Hasta La Gadget!

Tesla Motors CEO and founder Elon Musk definitely isn’t the best guy to try to pull a fast one on. The visionary entrepreneur set Twitter a titter when he claimed earlier this week that New York Times writer John Broder had fudged details about the Tesla Models S car’s range in cold weather, resulting in what he termed a “fake” article. Musk promised evidence, and now he has delivered, via the official Tesla blog.

In keeping with his brief description of what was wrong with the review from his original tweet, Musk laid out how vehicle logs (standard practice after Tesla ran into issues with Top Gear, which dramatized a breakdown where none actually existed) showed that the car Broder was driving for his article was improperly charged, took an unscheduled side trip and essentially seemed to have been set up to fail.

Musk breaks down what went wrong in a number of bullet points, but basically Broder’s car never ran out of juice completely; was charged to a level which he knew wouldn’t be enough to get to his destination at one point; actually exceeded its anticipated range; was driven past charging stations which could’ve helped it finish the journey; and was taken for a lengthy detour through Manhattan not included in the original trip plan.

Other problems add to the reported deception, including climate control settings that run counter to Broder’s stated claims in the article about what he did with in-car heating (turned up the temp when he said he turned it down). The smaller details aren’t necessarily the most consequential, but the fact that Musk has record of even these smaller contradictions in his test vehicle’s logs helps to paint a picture of a writer who seems to have been blatantly gunning for Tesla from the start.

Musk says that Broder altered details and the conditions of the test to help fit with his pre-existing opinion, which he arrives at thanks to a quote from Broder in an article published in 2012. Broder essentially attempts to deflate the sunny image of a future filled with electric cars, claiming that “the state of the electric car is dismal, the “victim of hyped expectations, technological flops, high costs and a hostile political climate.” To be fair, in that article Broder also goes on to give plenty of space to electric car supporters, too, and even gives the last word to Chris Paine, the documentary filmmaker behind Who Killed the Electric Car?, ending on Paine’s implied accusation that the oil and gas industry are behind stalling the electric future of car transport.

But overall, Musk’s evidence is pretty damning, especially backed up as it is by solid data from the Model S itself. He ends by calling for the NYT to launch an investigation into the article and its writing, and after an attack like this, I’d guess the NYT would have to do just that in order to be able to come up with a satisfactory response.

The Bonsai is gadget with a soul, one that hopes to make a global difference by changing the way we go about an activity many do on a daily basis. It’s a shaving accessory, and it’s being funded via Indiegogo right now, with creator Craig Battin and his team looking for $125,000 to turn their final prototype into a production shipping device.

The Bonsai is a razor rinsing device, one that can save up to 99 percent of the water the average person uses rinsing out their blade under a running tap. It’s essentially a cup, one that you fill with a set amount of water at the beginning of your shave, which then creates a spray via high-pressure circulation of water. It also filters out hair and other debris, which you can then dump when you’re done.

Battin explained via email that growing up in Las Vegas, the need to conserve water was ever-present, hence his fascination with this problem in particular.

“I can remember driving over Hoover Dam with my family on the way to Arizona and seeing the “bathtub ring” of Lake Mead grow and grow, and it was very alarming to me,” he explained. ” At the most severe point in the ongoing drought, I believe the lake level had dropped by 120 feet.  When I joined the workforce after college, I was forced to shave frequently, and I was always bothered by how much water I wasted each day. That was the genesis.”

While the water conservation aspect drove the Bonsai’s initial development, Battin and his team quickly turned their attention to other areas of concern. These prompted the design of the filter to get rid of gunk that can clog drains, especially with daily shaving, and also the way the Bonsai actually blends your shaving cream with the rinse water as you go to create a solution that’s easier on your face since it’s oiling your razor as you go. The project will also offer an oil that you can use in combination with the Bonzai to enhance that effect. Battin explained that too much attention has been focused on razors, hence the lack of forward movement in terms of changes to the way we actually shave.

