Home News

Leave your smartphone behind with the Light Phone 2

Modern smartphones have basically become the equivalent of someone tapping you on the shoulder every 10 seconds. If you don’t meticulously manage app notifications, your phone quickly devolves into a hyperactive toddler of a distraction machine. Sometimes, you’d love to just chuck it into the deepest pocket of your backpack, but what if someone really needs to get a hold of you?

The Light Phone 2 is a barebones, “secondary” 4G phone with an e-ink display that piggybacks off of your existing mobile number to serve as a basic communication device. No social media, no email, no distractions. Just basic voice and text messages in a simple typographic-based operating system. The Brooklyn-based creators call the experience of leaving your smartphone behind and pocketing this device instead “going light.” Hence the phone’s name.

That e-ink display, though. Yum.

The Light Phone 2 is an updated, improved predecessor of the original Light Phone which had roughly 10,000 users. It’s currently in prototype stage, but as of today it is 328% funded on Indiegogo and slated for an April 2019 release.

You can fund the team’s efforts and get a Light Phone 2 of your own (next year) for $250. Visit their Indiegogo page for more details.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: ,

Leave your smartphone behind with the Light Phone 2 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 9, 2018 at 10:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Time is etched on the surface of this sculpture

Or time is at least “etched” on the face of this clock.  The Etch Clock has a dark peacock-blue elastomer face that displays the time with numerals that appear to have been chiseled into its surface.  Using patent-pending technology, the surface reconfigures itself with each time update.  The 16″ x 16″ x 2.5″ Etch Clock and its aluminum bezel can be hung on a wall or can stand on a tabletop.

Using the app (iOS and Android), you can set the clock to display 12- or 24-hour time.  You can also have the clock wipe to a smooth surface every 30 seconds before displaying the updated time, and you can have it do the wipe/update only when it senses sound or movement.

The Etch Clock is serious artwork, and its price reflects that.  The MoMA Design Store sells the clock for $1950.00 or $1755.00 for MoMA members.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged:

Time is etched on the surface of this sculpture originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 9, 2018 at 8:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

The Gourmia IoT Cool-Cooker has something other slow cookers don’t

Before I fell in love with my Instant Pot, I used a slow cooker to cook chickens and roasts while I was at work during the day. The only annoying thing about using a slow cooker (aka crock pot) is that I’d have to get up earlier than usual to put all the ingredients in the cooker. I don’t like getting up in the morning, so getting up even earlier does not make Julie a happy camper. But the new Gourmia IoT Cool-Cooker might be the holy grail of slow-cookers because it not only cooks your food, but it keeps it cold BEFORE it starts cooking it.

The Gourmia Cool-Cooker has a built-in refrigeration unit that keeps everything cold before it’s time to cook. You can add all the items to the cooker the night before, like meat and vegetables and then control it later from anywhere with an app on your phone to start the cooking process. The Gourmia Cool-Cooker can even be controlled using Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa voice assistants.

The Cool-Cooker is a 6-quart 11-in-1 cooker that can bake, make rice, roast, yogurt, porridge, slow cook, keep food warm, sauté, steam, and sous vide.

There isn’t any pricing info at this time, but the Cool-Cooker will be available at retailers later in 2018. More info will be available at Gourmia.com

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: ,

The Gourmia IoT Cool-Cooker has something other slow cookers don’t originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 9, 2018 at 7:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

Evergoods: trail-ready bags with city-refined style

Following a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2017, Evergoods is now rolling out the first in their new line of bags & apparel. And there’s a good reason to be excited about this one: the founders of Evergoods, Jack Barley and Kevin Dee, hail from GORUCK and Patagonia respectively. Not only do these guys know a thing or two about building great bags, but their product-driven design philosophy is something I  can get behind. You can read all about their story on their web site.

The mission behind Evergoods is to produce “crossover” bags that combine trail-ready technical refinement & durability with style & ease-of-use for everyday carry. The first two products look fantastic. The Mountain Panel Loader 30L ($249) leans towards hiking and outdoor use, while the Civic Panel Loader 24L ($229) is targeted at the daily commute. Both bags incorporate usability and design features that enable them to go either way like side carrying handles, hydration bladder ports, swing-around access, and ergonomics that favor all-day hauling.

There’s some great design work going on here, and the bags look great. I’m looking forward to checking these out. It also looks like both bags are ready to ship. To learn more, hop on over to the Evergoods web site!

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: ,

Evergoods: trail-ready bags with city-refined style originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 8, 2018 at 12:00 pm.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.

The Kenko Auto Extension Tube Set is another cost effective option for macro photography


In the world of macro photography, getting as close as possible to an object to be able to shoot a detailed photo is a very important and enjoyable aspect. Extension tubes are a great way to give non-macro lens the ability to get in closer. They connect between the lens and the camera and work by simply increasing the distance between the lens and the camera sensor. There are many manufacturers of extension tubes which are available in various specifications but ultimately do the same job. What is also important is the build quality, and how well they are threaded to match the lens they are designed to fit, without binding or creating difficulty when putting them on or taking them off.

While many people tend to use tubes manufactured by the same company as their camera, I tend to look for others that are well made and just as efficient, but cost-effective. As a Canon fan, I have one Canon extension tube, but I also have a 3-piece set of Kenko Auto Extension Tubes. The Kenko tubes are well built and work flawlessly. I chose the Kenko set based on the build quality, reviews by other buyers and because the 3 tubes came in the lengths that allowed me to obtain my desired magnification. It is important to understand that extension tubes do not contain any optics. What is also great is that these tubes generally retain the autofocus capability even with my Canon lens. The tube set can be combined in any order to increase the length.

If you would like to give them a try, you can head over to B&H Photo Video or Amazon to pick them up for $124.

Filed in categories: News

Tagged: ,

The Kenko Auto Extension Tube Set is another cost effective option for macro photography originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 8, 2018 at 10:00 am.

Note: If you are subscribed to this feed through FeedBurner, please switch to our native feed URL http://the-gadgeteer.com/feed/ in order to ensure continuous delivery.