Hasta La Gadget!

The Lifesaver Case is kicking off an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign today, to fund the production of hardware that adds a unique personal safety twist to your existing iPhone. The Apple smartphone-specific case has a built-in hardware switch that contacts emergency services, and provides them with real-time location updates as well as personal information about the device’s owner. As you… Read More

How many of you guys have grown up with hard copies of encyclopedias, raise your hands! The drawback to physical copies is that not only will they eventually go out of date, but they can never be updated, which might explain why Wikipedia has managed to become as popular as it has today. Not only is the information in Wikipedia crowd sourced, but given its digital nature, it can be updated as soon as something new has been revealed, ensuring that everyone is always up to date at all time. (more…)

Publisher Plans On Printing The Entire Wikipedia original content from Ubergizmo.

If there is one thing about the design of Google Glass is that it is very obvious that what you are wearing is definitely not your regular pair of glasses. This will probably lead to very odd looks from the public, and possibly even rejections to service you at restaurants, bars, or other establishments which might not appreciate you having a camera on your face at all times. Well if you’re looking for a more discreet alternative, perhaps Icis might be of interest to you. Icis is the efforts of Laforge Optical and the goal is to create a device similar to Google Glass that looks better. (more…)

Icis Is A More Discreet Google Glass Alternative original content from Ubergizmo.

Back at CES in January, among all the fun and interesting new projects we investigated, one gadget stood out among the rest. That gadget was Urb-E.

And today, almost a month later, the Urb-E scooter is live on Indiegogo. As part of the campaign, the company is launching two separate models to consumers.

The first is the Urb-E commuter, which has three wheels instead of two, making for a more reliable and smooth ride. The Urb-E GP, on the other hand, only has two wheels and can thus make sharper turns, though both models have the same speed and power specifications.

The Urb-E folds up to the size of a rollerboard suitcase for easy handling, and weighs just under 30 pounds making it an easy last-leg vehicle for urban commuters.

Topping out at 15mph, the Urb-E can last up to 20 miles on a single charge. And to top it all off, the Urb-E is easily customizable thanks to inserts that fit within the frame, giving the Urb-E a nice accent color alongside the metal.

Plus, Urb-E comes with a compartment to charge your phone and check in on the charge of your Urb-E through a dedicated Urb-E app.

According to creator Grant Delgatti, Indiegogo felt like a better fit than Kickstarter for this type of product, which he believes will be highly appreciated by the Indiegogo community.

The Urb-E campaign has just begun, with a goal of $150k in 40 days. The lowest price point to secure an actual Urb-E is $1,599, for ultra-early adopters. However, Delgatti says that the final price will be closer to $1,799, with shipments expected to go out at the end of this summer.

If you’re interested in participating in the e-vehicle revolution, head on over to the Indiegogo campaign and check it out.

Another day, another smart home device. Today we introduce the Parce Idea, a clever, compact wall plug that allows you to monitor your energy usage and control lights and appliances from your smartphone. Each plug costs $69 and they connect to your Wi-Fi network and then Parce’s cloud system to show you energy usage, allow you to plan shutdown times, and manage your total electricity usage in the home.

This is obviously not a new idea – WeMo by Belkin is a surprisingly robust system – but the key here are the analytics. As we discussed at CES 2014 this year, we are entering the era of the quantified home. Devices like CubeSensors and Alima add some amazing capabilities to our traditionally dumb spaces while security devices like Canary and energy controllers like Nest keep us safe and warm.

High design and low cost is making relay-powered systems like the Parce easier and easier to make and, although they’re still way below their goal, it’s interesting to see them trying to crack a space that many utilities companies would love to control.