“It seems like we’ve been riding this trajectory where the only feasible innovations involve the physical razor or the blades, so you end up with things like vibrating handles and lethal 6-blade cartridges,” he said. “I think the lack of disruption has everything to do with where the focus has been, and the fact that consumers really don’t have many alternatives.”

Of course, the Bonzai also saves money by saving water, and Battin claims, by extending the life of your razor blades. It’s powered by a rechargeable battery and works both in and out of the shower. The gadget is available during the Indiegogo campaign for a pledge starting at $79, and the team estimates they’ll begin shipping devices by July 2013. If you’re a slave to the shave, as most of us likely are, you could do worse than to back this project and its aspirational goal of cutting down on the environmental toll it takes for us to clean up our ape-like faces and bodies.

Induction charging seems ready for its time in the spotlight, with the Nexus 4, Droid DNA and Lumia 920 all shipping with wireless charging based on the Qi standard built-in. Now a concept design that offers solar-powered wireless charging cleverly hidden inside a futuristic looking bonsai tree hopes to become a reality with the help of Kickstarter.

The electree+ began life as a concept by French designer Vivien Muller, which he originally unveiled in 2008. Then, three years later, Muller tried to bring the device to market, kicking off pre-orders for the device beginning at $370. She was aiming for 400 pre-sales, but the device eventually shipped to just a small group of 200 pre-order customers.

Now, the electree+ has been redesigned to maximize its solar efficiency, and to be manufactured in the USA at much larger volume, and for less money. The redesigned electree+ boasts a 14,000mAh internal battery, which when fully charged can fill an iPhone 5 up to and over nine times. It features 27 solar panels at the tips of branches, which are adjustable to capture maximum light. It requires 36 hours in sunlight to build up a full charge, but it also only needs around 4 hours to build up enough juice to fully recharge your standard smartphone.

Other features, like an optional built-in- NFC chip, mean that it can trigger an action when a smartphone is placed on its surface, in order to put it into dock mood or manage smart home connected devices, like light fixtures and curtains. It also has changeable faceplates, if you’re feeling bored by a particular color. Plus, the electree+ is environmentally friendly, since it’s just sipping sunlight to deliver charges to your devices.

The electree+ has two USB ports, including one designed for devices with lower power requirements like smartphones, and one for tablets which feature faster charging powers. As mentioned, because it uses Qi, it’ll work out of the box with the Nexus 4 and other smartphones with Qi inductive charging coils built-in, but it should also work with iPhones so long as they have a wireless charging case.

Pre-orders begin at $199, depending on what kind of options you want, and the team behind the redesigned electree+ wants to hit at least 1,000 pre-sales, or a total funding amount of $200,000 in order to go to production. It’s an ambitious project, but unlike with a lot of products on Kickstarter, this is one that’s actually been made and shipped, so hopefully the team stands a better chance than most of hitting their May 2013 target ship date.

Editor’s note: Sal Cangeloso is the editor of Geek.com and wrote a new book on an odd topic. It’s called LED Lighting: A Primer to Lighting the Future and it focuses on the upcoming explosion in LED manufacturing, offering a basic understanding of the technology and an interesting look at the history of LED lights.

You can buy LED Lighting: A Primer to Lighting the Future here and the first three commenters below get a copy of the book. Here is an excerpt from the first chapter of the book discussing the growth of lighting from old-timey incandescents to modern LED technology.

The incandescent bulb is a good place to start with any talk about lighting. This design has had tremendous longevity (over 130 years) and it makes for a cheap, versatile bulb. Unfortunately, this design is also power-hungry, inefficient, short-lived (with some exceptions), and fragile. They produce a minimum amount of lumens-per-watt, though they’ve made appreciable gains over the years, and are highly sensitive to power conditions. For example, a 5% reduction in voltage could double the life of a bulb while only decreasing light output by 20%.

