The MyCharge Summit is a 3000 mAh battery which provides exactly what I need when helping clients. It is strange that the company web site is showing the MyCharge Summit as coming soon, as this has been available since last year. Guess they missed updating their site. This small battery charger which can charge up your smart phone multiple times is about the size of a smart phone, but a lot thicker. It comes with a built in Apple 30 pin connector and a built in microUSB connector. Handles my Samsung Galaxy S3. And it comes with a built in USB port where you can connect the device of your choosing.

This flexibility comes in handy to charge up a tablet and smart phone while I am moving from one location to another in SF. And the built in microUSB means that I do not have to carry a USB cable with me for my S3. If I have to charge up my tablet, the USB port is the answer. And if you have an iPad with the 30 pin connector, you are all set. If you have an new iOS device with the new Lightning connector, you will have to use the USB connection. The MyCharge Summit has 5 LED indicators on it to let you know the battery levels along with a retractable plug for when you need to recharge it.

One of the items that you might consider as strange is the talking voice on MyCharge Summit which tells you verbally when it begins charging the device and other status items. And if it knows the device, that will be included in the audio alert. If you do not like the voice notification, you can simply change it to a tone indicator or make the notifications silent which is my preference on many of the device which I have. Too many sounds may cause one to start to ignore them.

The MyCharge Summit 3000 is available at Amazon for $42 and is available in the colors of white, blue, purple or red. If you have a special bag you really like to use when visiting clients, then the MyCharge Summit is a great add on for making sure that your mobile devices have enough juice when you are on-site.

The UNO III is being developed by BPG Werks and their current product is called the “Shedder” which is a dual track ATV which you stand on. Visit their site, as it has to be seen. This same group is working on developing the UNO III. It is both a scooter and a Unicycle which runs on batteries to provide the power. The all electric vehicle has the ability to transform from being a 2 wheeled unicycle to scooter on the fly. You can see just what they have done so far by watching the video below.

In the unicycle mode, this electric unit moves with grace and balance much like we have seen with the Segway. But, the conversion to the electric scooter is an amazing site to watch as it converts. All of this is done with such balance creating something very unique. As a scooter, it can travel 30 – 35 miles before needing a charge. They are indicating a charge of the batteries will take about 3 -4 hours. That is good for an all electric scooter. Various laws limit the speed of scooters to 35 mph, so that will apply here.

The work being done for this all electric transformer continues in an effort to prove the concept and bring it to market. Given our strict regulations, it could be launched in other countries. But with its uniqueness and the growing desire for all electric scooters, they will have a market here in the US. And with the UNO III operating as a unicycle, it is small enough to fit into an elevator and then into an office. This concept is an interesting one and will be big news when it comes to market. Exactly when that might happen is unknown, but it sure looks like they are getting close.

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The Scanadu Scout from Scanadu is a very small device which can collect your vital signs. In 10 seconds, it can record your blood pressure, blood flow, body temperature, heart rate & rhythm among the items that it can do. Just think about all the devices your doctor has to use to gather all this information. And the collected information can be transmitted to your smart phone via Bluetooth, all without them poking you with various devices. Now that is the future I would like. All in a very small hand held device which looks to be the size of a smart phone battery. There are few specifics available for this at the moment as to when Scanadu Scout will be arriving.

The idea of being able to gather important medical information simply by placing the Scanadu Scout on your temple and having it record key vital information is going to empower people to monitor their own condition. And it you nave to call your doctor, having the information from the Scanadu Scout available is going to give them more information in making a decision about what you may need. The possibilities for this in the medical community are endless in improving diagnosis time and accuracy. And it is all recorded electronically reducing the time to manually record things.

The future for the Star Trek like Tricorder will be here very soon in the Scanadu Scout. At a rumored price of $150, this will become the must have device for those who regularly see the doctor for medical conditions. Or for families with small children. The value for this is going to be priceless. At the moment, one of the key steps before coming to market is to get FDA approval. While the Scanadu Scout is not required to get that approval, the trust that is acquired with the FDA approval will greatly help moving forward. One of the bigger values is that medical professionals will be able to use the Scanadu Scout after it has been approved.

