Friday, January 23, 2015

Superdogs - Gadgets for Our Pets

+Google Glass and wearables are now front and center in American pop-culture. From Prince Charles trying on Glass, to +FKA twigs music video, to  +The Daily Show segment on Google Glass with comedic genius Jason Jones. Pretty much everyone, even Aunt Betty and Grandma Lucy now know what they are. Therefore, it's not hard to believe that there are also many amazing new gadgets for our furry four-legged friends. Actually, considering that we spent an upwards of $55B+ last year on our pets, it is amazing that there aren't more. Here are some of my favorite activity and GPS trackers for pets.

Whistle $99



Whistle, a local Bay Area start-up founded by +Steven Eidelman+Dayo Esho and +Kevin Lloyd is a pet activity tracker that allows you to monitor their rest and activity while you are away. You can pair individual's cell phones with the device as well, and tell who is keeping them company. The cool thing about Whistle is that it connects to the cloud so it does not an additional base station, cost $80, to work. I heard Steven speak at an event in the city and I thought that they said they would also be incorporating GPS into the unit, but I see no such indication on the website. Another cool feature about Whistle is the app, which allows you to share photos and moments with others on your phone or through social networks.

Fitbark $99.95  + $79.95 Wifi Base



Fitbark is an Italian company founded by Davide and Sarah Rossi, which monitors activity like Whistle. The main difference that I can tell between these two companies (having not personally used either) is that Fitbark does not connect to the cloud and must be tethered to a base station or cell phone. Additionally, it doesn't seem that Fitbark has the social platform sharing option like Whistle. However, they are opening up their API for development, so we will see what comes about. 

G-Paws $75.77



Anyone that has owned a dog, knows the torment and anguish of loosing track of their dog. They usually eventually are found and come back, but sometimes it is $100 if not $1,000 of dollars later, and sometimes permanently injured for life. From having to bail your dog out of SPCA doggy jail, to God forbid discovering that they had been hit by a car, this is nothing that any pet owner wants to go through (both of which are things I can unfortunately speak of). Founded by Dave Evans, G-Paws is one of the new GPS trackers for dogs and cats, which for under $100, will not only save you money but also peace of mind. Additionally, for the curious at heart, get to know your pet more and all of the mischief they've been up to. G-Paws, however, though you can track the location of your pets it seems that you must take the device off of your pet and download the info onto your computer. Hardly any help for finding or preventing the loss of your pet.

Tagg GPS $99.95 (Pre-order) 



Tagg GPS pet tracker, on the other hand, is both an activity and location doggy wearable. Created by Snaptraces, this is an all in one doggy wearable, has nationwide GPS tracking, instant alerts if your dog runs away, a live map, an ambient temperature sensor, and activity trackers so that you know when your dog is getting their full dose of exercise and when they are at rest. For just $99.95 you get the tracker, a docking station (for it doesn't connect to the cloud), and two months of free tracking. After that it is only $7.95/month. The app is additionally free and comes for both iOS and Android. Great job!

I haven't personally used any of these devices however, so if there are any inaccuracies please let me know. I am just going off of what I have read on their websites.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Plug-In Editor



This will be short and sweet.

Now this was something I thought of a few months ago, and was holding it close and dear for a bit, but in all actuality I'm not getting to it anytime soon. I don't understand why someone doesn't create a universal plug-in editor. I hate it when I publish something and later discover I missed a typo or grammar error. Being an internet junkie, as many of you probably are, uncovering grammatical errors is no unicorn or shooting star. They are all over the place, all the time, on major press publications. Most definitely here as we speak. No need to include screenshots and embarrass anyone else. We all know it is true. Why therefore isn't there some type of plug-in like +AddThis which websites can then plug into their website and anyone with an account, kinda like +Wikipedia, can suggest corrections to the author. This seems highly overdue and any publisher or writer would be extremely grateful. As it now stands, for those that care to notify the writer, either you have to be connected, or you have to spend the tedious time of looking them up and figuring out which social network would be best to contact them on. Additionally, now though if done in the public domain, it can sometimes be perceived as a jab or embarrassing. Especially if it has already been seen by many people. This would be discrete for the public and fun for the participants. You could even gamify it, kinda like the real life Elevate grammar test but by getting higher points for the mistakes you catch on the websites with greater influence. This could be easily calculated by their +Klout scores. Everyone would love playing in real life the game of editing and "treasure finding," and competing with friends. Furthermore, this would show publishers and reporters who is really reading and focusing on their stuff, rather than just liking, posting, retweeting and commenting.