One of the most notable strengths of the incandescent is the quality of the light it provides. This isn’t as easy to define as some of the other characteristics that will be covered, but it’s an important one when it comes to consumer adoption. After all, it’s nice to try to sell people on longevity and power savings, but if they think that the new bulbs are ugly or are too different from what they know, you’ll find them hoarding 75W and 100W incandescents before such bulbs are removed from the shelves.

Quality of light means that in order for people to be comfortable with the light these bulbs provide, the bulbs will need a color temperature that they find to be in an acceptable range, a high degree of color accuracy (usually measured by CRI), and a usable light pattern, to name a few qualities. The bigger point, as any early CFL or LED bulb buyer could tell you, is that if the bulbs don’t produce attractive light that people are comfortable being around, it won’t matter how long they last or how little power they consume.

Incandescents have good qualities, but ultimately their inefficiency means they are not a viable solution moving forward. Even modern incandescents can turn about 90% of the energy they take in into heat, which is obviously wasteful and inefficient in the extreme. Physicists might argue that this isn’t wasteful at all, and you might enjoy the heat they provide, but most of us want to leave the lighting to the lights and the heating to our furnaces. Before we demonize the long-standing bulb design, it’s worth noting that there is such a thing as efficient incandescence. While these are in fact more efficient versions of the incandescent bulb, they are still not at the level of top CFLs and LEDs. In fact, GE was working on a high-efficiency incandescent (HEI) for about 18 months, but gave up on it in order to focus its efforts on LED and organic LED (OLED) bulbs. HEIs were said to produce about 30 lm/W with the ultimate goal of doubling that amount.The halogen lamp is a type of incandescent that operates hotter and lasts longer, but its efficiency gains are minimal.

The much-maligned CFL solves some of the efficiency problems of incandescent bulbs, usually producing around 50 lm/W. Unfortunately, each bulb contains a small amount of mercury (about 4 milligrams per bulb), so disposal can be a problem, especially if the thin, usually helical, glass breaks. The bulbs have reasonably long lives, usually rated for 5,000 to 15,000 hours—but they don’t last nearly that long if they are used in short time spans as rapid cycling is bad for the bulbs. That means a CFL in a bathroom or closet might not last much longer than an incandescent bulb, despite what it says on the package. In fact, a CFL that runs for an average of 15 minutes at a time might last just 40% of its rated lifespan. Alternatively, a CFL that is used continuously from the first time it was turned on might last close to twice its expected lifespan.

CFLs saw a big jump in marketshare in 2007, capturing around23% of the market, but have been in decline over the last year or so, despite the bulbs being widely available, affordable to purchase, and much cheaper to operate than incandescents. Part of this is due to an increasing number of consumers learning about the CFL’s use of mercury, but current economic conditions also indicate that people have simply been looking for a more affordable option. In that respect, incandescents still cannot be beat.

One of the most important characteristics of LED lighting is that they are solid-state. “Solid-state” might be a term we normally associate with computer parts (as in the solid-state drive) but it’s not something the casual LED buyer will ever consider. The concept is quite simple: rather than generating light through burning or gas-discharge, LEDs use semiconductors. The is the most fundamental and important distinction that determines why LED lights have their unique characteristics and will be able to have such an impact on the lighting market. As seen in other industries, semiconductors improve at an exponential rate and have a way of taking over wherever they are used. Lighting should prove to be no different.

Of course, LEDs are just one type of solid-state lighting; there are also organic LEDs (OLEDs) and polymer LEDs (PLEDs). Right now, the LED is the main focus of SSL adoption and its future looks quite promising, thanks to the efficiency gains it brings to the market. OLEDs and their carbon-based semiconductors have potential, but high costs mean they won’t be a viable option as soon as standard LEDs.

The advent of solid-state lighting doesn’t just mean more efficiency. Just as with the introduction of high technology to other parts of our lives—from our phones, to our mail, to our televisions—light is now high-tech. In this case, it’s not the tech that makes the difference, it’s that this latest step means our lights could soon be gadgets. Today’s technology brings with it intelligence and connectivity, which makes way for lights that can be tracked, controlled remotely, and designed to work with other devices. While the humble incandescent was just a conduit for electricity and output both light and heat, a modern-day bulb can be and do much more.

