Hasta La Gadget!

After Canonical asked the world for $32 million to produce its Ubuntu Edge handset, $3.2 million seems like small potatoes, right? All right, it’s still a bunch, but QSAlpha’s got some big plans for the money. The Quasar IV promises unprecedented security, according to the company’s new Indiegogo campaign. That entails military-grade encryption, with either 64- or 128GB of encrypted local storage augmented by a lofty 128GB encrypted in the cloud. The idea here is to “leave no trace in the digital world,” and just to be clear, the company’s got a ninja in its pitch video to really drive the point home. In fact, ninjas were apparently QSAlpha’s starting point: “if a ninja had a phone, what would it look like?” We’d guess more sharpened corners and maybe some smoke bombs, but this is a start.

Apparently it would also feature an Android / Linux / Quatrix hybrid called QuaOS based on Android 4.3 and rock some pretty heavy duty specs like a quad-core 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, 3GB RAM, 5-inch 1080p IGZO display, 3,300mAh battery, IP57 certification and dual 13MP rear facing cameras for a better augmented reality experience. Like what you hear? The first 1,250 backers to shell out $345 will get a 64GB version when the handset starts shipping in April. Miss out and you won’t be able to pick one up until June, and who knows what sorts of secrets you might spill in the meantime?

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: Indiegogo

Is there no stopping Mighty No. 9? This upcoming game that began its life as a Kickstarter campaign has grown from strength to strength, and despite allegations of it being a Mega Man clone (it has the same creator, you see), money from the public who believe in the project have been pouring in. So far, the Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter campaign has surpassed its latest $2.2 million stretch goal with still two more weeks left to collect money, so that means we will be seeing ports of the title arrive on the PlayStation 3, Wii U and Xbox 360.

Of course, the next goal to achieve Challenge Mode stands at $2.4 million, and assuming even that barrier will be broken, we will most probably look at the ultimate stretch goal – hitting the $3.3 million mark would see Mighty No. 9 arrive on next generation consoles, namely the PS4 and Xbox One. Now ain’t that a shining achievement to say the least? It would be interesting to see what Kieji Inafune, the creator of Mega Man, is capable of churning out with Mighty No. 9 when it arrives. Have you contributed your share to this particular Kickstarter project in the past, and do you think that it will play better than the classic Mega Man series?

Mighty No. 9 Achieves New Stretch Goal, Will Be Ported Over original content from Ubergizmo.

You may remember the ParaShoot wearable camera we covered a few weeks ago, which had shattered its crowdfunding target with a month and change to spare. If you decided to sink some cash into the project, then you may also be aware it was suspended on Kickstarter a couple of days ago. Matt Sandy from the ParaShoot team has been in touch to share what little info he has — it’s claimed the suspension was out of the blue, and no communication has come from the funding site since. With “manufacturing plans” sorted, however, there’s no time to twiddle thumbs, so ParaShoot’s hit Indiegogo instead. Seeking $117,358 — the amount the Kickstarter campaign was frozen at — version 2.1 proposes a slightly different flat-fronted design (see above and try to ignore the ugly watermark), more choices of skin and a new time-lapse photo feature. Pledge levels are the same, although there’s now a “Distributor Pack” option if you want ten of the things. We’ve reached out to Kickstarter to see if it’s willing to tell us the other side of the story, and we’ll let you know if we hear back.

Filed under: Cameras, Wearables

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Source: Indiegogo

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.

Toronto-based Aesthetec Studio has recently launched a Kickstarter campaign guaranteed to put a smile on your face. See that little guy above? He’s what the company calls a Little Robot Friend, a tiny interactive companion with an 8-bit 32K microcontroller brain that can help even the newest of newbs learn the basics of hardware programming. These customizable pocket-sized robots can perform a number of actions (like blinking their RGB LED eyes) triggered by varied stimuli, including touch, sound and changes in light. Each Arduino-compatible Little Robot Friend can also be reprogrammed with the developer’s kit that Aesthetec hopes to roll out if the campaign hits its CAD$55,000 goal. To see these dudes in action, check out the Kickstarter link below or watch the video after the break.

Filed under: Robots

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Source: Kickstarter, Aesthetec Studio

Inafune’s Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter project is a classic case of having plenty of fanboy power to push it over the finish line. In fact, in a matter of just one day, the Mighty No. 9 project has already achieved its $900,000 funding goal, and that was just less than 10 days ago. Here we are with word that the Kickstarter project has already surpassed the $2 million mark, thanks to nearly 35,000 backers who are interested to relive the past in a new graphical experience. With this stretch goal having been achieved, it would mean Mighty No. 9 will now offer a Boss Rush mode.

For those who are new to the gaming scene, a Boss Rush mode would happen to be a time-based attack mode where players will go toe to toe against all of the bosses, one right after another. It will be part of the game the moment Mighty No. 9 is rolled out a couple of years down the road. The next stretch goal would be to collect another $200,000, where that would see Mighty No. 9 appear across multiple consoles – namely the Wii U, PS3, and Xbox 360. Should even more people decided to drop some serious coin on this project to help it hit $2.4 million, a Challenge Mode will be unlocked, while hitting the magical $3.3 million mark would see Mighty No. 9 arrive on next gen consoles, the Xbox One and PS4 version.

Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter Project Passes $2 Million Funding Mark original content from Ubergizmo.