Once the FDA approval has been completed, we should see the Scanadu Scout available for sale within a few months. And it could well make it to market before the coming holiday season.

The Kwikset Kevo lock is an interesting new item coming very soon. At the moment, there is no set date for release or availability, but your can add your email address to a list and receive notifications for further information. But, with no pricing being announced, the Kevo becomes an unknown as to how well it will do. Some are speculating that the price will come in under $250. And, they are saying there will be no annual subscription fees for the service. As you can see from the picture, there is a blue halo that shows on the lock and gives it an interesting look. It is not know as to how practical that will be in actual use. If your door faces the street, it will make the lock highly visible. We can hope that they will provide some way of turning off the futuristic looking blue ring on the Kevo as to attract less attention.

There are some great features coming for the Kevo. One is the use of Bluetooth to open your door instead of having to take your phone out. You merely touch the lock with a finger and because your iPhone is in your pocket, the Kevo opens the lock and lets you in. And if you are already home, someone coming up and touching the lock will not get it to open giving you additional security. At the moment, the included app is only going to be available on the iPhone and not for Android owners. That is not going to help the sales as much as it could given the large number of Android smart phone owners.

And to those who do not have a smart phone, the Kevo will have an available key fob which you can attach to a key ring which will operate in the same manner allowing you to touch the lock with a finger to unload the door. And you can still use a key to unlock the door in the soon to be old fashion way. There is also a feature which will let you grant others access to unlock your front door by giving them an “eKey” which they can use to open the Kevo via their web portal. That will give that person the ability to unlock the door using the Kevo app and their iPhone. And you can remove their access via the web portal. As with any electronics, there is a battery component which comes into play. They are reporting that 4 AA batteries will power the Kevo for a year before needing to be replaced.

Another of the unknowns for the Kevo is how much space the batteries are going to take up in the unit. None of the pictures or information for the Kevo show interior pictures as we expect it to be large enough to hold the batteries. The Kevo looks like a great product. The big question is just how big it will be as compared to some other products. We reported on the Lockitron last month and with an expected price of $179, it is cheaper than the Kevo. And it has the ability to lock or unlock your deadbolt remotely. That single feature may be the key difference in what people are looking for.

The Kevo will more than likely be a very popular item for new homes which have built in technology for home security.

It is being reported that Harvard has released a paper describing the work they are doing with robotic insects being able to fly. The video below from Harvard demonstrates what they are doing and where the size of robot drones is going. And the tiny little insect drones are very tiny. And with that comes stealth which is far better than the large drones that the military flies today. The value of these tiny insect drones is going to be huge for the military.

But for the rest of us, it is going to be a few more years before they will be available for the hobbyist types to get their hands on. But, there are some larger insects which will be available soon. And that will more than likely be some time this year. The Robot DragonFly from TechJect should be available for purchase this summer. And a more sophisticated BionicOpter from Festo should arrive by the end of the year. These two can be controlled by your smart phone and will be the smallest ones available to the public for now.

If you think that these small size insect drones are not being used, you only have to realize that the military uses technology for years before it is available to the public. There are reports the government has been working on insect drones for years. Now, with the positive demonstration from Harvard, scientists have clearly shown that tiny insect drones are soon going to be available for all to purchase.

With DragonFly drones available this year to purchase and explore, what we will see next year as a much smaller robot drone is anyone’s guess. But, it will not be too long before we see these tiny little insect drones for sale.

The current idea of Cloud storage is to have huge warehouses of computers where information is stored, along with web sites which are critical to business. The loss of a Could storage location can be huge until it is back up. Take the Amazon outages and you know the impact. But, what if you you could do something like the SETI Project and take advantage of a whole lot of computing power to distribute information so that there is no one point of failure. That would be the dream for all.

