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The Credit Card Sized Micro-Phone Backup Cell Phone

We have all done it, left the house without our technology leashes on. Our mobile life and the way we communicate have become such a standard that not having your phone can actually make you panic. For that reason, having a small, inexpensive second mini card cell phone can come in handy. That is the thinking behind the Micro-Phone mini card cell phone, a phone that is almost the size of a credit card. It works with any global system for mobile communications network and is small enough to fit in a commonly carried item like a purse or wallet. The Micro-Phone is not a smart phone, it is a [...]

WigWag Centralizes and Simplifies Your Connected Home Control

As more home items are connected and appliances get smart, controlling all of the devices becomes a huge problem and the simplified life of a connected home becomes very complicated. This is where WigWag connected home control hopes to return things to a manageable state. WigWag is a small sensor platform that uses rules graphically programmed by the user to take action on an event. WigWag calls them, "when-then" rules that are basically conditional triggers. Setting up the system is as easy as scanning a code on the device and letting it discover all third-party smart devices. The sensor block monitors all kinds of environmental conditions like light, motion, sound, [...]

Social Collaborative Science with the Focus Microscope Camera

Looking through a microscope takes a bit of practice, patients and sometimes, it is just hard to see. The new Focus Microscope Camera from Exo Labs not only makes studying small objects easier, it also makes an individual experience more social. Focus is a mountable camera system that uses interchangeable lenses and an iPad connection that when combined with an app makes the small, social. It was originally designed for students and teachers to share their science experiences and to take the frustration out of looking into a microscope. With the app, anyone from kids to researchers can capture images, measure between two points on the image, share their image [...]

DroneShield Gives People a Heads Up Drone Alert

When radar was starting to be used catch speeding cars, the radar detector fought back giving drivers a heads up to slow down. A more modern-age sound meter version is being developed, and this time, it is literally telling you, "heads up!" The DroneShield is a small sound meter that alerts the user that a drone is in the vicinity even before the person can hear it. It works by passively capturing sound and comparing any noise to a database of signatures. If a match is found, the DroneShield goes into alert mode, flashing lights, emailing and sending text messages. As drone signatures change or new drones enter the privacy [...]

The Virtuix Omni is the Next Virtual Reality Step

Virtual reality is taking the next step, and it's bringing you along. The Omni game controller by Virtuix will let gamers walk, run and jump in their favorite games freeing them from being seated in front of a keyboard. Omni is not your typical game controller. It works by using special shoes that have a small plunger pin on the toe and a low friction surface that is grooved for the pins. Gamers don their virtual reality head mounted display, like the Oculus Rift, step onto the Omni and strap in. Movements made on the Omni are translated to keystrokes a player would use to walk, run, jump, strafe or [...]

Perfect Panoramic Captures Using the BubblePod

If you have ever tried to take a 360 degree, "bubble" panoramic camera picture with your smart phone, you know how difficult it can be. A simple new product from BubblePix will make taking a perfect panorama shot the first time. The BubblePod is a very basic, easy to use smartphone clip that increases the chance of matching the vertical position of a panoramic camera shot with very little error correction. BubblePod does not require batteries; you start by winding the device with a twist. Operation of the device is simple enough, clip your smartphone in the holder, fire up the BubblePix app, which is available for Android and iOS, [...]

Shark Wheel is a Reinvented Square Skateboard Wheel

Check It Out or Buy on Amazon (Paid Link) Reinventing the wheel has always been just an idiom, until now. The Shark Wheel being developed in Los Angeles is a new product for skateboarding that produces a smooth ride and amazing grip. The Shark Wheel almost looks like someone is playing a joke on you; it looks like a square. By altering a circle so that it is a helix shape when viewed from the side, and a square from the top, the Shark Wheel is actually a round surface that produces sine wave contact with the surface. The result is a wheel that [...]

Keyless Entry and Control with the August Smart Lock

Check It Out or Buy on Amazon (Paid Link) We have all been there, trying to balance whatever we are carrying while digging for our house key. Wouldn't it be nice if the door would just unlock for you and only you. A new product from August will do just that. The August Smart Lock replaces the current lock on your door and uses Bluetooth technology to sense your smart phone. When you are in proximity, the lock automatically unlocks the door. The Smart Lock is powered by two batteries and works in conjunction with an app on your phone. Through the app, you [...]

The Switch Aero System Dynamically Shifts Riding Positions

Check It Out or Buy on Amazon (Paid Link) To maximize your bike ride even if you are only competing against the clock to get to work on time, you need to remove wind resistant. The new Switch Aero System from Redshift Sports will give casual riders and competitors the advantage of multiple riding positions on a single bike. The Switch Aero System on the surface seems basic enough being a platform to get into an aero position. What the system actually does is gives the rider the versatility to swap between a road position and a narrow position dynamically without stopping. The extension [...]