Hasta La Gadget!

In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.

We’ve been talking about Securifi’s Almond router a fair amount, since the new year rolled around. Darren put the thing through its paces, just after the company announced plans to release its successor — or, rather, plans to Kickstart the followup. As of this morning, the crowdfunding push has landed. The Taipei-based company launched the Kickstarter page for the next generation of its beloved touchscreen router.

The latest version, which we had the opportunity to play around with at CES, features a 2.8-inch display, as before, but adds some much welcomed additions, including support for 802.11ac, Zigbee and Z-Wave. The former promises a WiFi speed bump, the latter two bring the promise of extended home automation. Speaking of home automation, the Almond+ lets you control things like security alerts, heating and light control on the go with your iOS or Android device.

Securifi’s currently working toward a $250,000 goal, and has some solid prizes to offer up. Those who pledge $95 or more will get the $99 router, along with free shipping. Pledging at $129 will get you one of a number of Kickstarter exclusive colors. Those winning routers are set to ship around September.

Previous project update: At last look, the Pinoccio microprocessor is well on its way to becoming a real device, with around $44,000 pledged of its $63,000 goal, with a full 22 days left to get in on the action.

Filed under: Wireless

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Source: Kickstarter

iPhoneLife contributor, Todd Bernhard, just reported on a very cool product that he saw at CES (Consumer Electronics Show). It’s an IndieGogo crowdsourced project, available now at $25 but will be retailing later for $100. Take a look at his write-up and let us know what you think of this product… It is not coming from Japan or somewhere else in Asia but we thought it is really cool.

Right before Sony’s press conference at CES 2013, they showed off a five-minute video that featured three of their newest products being handcrafted and assembled right in front of our eyes. The company is now making that video available for anyone to watch, not just CES goers. The video features the Xperia Z, the Cybershot RX1, and one of its HandyCam HD camcorders.

The video essentially acted as the countdown timer to the start of the press conference, but it provides five minutes of soothing and relaxing gadget goodness that shows Sony engineers assembling the company’s products. Think of it as a reverse teardown of sorts, where they start with all the parts neatly laid out in front of them, and they finish with a completely assembled product.

It definitely gives you an idea of the complexity of circuitry that goes on inside Sony’s phones and cameras, and while their products probably aren’t assembled by hand like this (but rather in a factory by an assembly line), the video does a great job at showing you how these products get put together.

While five minutes does seem extremely quick to put together something as intricate as a smartphone or camera, there doesn’t seem to be any fast-forwarding of the assembly process going on in the video, proving that these engineers know what they’re doing, and we’re guessing that they’ve put together devices like this before on several occasions.

Sony handcrafts new CES products in five-minute video is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The recently concluded CES 2013 at Las Vegas, Nevada, capped a hectic week for many in the consumer electronics industry, but somehow, some of the devices that are worthy of mention seemed to have slipped through our news net. One of them would be the Philips Lifeline GoSafe, which is a new generation of mobile personal emergency response system (PERs) which was specially designed to help senior citizens eke more out of life. This latest innovation from Philips will deliver a unique combination of fall detection capabilities, accompanied by a suite of locating technologies as well as two-way cellular voice communication that will help users gain the confidence to continue doing the activities that they enjoy, knowing that they are able to summon help should the situation arise.

Continuing the long tradition of the Lifeline range that has clocked up nearly four decades of experience in empowering seniors, the new Philips Lifeline GoSafe will incorporate its fair share of Philips’ trusted features, while it goes ahead to expand PERs functionality beyond the home, so that users have access to the Philips Lifeline Response Center at all times. We are talking 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, now how about that for peace of mind?

The Philips Lifeline GoSafe will redefine the PERs niche market, as it intends to change the way people think about aging. In fact, the GoSafe is packed with its fair share of advantages that include (but are not limited to) the widely adopted AutoAlert fall detection capabilities that is capable of detecting a fall automatically, following that up with a call for help to the designated number should the user fail to push the GoSafe button.

There is also two-way cellular voice communication, and you can use up to seven user-locating technologies which was specially designed to help identify the user’s location in a wide range of situations. Sporting a single, attractive, easy to wear, waterproof button, all one needs to do is press the button to access help – regardless of where they are.

No idea on pricing just yet, so stay tuned!

Press Release
[ Philips Lifeline GoSafe for added peace of mind copyright by Coolest Gadgets ]

Microsoft’s decision to drop out of CES prompted a lot of questions with regards to the future relevance of CES, not the least of which was how much the industry really needed an in-person tech trade show in an age where business is primarily done online. Of course, there’s still a fair amount of value in offering members of the media and buyers the opportunity to actually interact with the technology in person. And while software companies have long been a staple of the show, their presence is most often an acknowledgement of hardware partners.

It’s fitting, then, that many of the show’s offbeat highlights came in the form of companies looking to offer hardware solutions to our increasingly virtual world. Parrot’s always-amusing CEO, Henri Seydoux said it best while showing off the latest additions to the company’s AR.Drone on our stage. “Today, the kids have video games,” he told us. “They’ve replaced toys, because it’s a much more interesting experience. With the drone, we’ve tried to make toys as fun as video games.” And it’s easy to see how such a product can be taken as a real-world answer to smartphone gaming, with video from the built-in camera being overlaid with AR content.

Continue reading Making the virtual a reality at CES 2013

Filed under: Cellphones, Gaming, Robots, Tablets, Internet

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