This week’s KickStarter Project is Space Monkey which is providing a big twist on how Cloud storage is going to work. Instead of having rows of computers centrally located in warehouses, they have flipped things around and are crowd-sourcing so to speak. By having individuals all over the country act as Cloud Servers, they have spread things out so that there is no single point of failure. They do this by providing you with a small device which has a 1 TB drive inside and we assume that some will be larger.

For $10 per month, you will have the ability to store up to 1 TB of storage on that drive. And it will be replicated on selected drives in other people’s homes or businesses. And you do not have to worry as all your data on other people’s Space Monkey drives will be encrypted. Your files will be distributed and broken up so that you can get to them from anywhere, even if your Space Monkey drive is not on or connected to the Internet. This is distributing the Cloud to potentially as many people who have a Space Monkey device.

If you remember the SETI project, which is still going on, they are processing computations on over 3 million individual computers. This distributed model uses volunteers to crunch numbers and data for them and return the results. The Space Monkey replacement for Cloud computing is distributed much in the same way. By providing the Space Monkey as a subscription service starting at $10 per month, they are quickly going to have thousands of them through out the US. With the distributed devices and stored data, you will be able to access your information from any location and with very fast speed.

They are approaching $300,000 pledged for their $100,000 goal and you still have the opportunity to join in as they are going to extend the participation. If you pledge at least $119 dollars, you will get a Space Monkey device and a paid subscription for at least 12 months. If you are storing things in the Cloud, the Space Monkey looks to be a far better alternative. Look for deliveries to begin some time in July.

The Belkin Conserve Valet provides you with a device that allows you to hide the USB cable cables under the lid so that they are not all over the desk. With 4 USB connections, 3 of them allow for hiding wires and the 4th is off to the side for your tablet. The lid doubles as a place to put your smart phones and other mobile devices which have the need to be charged daily. And with its simple looks, the Conserve Valet will fit right in just about anywhere that you put it. The measurements come in at 6.25 by 8.5 by 2.25 inches.

The Conserve Valet is stated as having some “green” features to it. If you have nothing plugged into any of the USB ports, it does not draw any electrical power. That is a good thing. So, you plug in all your devices to be charged up and then press the button to start the charge cycle. At that point, a timer starts and the Conserve Valet will shut off the power when it goes over 4 hours. That means that I can plug things in before heading off to bed and not worry about them over-charging because of the timer. That is a great feature.

One of the interesting things is that if you add a device to the Conserve Valet an hour or so later, it will reset the timer and the 4 hour timer starts over. That is probably not what we would really want to see as we all remember warnings about over charging the battery on your smart phone. If you are aware of this, you can make sure to plug everything in before starting the process. But, if you have to remove your smart phone to use it and then add it back when you are done, this could become a real pain after a while. As technology has been improving, it would be great if the Conserve Valet could detect that the battery on a device is full charged and turn off providing power to that single port. And it does for a select list of smart phones, which is dominated by Blackberry.

While this is designed for small mobile devices, so many of us are now carrying tablets. And charging up two tablets at the same time is going to be a problem. Tablets take a lot of power when charging, so adding them may cause a problem for other devices being charged. There are a few reports of selected tablets not being able to be charged on the Conserve Valet.

Until mobile devices get far better battery life, the idea of organizing how you charge them up is going to continue to be something that we all need. The Belkin Conserve is available at Amazon for $35.73 when last checked.

What makes the Roku Streaming Stick different is that it is a shift from what we are used to seeing for getting content from our TVs. It resembles the standard USB stick, but is much more. Many still have cable coming into to the TV as the primary source for entertainment and information. And in recent years, we have been seeing Apple TV, Google TV and many others with their set top box to provide you with an alternative to the existing providers of TV programming. Roku is one of those new technology providers of their popular Roku 3 box giving you access to a whole other world of content, such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, HBO Go and a large number of others available for their popular service.

