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Re-entering PINs or patterns to unlock a smartphone several hundred times a day is a mind-numbing process, so it comes as no surprise that a couple thousand people have rallied behind a way to prevent them from having to do so. SALT is a Bluetooth-connected card that goes into your wallet and, as long as it's in range, saves you from having to interact with a lockscreen. Once it's not in reach, the lockscreen returns. The project wanted $50,000 to bring this product to life, and it's reached that goal with ten days to spare.
The MOTA SmartRing has reached its $100,000 funding goal on Indiegogo, so the leagues of people who pledged support for this Bluetooth-connected notification ring can now look forward to receiving their finished product in the spring of next year. And by leagues of people, we mean roughly thirteen hundred, of which around a hundred folks just want T-shirts. A thousand people said they were willing to pay at least $60 to own one of these snazzy rings, which isn't much when we're talking about hardware.
Kickstarter projects appear in any number of shapes and sizes. FreeWavs smart earphones come in at the small end of things. These wireless buds aim specifically at the more active people among us who are tired of cables getting tangled and holding them back, their adrenaline-pumping heavy metal music drowning out the environment around them, and having to carry around so many gadgets to monitor their fitness levels. Now the project has narrowly managed to reach its $300k Kickstarter funding goal with just a day remaining, gathering pledges from over 1,400 people.
Wireless chargers are convenient, but they don't precisely add to the decor of wherever they're placed. Even with the 2013 Nexus charger, which is relatively sleek, I'm happy its magnet is strong enough for me to leave it on the side of a bed frame or side table, keeping it and its cord out of sight. The Pond wireless charging tray promised to take care of this issue, and it did so in a way that attracted enough people (just over 200) for it to narrowly reach its $30,000 Kickstarter funding goal before running out of time.
Mogees has surpassed its £50,000 Kickstarter funding goal with 13 days to go. Why should you care? Listen up. No seriously, click on the video below, and listen up. Written words don't quite do this concept justice.
Routers are complex and intimidating, but this Kickstarter project hopes to address both of these issues. The Soap smart router is an Android-based router with a touch display. Through a simple interface, owners can implement parental controls, set time limits, see what activity is taking place on a network, block ads, create black/lists, monitor network analytics, and look out for potential threads. The idea is that this will be a router that you don't need to be a techie to know how to use, and its promise has attracted enough funds to surpasses its $80k funding goal with 19 days to go.
Thanks to Kickstarter and Indiegogo, there's no shortage of quirky (read: gimmicky) wearable products to throw money at. I won't pretend to understand what makes a product appealing to people, but at last I'm not the only one here at Android Police who has been baffled by some of the projects that have found crowdfunding success. So with this confidence-inducing introduction out of the way, I present to you Fin, a Bluetooth ring with gesture support that looks to be just shy of practical.
Frat boys who have graduated into post-campus life know that there's nothing worse for someone accustomed to being the life of the party than having a keg run out of beer. It's the kind of social embarrassment that few reputations can bounce back from. That (I imagine) is why nearly 300 people have contributed over $30,000 to the Kegbot Kickstarter project, which promises a tablet-powered beer kegerator. Its $15,000 funding goal stands broken with several days remaining before the campaign ends.
My N3RD wants to empower you to take control of every gadget in your house, every appliance waiting idly, and every vehicle in your garage using just your smartphone. How, you ask? First, the project needs $50,000. Check. They team has successfully managed to raise over ,000 with 18 days left to go. Next, watch this video.
Electronics are getting increasingly affordable, which means even non-enthusiasts these days are ending up with multiple devices they use regularly all needing to get charged at around the same time. Between smartphones, tablets, second tablets, portable media players, smartwatches, and activity trackers, far too many desks, countertops, and side tables are becoming entangled by cables of varying length and size. Therefore it's not difficult to understand why so many people were drawn to the All-Dock Kickstarter project. The campaign just closed with the team having pulled in $97,479 in funding.
Google Glass gives wearers access to notifications, the ability to take pictures of what they see, and other bite-size nuggets of general tech geekery, but the device relies on tactile swipes and voice commands to manage it all. Atheer One, a pair of smart glasses that were recently funded on Indiegogo, promises users the ability to interact with its virtual UI elements using just their hands.