As much as we’d like to see most of our home’s table tops and kitchen surfaces equipped with wireless charging, we’ll admit that getting such technology integrated throughout the entire house will take years from now – and even then, we’re not sure how affordable that’ll be. It’s easier to start slow with smaller furniture and accessories, like this Glowdeck created by a Brooklyn-based tinkerer who’s now taking his ideas to Kickstarter.
Glowdeck is a wireless charging block that’s compatible with most smartphones equipped with Qi Wireless charging chips. Other popular smartphones, such as the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3, will work as well provided they’re strapped with the right case. The device won’t just charge your phone while it’s sitting on top of the surface, it can also notify you of alerts, text messages, and emails by using sound and light. For example, if your iPhone has a new text message, the Glowdeck might start blinking so you don’t have to consistently check up and unlock the sleep screen. The Glowdeck also has a sound component that lets users speak to the phone directly for voice commands with Siri or Google Voice. The resulting response will boom out of the Glowdeck’s speakers for better hearing.
Other than the smartphone utility, Glowdeck also makes one heck of a party accessory. While your phone’s charging up top, sync it to the Glowdeck via Bluetooth and turn on the music. The built-in lights can correspond to the beats, blinking and glowing to match the rhythm. Although Glowdeck’s default interface shows time, weather, and battery, users can customize this screen to read whatever they want displayed. Information like sports scores, stock tickers, alarm reminders can all be displayed on the small screen up front.
The Glowdeck might not be the biggest game changer in the wireless charging business, but it’s a cool device that’s a great start to integrating wireless charging into the everyday home. The design is a bit bare bones for those who want something with more pizzazz, but minimalists should enjoy the simple utility and added features that come with the next big trend. Glowdeck is estimated to ship by January 2014, and you can own a version by pledging $275 or $100 for a mini version.
Few things ruin a quiet evening faster than a robot vacuum roaring through the living room. Most of us end up pausing the cleaning run, which defeats the whole purpose of owning one. Matic thinks it has the answer with its new Serene robot vacuum, and the big selling point is how little noise it makes.
The Matic Serene runs at 52 decibels even when cleaning at full power. To put that in perspective, Matic compares it to the hum of your refrigerator. It is available now for $1,695, which is $200 more than the original Matic’s current price.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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