The Roku Streaming Stick is a glimpse into what the future holds for us. This “stick” plugs into the HDMI port of new TV’s and replaces the need to have the set top box of today. It provides for a wireless connection to the Internet over equipment that you probably already have. And the number of people with an Internet connected TV is continuing to grow. And there are no wires to connect up to your TV.

The Roku Streaming Stick represents the future. That is because it requires a special HDMI port called a “mobile high-definition link (MHL)” which has special capabilities. Unfortunately, the number of them currently on the market which will support the Roku Streaming Stick is low. So low in fact that it only includes three companies right now. They are selected models from Hitachi, Insignia and Mitsubishi. So that is very limited for the market now.

But this is about the future as the Roku streaming stick is something new and unique. And with something this new, it is going to take time for TV manufacturers to add the MHL capabilities. But once that does catch up, you are going to see growing interest in the Roku Stremaing Stick. Along with a number of Me Too solutions showing up.

The ProScope from Bodelin will give you exactly what you need for your iOS device to get up close shots like a microscope. Sorry, Android owners, this is only for the Apple faithful. You can get the ProScope Micro Mobile unit for your iPhone 4/4S or iPhone 5. And they also have units to provide your iPad Mini or iPad (2nd generation up to 4th generation) with the same functionality. With these, you can get great pictures with 20 to 80 times magnification for your microscope like pictures.

Taking pictures this close requires light and that is being provided via 12 LEDs in a ring around the lens. These are adjustable as well to what you are taking a picture of. As with all technology, there are batteries included which can be charged up. They are using lithium-ion batteries which are charged up using a USB cable. They report you can expect to get 5 hours of use from a 2 hour charge.

If you don’t want to get an attachment for your iPhone or iPad, they have the ProScope Mobile which is a hand held microscope as you see here. It connects via WiFi, but only works with iOS devices.

The ProScope Micro Mobile for the iPhone or iPad is available for $149. This product is very new with shipping starting last week. The ProScope Mobile hand held starts at $399.00 with a 50x lens. If you have the need to take close pictures, you should take a look at what the ProScope products can offer.

The Mili Power Spirit provides you with the ability to use your iPhone when you are out when the battery is low. And this battery looks stylish as well as functional. There are no wires to connect or carry. It is all self contained. You plug it in to your iPhone and the phone can stand up with the battery attached. All the while, looking very stylish and different than everyone else. If being in style is important to you, then the Mili Power Spirit is worth considering.

Unfortunately, the Mili Power Spirit only supports the iPhone 4/4S right now, but that covers a lot of people. And if you are one of those stylish people who owns the iPhone 4/4S, you should take a look at the Power Spirit.

What you are getting is an 800mAh battery which is more than 50% of the included battery in your iPhone, it will solve your problems when you get that dreaded low battery indicator on your phone. The Mili Power Spirit is small in size and will work to add power to your iPhone or iPod using the 30 pin connection. This is rated to give you another 3 hours of talk time on your phone. And while doing it in style, will give you all the talk time you need until you can charge up your iPhone.

Size matters and this one is very small. It is 2.48 inches tall by 1.33 inches wide by 0.66 inches thick and will drop into your pocket and not be noticed. There is even a key chain attachment which you can add to this as well. The Mili Power Spirit is truly a very unique item to provide you with added power when your battery runs down. And it does it in style. You can pick one up from Mili Power Spirit’s online store for $39.95. While they show a red color, it is not available in the drop down list of colors to select from.

FitBark is gathering funding right now through KickStarter to provide you with the tools to track the amount of activity that your pet gets. This is a similar concept to the popular FitBit, but for your pets. And they are an important part of your life. The concept here is very simple. You attach a small electronic device to you dogs collar and it will track the activities of your pet. This is after you connect it to your iOS device over BlueTooth and the downloadable app. From that point forward, information recorded on the FitBark can be transmitted to the app for your use.

As with all these great technology tools, it has a battery to record the information which is supposed to last up to 10 days. And the FitBark unit can record up to 3 weeks worth of information if you cannot sync it with your iOS device. Recharging is via a standard microUSB connection.