What does this all mean for the LED lamp? Basically, the time is ripe for growth. LED adoption is low at the moment, but not because purchasing one won’t pay off. An LED bulb will pay for itself many times over thanks to its energy savings, but the high initial cost is just too much of a hurdle for many businesses and is unpalatable for even more consumers. As prices drop we’ll see a dramatic growth, just as CFLs grew when it was clear that they could lead to long-term savings and could, in fact, provide acceptable light for our kitchens and living rooms, not just offices.

That was fast: Mobiplug Networks, a startup focusing on smartphone-controlled smart home technology, which was featured only in August as part of TechStars’ most recent class in Boulder, Colorado, has today announced a new CEO and news that it has picked up $2.7 million Series A round of funding, led by Boulder-based VC Foundry Group. Bullet Time Ventures, SK Ventures, Social Leverage, Clarion Direct Investment are among the other strategic investors, the company noted today in a statement. Its new CEO, meanwhile, is Tim Enwall — a serial entrepreneur who was most recently the CEO of Tendril, a company working in the adjacent area of energy consumption metrics.

Prior to this, Mobiplug had received $118,000 in funding as part of the TechStars program, $18,000 in seed funding and an additional $100,000 convertible debt note.

Earlier this month, Foundry Group announced that it had raised a third fund of $225 million for investing in early-stage tech startups based in North America. Some of its past investments include Zynga, Jiraffe, Awe.sm and Modular Robots, among many others.

Mobiplug has created a single box that behaves like a home hub that can automatically link up all WiFi-enabled appliances and electronics in your home — these can include a thermostat, door locks, lights, TVs, garage doors, and home security systems. Through a smartphone app, users can then control these devices from wherever they are. This is not a totally new technology — given that Xfinity, ADT and others also provide similar services. Where it is disruptive is in how it integrates all WiFi-enabled devices — no matter the protocol or make — and doesn’t require users to sign on to expensive contracts for the service.

Linking up a fragmented landscape of WiFi devices in a single system has been one of the gating factors in the growth of smart home technology, says Enwall. “Getting wirelessly-enabled household items like locks, thermostats, lights, outlets and shades made by different manufacturers and based on different protocols to talk to each other is an enormous problem to solve, which is keeping this market from exploding. We’re fixing that.” he said in a statement.

While many users out there are may not be as WiFi connected as they can be, with wireless controls becoming increasingly common, the product will also become increasingly relevant. Solutions like this one are likely to become more common also as more people become conscientious of how to better manage their own electricity usage.

As part of the investment, Foundry Group’s Ryan McIntyre is joining the board of directors for Mobiplug. He had been a mentor for Mobiplug during TechStars, and says that Enwall’s appointment was one reason why he feels Mobiplug means business.

“I was really impressed by the co-founders and their ability to solve the thorny technical and interoperability problems that are currently holding back the home monitoring and control and Internet of Things (IoT) industry from mass adoption,” he said in a statement. “And when Tim Enwall decided to join Mobiplug, we felt confident that the addition of his experience and leadership to this already talented core team could really disrupt the market and lead this growing space.”

In addition to being the CEO of Tendril, Enwall, according to his LinkedIn profile, has been a principal at Comstock Ventures, and has also founded, built up and sold a consultancy to Gartner.

The company will be using the investment to continue business development and to staff up. Areas where Mobiplug are looking to hire include mobile development (iOS and Android), mobile UX, mobile UI, cloud platform, and wireless protocol and embedded Linux engineering.

Release below.

