kickstarter

Recharge an iPhone with this plug-in case

Every now and then you see a product that's so common sense it seems like it should have been invented years ago. More and more I'm seeing those sorts of inventions on sites like Kickstarter. Case in point--Juice Tank, a combined iPhone charger and case.… Read more

Virtual Pet Shelter founder finds solace in Tamagotchi

Kacper Jarecki, a librarian at Queens Library in New York, has 10 other life forms living with him. They just all happen to be electronic toys.

Jarecki's Virtual Pet Shelter is one of the more unusual projects on Kickstarter. It has a modest $250 goal and no backers yet, but there's a certain charm to the concept.

Digital-pet revival In case you missed the fad, virtual pets are little electronic toy creatures that require "feeding" and care--and sometimes, as in the case of Webkinz, have alter-egos in the form of online avatars. Jarecki is looking to … Read more

Zooka: Glow-in-the-dark iPad speaker for tablet raves

I see lots of iPad speakers out there. With several options currently being promoted on Kickstarter alone, it can be hard to get noticed among all the competition. That's probably why the Zooka speaker now glows.

The wireless Zooka has a tough silicone sound bar design that slips onto the edge of your iPad, or connects via Bluetooth or audio jack to other devices.

Regular Zookas are available in a small rainbow of colors for $89. Pitch in at the $149 level on Kickstarter and you'll get an iPad speaker that will match your Tron costume.… Read more

Sideburn mounts your iPhone via Mac SD card slot

Remember that "X-Files" episode when the guy had his own brother growing out of him as a detachable parasitic twin? You can get the same effect with your iPhone and a Mac thanks to the under-used SD card slot and a new Kickstarter project.

The iPhone is a fairly dainty device, but it still needs a helping hand to fit into an SD card slot. That is where the Sideburn comes in.… Read more

Capture faceplant videos with the Miveu-X iPhone mount

If you're a sports fanatic and have always wanted to capture your sporting activities as you see them, the Miveu-X accessory could be your best bet.

Designed by David McDonald, this ruggedized accessory allows you to capture videos of your adventures from your point-of-view using an iPhone 4/4S at a fraction of the price of dedicated sports-oriented video cameras.

The Miveu-X set consists of a mount, which can be secured onto the wearer's chest and a separate, rugged, high-impact case. The case is equipped with a wide-angle lens to enable users to capture wider perspectives and comes … Read more

Ramos alarm clock makes you go to another room to turn it off

Let's review some of the most obnoxious alarm clocks to ever grace our nightstands. Clocky is an alarm with wheels that runs away from you. Tocky rolls around. The Defusable Clock requires cutting the right wire to subdue the alarm.

The Ramos clock on Kickstarter is also into defusion, but you're going to have to crawl out of your warm bed, locate the wireless control panel, and punch in a series of numbers that changes every day. … Read more

Zen Table lets robotics do the meditative work

I had a desktop Zen garden once, then the cat stepped on it and sent granules of sand flying everywhere. I'd be willing to take a chance on a new inside Zen garden, but only if it's a Zen Table.

The Zen Table is a Kickstarter project that successfully reached its funding goal earlier this month. It's a glass-top table filled with tiny silicone beads so that the whole creation has the appearance of an enclosed Zen garden.

Zen garden coffee tables have been done before, but not quite like this one. Beneath that sea of silicone is a system of electronics and robotics that carves images into the sand. Load up an SD card with bitmaps, and let the machine do the rest.… Read more

Kickstarter racks up over $2 million for two projects

"WoooooooooOOOOoooOoOoooOOooo! We did it! 100% funded in just over eight hours. You people are amazing!," read the Kickstarter page for Tim Schafer's Double Fine Adventure today.

This was one of two projects to hit $1 million in donations today from the crowd-source funding platform Kickstarter.

According to Kickstarter, every week, tens of thousands of people pledge millions of dollars to projects listed on its site. But never has a project topped $1 million, much less two in one day.

One of the projects is the Elevation Dock designed by Casey Hopkins, the founder of ElevationLab in Portland, … Read more

Manifold Clock: A 3D timepiece for math geeks

The Manifold Clock from Studio Ve doesn't require special glasses. It didn't take a crew of 300 and a Hollywood budget to create. It's 3D in its purest form: real life.

The Manifold Clock doesn't just tell time with flat hands, it expresses it with ever-changing shapes created by a flexible sheet of Tyvek attached between the hands. Every minute looks slightly different.

There's some delightful mathematical geekiness behind all of this. The design uses the concept of Riemann surfaces.

If you're a math nerd, you probably already know all about Riemann surfaces. Others can brush up with the Kickstarter video below.… Read more