $100,000 over the next 25 days to make it happen. They’re also open to more traditional investment, though they’re looking more for strategic partners on that front than just financial support, Baran says. If the Goldee works and looks as good as it seems to, then this small startup could stake out an impressive early claim in the connected home space. Still, there’s a lot that needs to happen between now and next summer, so we’ll be watching to see how they rise to the challenge.
3D printing has certainly taken off over the past couple of years as we’ve seen some amazing products created only using 3D printing. As impressed as we’ve been in the past over 3D printed goods, being able to 3D print batteries has just completely blown our minds.
In the past, 3D printing batteries has caused way too many issues to actually be implemented, but new inks and tools are now making the possibility of printing a 3D lithium ion battery a reality. Technology Review recently visited Harvard materials scientist Jennifer Lewis to see how her work in 3D printed batteries is coming along, and even though it’s in its early stages, it seems it won’t be too long until we are able to print out a pair of batteries. (more…)
3D-Printed Batteries May Come Sooner Than You Think original content from Ubergizmo. 
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While I prefer to carry playable SEGA Genesis games in my pocket, I suppose the next best thing is to carry a bag full of gadgets that look like SEGA consoles, right? Thanks to this new line of mobile gadget accessories you can.
Tommo Mobile recently unveiled a line of iPhone cases which look like the Sega Genesis, Mega Drive, Saturn and Game Gear (where’s my beloved Dreamcast?) In addition to the console cases, they’re offering a couple that look like the Genesis and Mega Drive controllers too. It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but these aren’t just flat skins, they’re actually contoured to replicate the dimensionality of the systems they’re based on.
Each case fits the iPhone 5 or 5S and includes a SEGA-themed screen protector as well. They’re also offering up a couple of powerful battery chargers with SEGA themes, including Genesis and Saturn designs. Each one offers a large 9000mAh battery, which should provide plenty of juice for your mobile devices.
Last, but not least, there’s the SEGA Genesis Bluetooth speakers, which offer stereo sound and a look that yet again complements the Genesis console. It’s too bad that the original Genesis doesn’t have Bluetooth wireless audio.
All of the SEGA mobile accessories should be available by the end of the year. The iPhone cases sell for $24.99(USD), while the Power Partner batteries go for $69.99 and the Bluetooth speaker is $89.99. Keep an eye out on Amazon to pre-order.
When I was a kid, there was a number of kinetic sculptures that always caught my attention at shopping malls, and one of the classic ones was the kinetic ball cradle where one ball would send forth energy from one end to the other, using perpetual motion to go tick-tock tick-tock for what seemed to be forever (to a kid back then, anyways), eventually arriving at a stop because it loses a wee bit of momentum with each passing moment due to friction in the air. Well, the folks over at Thinkgeek have delivered a new twist to an old classic in the form of the $49.99 Kinetic Light Newton’s Cradle.
This is a futuristic take on classic desk accessory, where the Kinetic Light Newton’s Cradle would feature bright, multicolor LEDs in each glass sphere. I would assume that if you enjoy a tipple or two after office hours while still at your cubicle, the Kinetic Light Newton’s Cradle would end up with an even more hypnotic value to you and your like minded colleagues. The lights will react based on their position, and you will need to see it or believe it. There is also the option to be more zen, as you set the LEDs to a single color, while watching the light fade as they swing back and forth.
[ Kinetic Light Newton’s Cradle adds a new twist to an old classic copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]
Thank you, PowerUp. Apparently the last time we had the opportunity to write about paper airplanes was back in 2011, when a Seattle doctor built a tiny one using a da Vinci surgical robot. This time out, it’s a Kickstarter project that brings smartphone control to the notoriously staid word of paper airplanes. The gadget’s setup is pretty simple, all said. At the front is a Bluetooth module and battery, while the back contains the propeller and rudder. Build a paper airplane, attach the PowerUp up and boom, you’ve got RC aircraft you can control with your smartphone. Creator Shai Goitein has taken the project to Kickstarter in an attempt to score $50,000 in funding. A pledge of $30 will get one of these little fliers in your hands, come May of next year. That’s plenty of time to practice your folding skills.
Filed under: Misc
It’s easy to get worked up about the ughs of air travel, especially on a week like this. But there are plenty of ways to make flying less terrible—and some of the best minds in design are currently working on them. We posed a simple question to a few of them: If you could do anything to improve the flying experience, what would it be?
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Think Los Angeles at rush hour is bad? Try doing it half-blindfolded with nothing but a radio and a few blinking lights to show you the way. That’s how pilots navigate the invisible highways in the sky, and there’s a beautiful design that makes it all work. It only took about a hundred years to come up with it.
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A few weeks ago, we got our first look at the Motorola Moto G. For $180, you get a solid piece of hardware running Android Jelly Bean with a guaranteed upgrade to KitKat. It wasn’t supposed to be available in the United States until early next year, but it’s already available fro pre-oder. It ships on December 2nd.
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We think it’s safe to say playing video games and cursing up a storm goes hand in hand like peanut butter and jelly. Sure – many of us try to live a life free to expletives, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the population will hold back their potty mouths, but Microsoft apparently is attempting to do so within its Upload Studio application. (more…)
Xbox One’s Upload Studio Can Get You Banned Temporarily If You Curse A Lot original content from Ubergizmo. 
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