Although I was, for a long time, very reticent to invest any money in crowd-funded projects because nothing is guaranteed and the products weren’t already available and proven, my recent experience with them has been quite positive and that’s why I’ll be starting a new monthly tradition on AndroidBeat by featuring projects that might be of interest to Android users.
Disclaimer: Crowd-funding relies on us as users to vote with our money to help entrepreneurs develop their interesting ideas. However, you have to keep in mind that you aren’t paying for a finished product and you should exercise your better judgement when picking where your money goes. No outcome is really guaranteed and delays often occur. On the upside, you are assisting passionate teams and when projects succeed, you can be one of the first people in the world to own their unique products.
The Dash is truly a unique product
Dash Wireless Smart Earphones
Few projects elicit an instant “gimme now!” reaction from me, but the Dash is on the top of that list. It’s a pair of completely wireless bluetooth earphones, a water-resistant MP3 player, and a heart-rate and oxygen saturation monitor in one. It uses Bluetooth 4.0 to connect to your phone but also has 4GB of built-in storage, and comes with 3 sizes of silicone sleeves to fit almost every ear shape and size. Awesome features include an audio transparency mode if you want to remain aware of the sounds around you while playing music, and an ear bone microphone so your voice always sounds crystal clear on calls regardless of your surroundings.
Entry price is currently $199 and the estimated delivery date is October 2014. The project was fully funded in less than 3 days and still has 47 days to go.
Atlas Fitness Tracker
Unlike other fitness trackers which just measure steps and distance, the Atlas is a specific exercise monitor that will follow your hand’s movements in 3D and recognize the exact activity you are performing. Be it biceps curls, pushups, squats, running, swimming, or much more, your reps will be counted and your performance will be graphed and analyzed. There’s a built-in heart-rate monitor for more accurate calorie calculation, Bluetooth 4.0 to sync with the corresponding app on your Android or iOS device, and the Atlas will be compatible with several other fitness social networks like Map My Run, Fitocracy and LoseIt.
Entry price is currently $169 and the estimated delivery date is December 2014. The project is fully funded with 25 days to go.
Ozobot
More toy than necessity, the Ozobot oozes originality, cuteness and charm. It’s a tiny robot that detects colors on hard surfaces or on your tablet’s screen and varies its movements and lights accordingly. You can use it to play games, race, draw, learn, and essentially just have fun.
Entry price is currently $45 and the estimated delivery date is June 2014. The project is 55% funded with 16 days to go.
Nanotips
Most capacitive displays on modern smartphones are incapable of being controlled via regular gloves or pens. You have to buy specific gloves to operate your phone, or use something like Nanotips, an innovative solution that makes any set of existing gloves touchscreen-friendly. There’s a transparent but blue-hued solution for fabrics, and a black solution that can be applied to all kinds of materials including leather and plastic.
Entry price is currently $22CAD for the black solution and $18CAD for the blue one, and the estimated delivery date is February 2014. The project is fully funded with 13 days to go.
Neutron S
The Neutron S is an elegant and minimalist mount and dock for smartphones. It consists of an anodized aluminum unit that you can attach to any surface where you would like to mount your phone, and a small and thin attachment disc that you place on the back of your phone. Get the two next to each other and they will attract magnetically, effectively keeping your phone where you want it to be.
Entry price is currently $20 and the estimated delivery date is April 2014. The project is fully funded with 22 days to go.
Have you seen any other Kickstarter or Indiegogo projects that might be interesting to Android enthusiasts?