One of the things they understand is that there is often multiple people who are taking care of pets, so they have opened things up for multiple people to be able to keep track of your pet’s activities. That way a group of people can make sure your pet is getting the correct level of activity. With FitBark, they are going to be providing you with the recommended activity levels for you pet so you do not have to guess.

At the moment, FitBark is gathering funding as a KickStarter project and if you are interesting in keeping your pet healthy, you can join in to make this a success.

The Robot DragonFly was an Indiegogo project last year and things are coming close as they prepare to begin shipping for the Robot DragonFly. Each model will come with an on board computer for control. You control these with an app on either your Android or iOS smart phone giving you the control in the palm of your hand. They are saying that battery life will vary depending on how you are flying it. If you are just hovering the robot, battery life will be between 8 to 10 minutes. Battery life continues to be the big problem with all mobile technology.

They are building in a hybrid mode which will do a combination of gliding and powering the wings which is reportedly going to give you 25 to 30 minutes of flight time. That is more than enough time to work with your personal DragonFly as you fly it around. Each model has different feature sets and the entry level is not going to have the hover capability, so you will need to look at a more expensive model. And as the models go up in price, so do the features, such as an included camera.

These are small as compared to other drones and the body is about 6 inches long, so it is pretty small. And the DragonFly is light starting at less than an ounce making it very portable and when folded up can clip into your pocket. Most of the weight is in the 250 mAh lithium polymer battery. The US Air Force thought so much of TechJect was planning to develop that they gave them a grant of $1 million to fund the process. And that was last year. They are wrapping up the development and manufacture of multiple versions of the Robot DragonFly this quarter.

The DragaonFly comes from TechJect.com and with the scheduled date some time in July for release, there is going to be growing interest in the very small drone. The initial shipments will be for the basic model with more advanced ones coming in September and October. And with the various products being offered, it is going to meet the needs of many to work with their own personal drone. Those who helped fund the product jumped in at low prices which started at $99 for the base model. We expect to see things a little higher than that when they are made available to the public. And there will be an ultimate model which should be priced at less than $2,000. Watch for the DragonFly in the fall and pick one up.

If you are the owner of a great bike, you know the concerns about protecting your investment from being stolen. You purchase a really good lock so that you bike will be there when you return. But sometimes, that may not be enough. There needs to be something else you can do to protect your investment using technology. A coming product called BikeSpike may be exactly what you need.

This week’s KickStarter project is BikeSpike and provides you with a small GPS device which you can track with your smart phone. All this is done with technology we are aware of and use today. With the provided wireless service, BikeSpike can track what is going on with your bike. With the generated information, you can see where your ride has been. But it is the security features which look to be the most valuable with this.

With the coming Android or iOS app, you will know that someone is tampering with your bike. And if they are able to break the lock and ride away, you will be able to track them with BikeSpike and know their location. This information can then be shared over existing social media or with the police as part of your efforts to recover your bike.

For some who steal bikes, they will try and remove the BikeSpike from your bicycle which will not be easy without special tools. For the most diehard of thieves, they will make sure that they have them. But just like the LoJack for cars, most will not even think about a tracking device on your bike.

The BikeSpike, with the built in GPS and accelerometer, will be able to detect that you have crashed and send you a message to your phone over Bluetooth. If you do not answer the message, it will send text messages to those you have listed on your smart phone to contact as part of BikeSpike. This is all done through the provided app on your smart phone and provides added value to what this can do for you.

For those who taking biking very seriously, this is an investment in your bike. And those who ride in San Francisco’s Critical Mass on the first Friday of every month, they will agree with what this can do for you. The BikeSpike is estimated to arrive in October this year and will be very popular. Early backers got a break on the price, and it is hoped that they will open up pre-orders soon. The pricing for data plans or the BikeSpike has not been announced.