Sunday, January 11, 2015

Kidables 'n Bits!

I am excited and super amazed to see how many kidables there already are! And yes, I said kidables not Kibbles! Kidables, or wearables for kids are here and coming in force. There are smartbands for kids, smartwatches for kids, smartthermometers for kids, smartbottles and even a little Mothers' watcher for kids. Here are eight of my favorites:

"The Paxie Band comes with an extra charger, the app, 3 fashion bands, and 3 months of free data. Paxie's features include GPS, ambient temperature, location tagging, boundary settings, daily activity, heart rate, band removal alert and more."




FilIP by FilIP Technologies $99.99
"Wearable phone and locator for kids. Parents can call, text and locate their
child right from their phone, giving kids the freedom to be kids and parents a little
extra peace of mind."



Kilife Kiband $69.99
"The Kiband is a child safety smartband for ages 18 mnths to 7 yrs old. It allows you to create custom safe perimeters, from your smartphone, for your child to explore. You can adjust the distances for near (5ft) to far (up to 200ft) and help keep track of your kids anywhere." 



HereO Preorder $179
"The hereO GPS watch is the world’s smallest real-time GPS location device created specifically for children age 3 and up. Parents can know their children whereabouts anytime, anywhere. With historical locations, parents can track where their children have been throughout the day, reassuring that they haven’t visited any unsafe places."



"ActvContent Sync is the first all-in-one health, safety, and fitness Smartband for kids and adults. Sync can monitor your family's fitness, sleeping habits, and your loved one's location. Our app also lets friends, caregivers, and others in your community to connect with Sync and retrieve vital information in case of emergency."



"The World's First Bluetooth Smart pacifier. Track your baby's temperature, medicine and location from your smartphone."



 "Prevent your baby from drinking air, watch for lumps, prevent colic and the app will measure the volume and meal duration."



"Mother provids you with all of the knowledge and comfort you need, when and how you want it. She's your family's very own fitness tracker, stats keeper, security system and life coach all rolled into one glorious Russian doll-shaped package – it's like someone has physically crammed Mary Poppins in there." 


If you would like to read more you can check out the articles on my LinkedIn page or my Pinterest board where I've been pinning many amazing new wearables and gadgets. 

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Back to the Future is Now

We are now officially going Back to the Future of 2015. Recently the +Hendo Hover hoverboard was announced, flying cars by +Terrafugia Inc are now a reality, and Marty's self lacing shoes are on their way! Though Steven Spielberg got so many things accurate in this epic and all time favorite motion picture, one thing missing is the smartjewelry. This was one of my recent posts on the awesome new app Super.me.


While some of us, myself in particular, might have caught a lot of grief for walking about with new wearable technology, this is the year that wearables and IoT are going mainstream. Before we know it, every object in sight will be considered "smart" due to its connection with many other things and to the intelligence of the internet.

Here are five of my favorite new wearables in the smartjewelry category:

Ringly by +Christina Mercando - Divebar Edition $195

"Ringly connects to your phone and sends you customized notifications through vibration and light."



Moodmetric by +Niina Venho $179

"The smallest wearable technology in the world for measuring emotions. The Moodmetric ring measures the autonomous nervous system signals that can be used to understand emotional reactions and improve quality of life."



Altrius by +Kovert Designs +Kate Unsworth Cleopatra Edition $480

"Subtle vibrations alert you for predefined text, email, call or whatsapp notifications from certain people or with specific keywords, so that you can cut out the noise and focus on the stuff that really matters."



Cuff starting at $49

"Stylish wearable technology featuring elegant jewelry and accessories with the interchangeable CuffLinc, which alerts your network when you need help." Cuff also has activity tracking and notifications.



Elemoon by Jing Zhou $199

"Elemoon is the world's first smart accessory that lets you change its light designs to match every outfit or occasion. elemoon can also alert you to important calls, find your phone if you lose it and much more!"


If you would like to check out more wearables and smart devices you can do so by following my +Pinterest account here: http://www.pinterest.com/sarahslocum/

Happy 2015 everyone!