Hasta La Gadget!

The Ubuntu Edge can be said to be one interesting smartphone – and it all depends on how much money the general public are willing to throw – nay, invest in it, to see the Ubuntu Edge become reality. Starting off with a highly ambitious fixed goal of $32 million, it will most likely be unable to achieve such dizzy heights, unless at some point in time some anonymous angel investor decides to pump in a whole lot of dough, because right now, the Ubuntu Edge has already achieved a new world record when it comes to a fixed crowdfunding campaign, having passed the $10,266,845 mark which was achieved by the Pebble smartwatch (that obviously, was enough to get that project off the ground). Guess churning out a smartphone is a whole lot more expensive business compared to a smartwatch, no?

This could be a possible proof-of-concept that might lead the way to a brighter future. Perhaps next time, Ubuntu Edge. The $695 asking price might have something to do with the limited number of investors, with the US leading the way, followed by folks in the UK, Germany, Canada and Australia. Right now, some 14,500 Ubuntu Edge smartphones have been paid for, so do expect a similar number of refunds in due time.

Ubuntu Edge Breaks Crowdfunding Record original content from Ubergizmo.

The GlassUp, an ambitious Indiegogo project that wanted to take the concept of Glass and make it more about passive consumption of content than about privacy-treading recording, video and photography, was in danger of losing a full third of its funding earlier today due to a PayPal rule, but is now on track again after the payments giant reversed its initial decision.

In what was potentially a disastrous development for hardware companies and others that use Indiegogo to fund projects and collect money from backers to help devices enter production, PayPal had at first stated that any backing pledges made via its service would have to be withheld until after GlassUp delivered its hardware to buyers. That’s fine and dandy when it comes to traditional e-commerce endeavours, where a product is generally shipped before someone is charged, but awkward when the whole point is to fund the creation of something that doesn’t exist with money freely offered up front.

GlassUp had managed to raise over $100,000 when it found out that PayPal had locked its account and made a third of its funds (those pledged via PayPal, as opposed to the other payment methods on Indiegogo) unavailable to the creators, which understandable put a bit of a dent in their plans. The project still has some ways to go – it needs $50,000 more in just a week – and it turns out that the PayPal donations were turned off around a week ago, with GlassUp creator Francesco Giartosio finding out only when a prospective backer notified him that his pledged didn’t go through.

PayPal has resolved the issue as of today, and offered the following statement to TechCrunch via a spokesperson:

We looked into what was happening with GlassUp and corrected the situation earlier today. GlassUp now has access to all of the funds that they’ve raised on Indiegogo through PayPal. We think they are developing a fascinating product and don’t want to impede their innovation in any way.

So from PayPal’s perspective, this was a simple screw-up and the company even goes out of its way to commend GlassUp’s “innovation.” But the fact remains that for up to a week PayPal had locked the GlassUp account, meaning it’s not clear where exactly the funding would be at this point had that not happened.

GlassUp could still make its goal by the deadline, but there’s always a chance that future crowdfunding programs face similar difficulties. Perhaps the answer lies in looking elsewhere for handling pledges to these kinds of campaigns, but keeping PayPal off the list of available payment methods would definitely limit the ease with which contributors can offer up funds, so hopefully this issue helps make sure similar problems don’t happen with other projects down the road.

Additional reporting by Natasha Lomas

The all-seeing iDoorCam is a pretty ingenious little gadget. Designed to work with your current doorbell setup — it connects to the transformer that powers most in-home doorbells — this simple button replaces your current doorbell and allows you to see who is at the door and even turn off your doorbell when the baby is asleep or you just need a little peace and quiet. It even transmits video and audio to your cellphone so you can deal with visitors while away from home.

The project comes to us from the team of Andrew Thomas and Desiree Mejia, two product designers from California. They have built hardware for Apple and they’ve taken their skills and expertise to corner the doorbell market. They are looking to ship in October.

The doorbell costs $127 for early adopters, and they’re looking for a pledge of $100,000 to complete the first batch. It will cost $150 retail when it officially launches.

Sadly, unlike the Lidless Eye of Sauron, lieutenant to the Dark Lord, Morgoth, the iDoorBell will not allow you to take over the minds of weak-willed hobbits who may come by your hole for elevenses. However, you can carefully explain to the UPS guy that leaving a huge package under your doormat is not actually “hiding it.”

Canonical’s Indiegogo campaign for the Ubuntu Edge smartphone had an auspicious start, but it slowed down after the first few days. The Linux developer may have just rekindled interest, however, by dropping the regular price of the Edge from $775 to $695 for the last two weeks of the crowdfunding drive. Part supplier deals helped reduce the manufacturing costs, Canonical explains. While that’s not the lowest price that we’ve seen during the campaign, there won’t be another discount — if you’re at all interested in the unique Android and Ubuntu hybrid, you’ll want to make a pledge today.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Via: The Next Web

Source: Indiegogo

I’ve changed running styles a bunch of times over the years, shifting from mindless heelstriking to a quasi-shuffle of my own invention to try to lower the impact of running on concrete, to (finally) proper forefooting after getting gait analysis done at a running gear shop. I can’t praise forefooting enough. It is harder work for the ankles, and initially tougher on the calves, too, but once you get the technique down it’s infinitely superior to pounding pavement with your heels. And much faster than a too-conservative shuffle.

Locking a new running technique can be tough though, so enter the Sensoria Smart Sock Fitness Tracker, which wants to track your steps and advise on running style, by doing real-time gait analysis thanks to its sensor-stuffed socks.

Sensoria’s wearable device consists of a pair of socks, containing its “e-textile technology” (which basically boils down to pressure sensors, so it can figure out which bits of your foot are taking the weight as you run), plus a clip-on Bluetooth 4.0 device that also contains an accelerometer and altimeter, and attaches to the ankle of the sock via magnets (it’s detachable so the sock can be washed). This wirelessly connects to your computer or smartphone to upload your running data.

As well as tracking basics like steps and speed, the device is designed specifically for runners so it also tracks a range of more specialist metrics including which part of your foot you’re landing on so you can perfect your foot-strike technique; your overall cadence metronome by measuring stride frequency to help you stay in an optimal running rhythm; and it also has a stride analyser to monitor average stride length to ensure good form, much as a running coach might.

The system can also track inactivity. Because it is a step tracker it knows when your foot has been stationary for a while so it can figure out you’re sitting down and send you an alert to take a screen break. Which sounds like a very handy feature for the average blogger.

Sensoria’s system supports both real-time coaching if you use its app while out running — which can give prompts and warnings for things like heelstriking or retrospective analysis of your performance via its software dashboard. The app will be available for iOS 6 and above and Android 4.3 and above — this limited reach is down to the need for the platform to have Bluetooth 4.0 support.

Sensoria’s creators are currently seeking crowdsourced funding via Indiegogo to get their idea to market and are very close to their target of $87,000, with 16 days left to run on the campaign. Currently all the lowest-priced pledges that include the full device ($99) have been bagged but there are still multiple pledges at the $119 price point. For that you get the fitness tracker and one pair of socks. Three pairs of extra socks are also available for $59.