Enter the Plug Hub from Quirky which is an item that will help to clean up all the cords under my desk. This charcoal colored plastic box has three holes in the top to run power cords through. And you can stand it up on the rubber bottom, lay it on its side or even mount it under your desk. And with the swing open cover, it is easy to add or remove power cords to the organizer. All as part of your efforts to get things cleaned up.

You supply the power strip of your choosing to the Plug Hub, run the power cords through the top and wrap the excess on the brackets and you are good to go. This measures out at 3.5 by 10.5 by 9.5 inches and is basically just a bit longer than a standard power strip. A great size to handle the mess of power cords. Have a flat screen TV along with all the associated DVR and sound system power needs? The Plug Hub can help hide all those power cords for you.

While the Plug Hub is not going to deal with some of the really large brick plugs, it will provide you with a fantastic way to keep things organized under your desk. Removing that pile of power cords is a great start to clean up the mess under your desk. You can get the Plug Hub for $24.99 from their site.

The latest victim to fall to limited battery life is Google Glass. This is a fantastic product which is going to revolutionize how we record our lives. In the past, we had to hold a camera and with Google Glass, you wear the camera and get hands free recording. And it is so much more than just that. It is a computer on your head. But with all that this futurist product can do, it is still limited by the battery. And while Google has been saying you will be getting all day battery life, it appears that in real life, the battery does not last anywhere near that time. We really do need to get new battery technology.

The Google Glass Explorer Edition is now available to selected developers and individuals to test out this great tool. And the reports are beginning to come in. A complete review comes from Tim Stevens of Engadget where he is providing an in depth coverage of all the features and things he thinks need improving. But the one glaring item we saw was the comments regarding the battery life.

Battery size is unknown, but battery life is: it’s poor.

It appears that average usage is about 5 hours on the current models. And that includes regular activities of reading emails, pictures and some video. Not a very warming endorsement for the fast battery drain here. And this is not the only one. Another report from Robert Soble has the battery dropping by 20% after a 6 minute video. The shooting of video is going to be one of the great features for Google Glass and must be greatly improved. These are probably real world examples of what can be expected when Google Glass comes to market next year.

It is rare to get the battery life as stated by manufacturers and this is no exception. Some are already talking about the need for an add on battery pack to extend the life of the batteries for Google Glass. That is not the solution, but rather a band aid. The real answer is for battery technology to finally catch up and exceed the needs for our technology and mobile devices.

The BioLite CampStove is small enough to carry with you to provide a camp stove powered by small twigs to cook your food. The silver cylinder has a fan running in the bottom to quickly get the fire going and keep it hot. That may require you to add more branches while you are cooking. And it has the strange orange attachment which captures energy from the heat while you are cooking with the BioLite. The orange attachment is where the heat from the fire is converted into energy which can then charge up your smart phone. The How It Works shows all the technical pieces associated with the process.

But, basically, the BioLite CampStove technology has 2 purposes. One is the ability to charge up your smart phone and the other is to power the fan that is running at the bottom of the fire. And that fan takes the priority. So while charging your smart phone, you need to make sure that you have a decent fire going. Otherwise, the fan will take the priority and you will not be charging your phone. That is a minor issue, but for some it may be a big problem.

The BioLite CampStove weighs in at 33 oz. and the size of it is 8.25 inches tall and 5 inches wide. It should fit in nicely for those weekend trips that some like to take. And you do not have to bring any fuel along as you are using twigs and small branches for fuel. With the BioLite CampStove, you can leave your solar charges and extra batteries at home and lighten your load. One of the key things to have is the ability to charge up a smart phone when you are out camping. That is the one thing you must have in an emergency and you must have the ability to charge it up. The BioLite CampStove gives you that ability to add to the charge and gives you peace of mind knowing that. And you can use it to cook on.

The DragonFly Drone, BionicOpter from Festo, is the kind of product which will be showing up for sale and will be one that everyone wants to have. This drone is only 17.3 inches long and has a wing span of just under 25 inches. Pretty impressive based on how well it flies and it weighs about 6 ounces. The video below shows you just what it can do. And best of all, you can control this with your smart phone. If you do not have a smart phone to use for this, there will be a wireless controller available.