Mobiplug Raises $2.7 Million Series A Financing Round

Led By Foundry Group and Hires Tim Enwall as New CEO

Boulder, CO- September 25, 2012 – Mobiplug Networks Inc., a recent TechStars Boulder 2012 graduate, has secured $2.7 million in Series A funding led by Foundry Group. Additional strategic investors include Bullet Time Ventures, SK Ventures, Social Leverage, Clarion Direct Investment, and others. The company also named seasoned entrepreneur, Tim Enwall, as new Chief Executive Officer. As part of the round, Foundry Group’s Ryan McIntyre will be joining Mobiplug’s Board of Directors.

Fresh out of TechStars Boulder 2012 summer class, Mobiplug offers an affordable all-in-one home monitoring and control solution. Mobiplug makes the smart home a reality for mass market consumers with easy-to-use iPhone and iPad apps, enabling hundreds of off-the-shelf smart household items from retailers such as Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Best Buy. The Mobiplug applications, associated web services and enabling equipment allow homeowners to achieve comfort, convenience, peace of mind and conservation right from their smartphones, home or away, with a single application experience. These services will also be available to developers who want to create their own immersive home monitoring and control experience.

“As a TechStars mentor and advisor to Mobiplug this past summer, I was really impressed by the co-founders and their ability to solve the thorny technical and interoperability problems that are currently holding back the home monitoring and control and Internet of Things (IoT) industry from mass adoption,” said Foundry Group Managing Partner, Ryan McIntyre. “And when Tim Enwall decided to join Mobiplug, we felt confident that the addition of his experience and leadership to this already talented core team could really disrupt the market and lead this growing space.”

Incoming Mobiplug CEO, Tim Enwall, was a mentor-in-residence at TechStars and brings with him a wealth of entrepreneurial leadership experience. Tim previously founded and was the CEO, COO and then CIO of Tendril, which monitors home energy usage and assists users in managing their energy. He has successfully founded, built, and sold two other technology startups and invested in a dozen more. He has a passion for improving the quality of people’s lives through technology.

“I’m honored to be joining and leading such a strong team at Mobiplug, whose roots in this space span more than a decade of experience. We are solving the foundational barrier to mass scale home monitoring and convenience; something I learned a great deal about while at Tendril. I’m also excited by the team of investors that we have in our corner, and thrilled to be working side by side with Ryan and Foundry Group,” said CEO Tim Enwall. “Thanks to the confidence shown by our investors, we have the capital necessary to grow our team and execute our ambitious goals.”

“Getting wirelessly-enabled household items like locks, thermostats, lights, outlets and shades made by different manufacturers and based on different protocols to talk to each other is an enormous problem to solve, which is keeping this market from exploding. We’re fixing that.” said Enwall. “To do so, we are hiring the best talent available.” Mobiplug is recruiting top talent in mobile development (iOS and Android), mobile UX, mobile UI, cloud platform, and wireless protocol and embedded Linux engineering. The company is located in downtown Boulder, CO, offers competitive salaries, a fun work environment, full benefits and home monitoring and control perks for all employees. For a full listing of Mobiplug jobs available, visit jobs.mobiplug.co

While Mobiplug’s home monitoring and control solution is not yet available for purchase, the company invites anyone to sign-up on their web site to become part of their ‘early adopter’ program, which lets the community ‘test drive’ the application experience, provide feedback, and help shape the final product. To sign-up for free, visit the Mobiplug web site at www.mobiplug.co.

About Mobiplug Networks Inc.

Mobiplug delivers an all-in-one, affordable, simple, and elegant home monitoring and control system to the smartphone generation. The solution connects hundreds of wirelessly-enabled household items that are readily available from retailers such as Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Best Buy, and intelligently integrates them regardless of different manufacturers or wireless protocols used. Homeowners now have the freedom to mix and match wireless devices in their home to achieve comfort, convenience, peace of mind and conservation right from their smartphones, home or away, with a single application experience.

Mobiplug is a Boulder, CO, based startup, recent TechStars Boulder 2012 graduate, and is venture backed by Foundry Group. For more information on Mobiplug, please visit our web site or follow us on social media: