Category Archives: Kickstarter

For The Maker In All Of Us

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As kids, we all loved playing with Play-Doh. We could let our imaginations run wild to build, mold, cut, flatten and create anything, yes anything. Well, thanks to the people at inventables, a technology company based in Chicago, you can now make those childhood dreams a reality. Inventables has developed the perfect technology, Carvey, a successfully funded Kickstarter project expected to be in full production by Fall 2015.

 Carvey is quiet, clean, easy to use and can carve your project in 3 simple steps.

  1. Make your design with the integrated softwaresoft
  2. Choose your material (wood, plastic, foam, wax, cork soft metal, etc,)
  3. Click “Carve” and let the machine do the work until it achieves your desired form

Here is a list of items you can easily make with Carvey: jewelry, wooden sunglasses, street signs, can openers, etc. Fell free to watch the video of Carvey in action here.

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What Sparks Our Fire: A 3D machine that is easy to use and can help us turn ideas into real objects in under 5 mins.

What would you make with Carvey?

Add An Extra Button To Your Android Phone

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It is undeniable that touch screens are popular in today’s world but, something people tend to forget is the importance of physical buttons which can sometimes make your life easier. For instance, a single click on a button could automatically launch and turn on your flashlight app without having to even unlock your phone.

Meet Pressy, a tiny button that sits in your headphone jack and allows quick access to frequently-used functions and built only for Android devices (sorry iOS users). When using headphones, a user can plug Pressy into the included keychain and if the headphone features a volume control button, the app allows that button to get access to all the Pressy features. How cool!

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Pressy also allows users to set up multiple functions with different combinations of presses and works along with an app. The Pressy app allows users to choose from a variety of different functions such as turning on the flashlight, instantly taking pictures, calling a number in your contacts, and so on. For instance, two short presses could tell it to call “Mom” and two long presses could cause it to play your favorite music.

Another major part of this project is the API which allows third party developers to build their own functions and features. And if you have multiple devises, you can use Pressy for all devises.  The project was Kickstarter funded and received more than 17 times its initial pledge of $40,000. You can now, order the device on Pressy’s official website.

What Sparks Our Fire: An innovative little button that brings back simplicity to Android phones for quick access to frequently-used functions.

Are you ready to make better use of your headphone jack?

The Future Of Printing Is Rolling Across A Piece Of Paper

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While the hype is around 3D printers, the world of 2D printing is having some innovation with Zuta Lab Mobile Robot that travels across the surface of a piece of paper, dropping ink. So, if you are a mobile person who is always on the go, then this awesome pocket-sized printer would deliver the best news for you. According to its creator, the idea was to shrink the size of the printer box to provide users with a means of printing on the go, while retaining the ability to print on large pieces of paper, so that people don’t have to wait to get home or to the office to print.

The teardrop-shaped portable printer is small enough to fit in a bag (3.9 x 4.5 inches) and weighs 300 grams. The printer is being designed to roll itself over the paper and is battery powered via USB. The battery lasts for about an hour on one full charge while one inkjet cartridge will be good for more than 1,000 printed pages. The devise uses standard HP inkjet cartridges for refill and takes an average of 40 seconds to print an A4 page. The project was successfully founder on Kickstarter and the first shipment is due in January 2015.

What Sparks Our Fire: A printer that goes where you go and prints from your phone on any size page

Are you ready to give Zuta printer a try?

Typing To Go

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When it comes to being mobile and productive, less is more. If you are a tablet or smartphone owner that prefers to use a physical keyboard when typing longer documents on mobile devices you might be interested in Flyshark, an ultra thin portable keyboard that fits your pocket. Flyshark is a successfully funded Kickstarter project created by Vbest Tech based in Chicago. The gadget uses bluetooth technology to connect with iOS and Android devices. When unfolded, it is a full-size standard QWERTY keyboard. Once charged, the device allows you to work for up to 20 days between charges. You can even have it engraved with your name, or design of your choice.

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What Sparks Our Fire: A fashionable, ultra slim, and foldable keyboard that gives us the convenience of a laptop wherever we are.

Are you ready to carry your keyboard with you all the time in style?

Rediscover The Joy Of Smartphone Photography

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With Foldable Studio aka Foldio you can become a pro photographer no matter where you are without having to rent a professional lighting sets. Foldio is an intuitive light box for photographers of all  levels, made possible by OrangeMonkie of South Korea and Los Angeles. The project was Kickstarter funded and received nearly 20 times its goal!

In a nutshell, Foldio is a one-of-a-kind mini photo studio for smartphones that allows anyone to take high quality pictures with a smartphone, anywhere, quickly, easily and at anytime. It eliminates issues of bad lighting, shadows, and gives you a seamless background. The perfect box for snapping awesome photos of your food, crafts, and much more, especially if you are going to sell online.

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Foldio comes with a white wall and 1 or 2  built-in LED lights to give you just the right amount of light under any condition. The box unfolds to a 10.2” and works with a 9 Volt battery. When you are done, it folds like an envelope and can be easily stored into your backpack or a briefcase. Foldio comes with different color washable backdrops: black, white, and gray for impeccable pics. What is fun is you can even make your own backdrops with any paper or fabric.

What Sparks Our Fire: A portable tool allows us to share our creativity on-the-go.

Are you ready to rediscover the joy of smartphone photography with Foldio?