With the 4 wings, the BionicOpter drone can easily hover and move about in any direction including backwards with ease. All of the details on this drone are available from the company in a PDF which is located in Germany. All of this is building on the previous flying drone from the company which is called SmartBird which demonstrated they could have realistic flight for a bird. This was shown at TEDGlobal in July 2011.

While there has been no announcements yet about when they might release this drone to the public, it may be that a much smaller model could become available to the public. That would reduce the costs and make this one more affordable. Exactly when that might be is an unknown, but with the successful presentations this month, it is only a matter of time before other companies jump in with cheaper models and attempt to grab the market. We would assume that some form of the BionicOpter drone will be coming to market this year.

But, as the video below shows, it is one of those things that you can adjust to very easily. And just like the Segway, once you quickly master the balancing act, you are ready to go and travel as far as the battery will take you. Which for the YikeBike is not very far. The lowest model (Fusion) will take you about 6 miles, which for people leaving in San Francisco will be able to take you to work in the downtown area without any problems. You can then charge it up for the trip home. And since the bike folds up to be a very small package (about 30 pounds for the heaviest model), you can take it into work with you. Check out the folding video.

Since the batteries are easy to get to, you can bring additional batteries with you to extend the range that the YikeBike can travel. And with traveling speeds well over 10 mph, you can move along at a good clip towards your destination. And unlike a regular bike, the YikeBike comes with included lights on it so people can see you.

As with any product, there is always going to be something which is a problem. With the YikeBike, it is the fact that it is not based on a bicycle. If the battery runs down, there are no pedals to power you on to your destination. You would have to fold up the YikeBike and find another method of transportation. The other problem that we see is the price for the YikeBike. With 3 different models, the prices range from $2305 (Fusion) up to $4040 (Carbon) at the YikeBike America web site. This is a very different product and worth a look.

Here in California, riding your bike for exercise and pleasure is a big deal. There are bike lanes clearly marked in numerous cities to provide for the ability to ride to work and spare the air from driving your car. And that is an important part of taking care of the planet. Now, we need to figure out a way to use that pedal power while riding to do something else very important. Like charge up a battery or even charge up your smart phone while your ride. Now, that would be a really great product to have. And as a matter of fact, we have found one which is coming soon.

This week’s KickStarter project is the Siva Cycle Atom which can provide you with both a battery charger and charge your phone at the same time. With 27 days remaining, it looks like they are going to exceed the goal of $85,000 with the current pledges at over $64,000. The idea is a great one. Place a charger on your bike attached to the rear wheel so that it cannot be stolen unless they are able to steal your rear wheel and include a small battery to be charged up.

While you ride your bike, you generate kinetic energy which the Cycle Atom converts into electricity. That can be use to power the battery so that you have something to charge up your smartphone at work. The battery is easily detached to take with you. Or you can attach a USB cable to the battery that is being charged and then connect it to your smart phone and charge your phone while you are riding. The Cycle Atom seems to be an answer for the problems with battery life on our smart phones while you are riding.

Being able to charge up USB devices while you are riding is a big deal. Many cyclists go out for all day rides and this would insure that they have the use of their smart phone and do not have to worry about a low battery. For avid cyclist, weight and balance are a big concern. The Cycle Atom only weighs 10 ounces and measures 7.5 inches by 3 inches so it will not be in the way. And with the 1300 mAh battery, you will have what you need when away from your bike to get enough power to your smart phone for use. Multiple purposes for a really great idea.

If you pre-order the Siva Cycle Atom, it will cost you $95 as part of the KickStarter promotion. When it comes to market, the price will be $105. For what the Cycle Atom is delivering, this seems like a really great deal on a product that is powered by pedal power while you ride.

