Main

Navigation

You are here: Home

Low Tech Finished Wood Meets High Tech Insides to Make the World’s Most Charming Toy

By on June 16, 2015 in blinking lights, bluetooth, refined wood, toys

Screen Shot 2015-06-15 at 8.27.48 PMIf you have read my blog long enough, you know I love tech. I love finished, polished, machined and handcrafted gizmos of all sorts and I dig blinking lights – and you probably do, too. 🙂

German designer Matas Petrikas has blended all these things into a super charming toy for kids and is presenting this figurine of sorts in a Kickstarter campaign. It’s not a doll, it’s not an action figure. It’s like a totem of sorts, beautifully crafted like wooden toys 60-70 years ago were built, and with innocent tech inside.

Unlike smart phones that blast 60 cycles per second of flickering light to a kid’s eyes and get them more engaged in machines than in people, the Avakai is something your child clutches like a beloved keepsake.

The technology inside Avakai allows it to sense proximity, touch and movement. It reacts to sounds and gives haptic avaphonefeedback. The Avakai works best in pairs, but a single figurine can communicate and play with a mobile device that has the mobile app installed.

This Kickstarter campaign ends in less than 3 weeks and as of this writing, there are still some early bird options left for early backers.

These charming figures are intoxicating in their simplicity and charming sounds and interactions.

This wooden figure can tell the difference between a hug, a gentle stroke or a tap. This intelligent toy can be programmed for different reactions via the app and parents are in control of who and when the Avakai can communicate with another child’s Avakai.

You can follow Matas Petrikas’s company, Vai-Kai, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and their website.

ava

 

Connect your Smartphone to Your Car, Even if it Doesn’t Have AUX or Bluetooth!

By on June 15, 2015 in apple, audio, gadgets, general geekery

iclever3If your car doesn’t have an AUX port, or like me – you’ve got an older AUX port that no longer works, there’s a gadget for that! Remember those old iPod gizmos that tuned into your radio? Well, those old thangs just grew up! The iClever F-33 Wireless Bluetooth FM Transmitter with Car Charger is a beautifully designed device that has overwhelmingly good reviews on Amazon and it let’s you connect your phone (phone calls, Pandora, iTunes, Podcasts, etc.) to your car stereo via Bluetooth – even if your car doesn’t have Bluetooth and even if you don’t have an AUX port or if your AUX port is all worn out.

Additionally, you don’t lose a charging port in the process! This plugs into your cigarette lighter adapter port, and still has an open USB port for you to use to power your phone. The iClever F-33 connects to your phone via Bluetooth, while taking your BT signal and sending it via low power radio transmission to an unoccupied frequency on your radio. You do need to have a working FM radio for this set up to work, but that’s it… well, except you’ll also need an unoccupied FM station. Easy in most places nowadays, but a bit of a challenge in giant cities like Los Angeles.

iclever2