Another robotic company is bringing Double Robotics to market and is one of those items that you should pay close attention to. This provides you with the ability to be in the office without actually being there. Robots are the future and this provides you with one that has an iPad attached to the top of it. While this does not come with an iPad which you have to supply, it does come with the motorized unit which is controlled through the iPad. It has two wheels to move about and even a kickstand to hold it up when not moving. Reminds me of the Segway. With the Double Robotics which you control remotely, it can be navigated throughout a building as long as there is a level surface.

You “drive” yourself to a meeting and once there, you can move the robot around to see things and people in the meeting. You can even adjust the height of the iPad on the top which is a plus. With the live streaming of video and voice between you and the location of the Double Robotics, you are an active participant. And, with you own iPad, you can connect to other Double Robotics and move them around as though you are actually there. All of this is made possible by connections over the web and the connected iPad controlling the Double Robotics.

We previously talked about the VGo Robots which are being used in hospitals and schools, but comes with a much higher price tag. With anything new, the prices tend to come down as others enter the market. The VGo starts at just under $6,000, making the Double Robotics seem like a bargain.

The Double Robotics is currently on pre-order for $1,999 as part of the second production run. The regular price is $2,500. While it may seem expensive, you only have to consider the costs of commuting to work for a few months to see the value that this provides. Robots are coming and this one is part of the growing movement.

Phones are currently selling for developers to develop their apps on and the first day of sales resulted in them selling out in a few hours the first 1000 units. More are planned to be made available for sale by today, but the quantities may not be enough to prevent another sell off. And these are not phones which are to be sold to the public as they are beta models of the hardware and FireFox OS. It is expected that the demand by developers for phones to test apps on will remain high for several weeks.

Based on the first day of sales, these are extremely popular among developers. This may not translate to actual consumer sales, but it does appear that developers will be buying models as quickly as they are put on sale. This will be the case for he next few weeks bolstering the idea of success for FireFox as an OS for smart phones. Multiple manufacturers are already lining up to build FireFox OS phones including Sony, Huawei and LG. The developer phones come in two models. The Keon, shown above, is selling for $119 and coming with a 3.5 inch screen, a 3 megapixel camera and 4 GB of storage. This sounds like a great price for an entry level smart phone and will do well in sales. The Peak, shown to the right is selling for $194. It comes with a 4.3 inch screen, 8 megapixel camera and the same 4 GB of storage. This one looks like a FireFox phone going after the heart of the smart phone market.

While we wrote about the FireFox OS coming to a crowded market back in February. But based on the rapid sell out on the first day, the market may not be all that crowded for a new entry into the market place. The developer models are being sold by GeeksPhone in their GeeksPhone online store. At the moment, they are still showing as sold out.

There is so much more to the FireFox OS phones in the future that we will continue to follow the story as it unfolds.

The MeterPlug is going to be that device which can tell you what is going on with power consumption. It is a small plug that slips between the plug and the wall socket and once in place can provide you with valuable information. Think your xBox 360 is stealing power like a vampire sucking money out of your wallet? The MeterPlug will be able to tell you that. And the information is provided to your smart phone. This is accomplished via Bluetooth 4.0 on either an iOS or Android app you run on your smart phone.

As you can see here, they are showing you what it costs to run washing machine. Just by placing the MeterPlug between the power cord and the wall socket, you can start getting information. So many electronic devices continue to pull power even after you hit the power button and they all add up on your electricity bill. One of the features for the MeterPlug is the ability to turn off a monitored appliance or device so that it is drawing no electricity which right now is like a vampire draining power when it does not need it.

With their huge databases, they can even tell you the costs for using power so that you know what a single item is costing you. Or you can have devices for your home office plugged into a power strip and place the MeterPlug between the power strip plug and the wall outlet. You will then be able to know what your home office is costing you in energy costs. And that dreaded vampire drain after your power things down.

The MeterPlug started as an Indiegog project and is going to be shipping to the US in a matter of weeks with this get method of figuring out where your costs are for electricity. You can pre-order one now at StockNFind.com. The MeterPlug has a lot of intelligence built into it and as a result is not going to be cheap. They will cost you $50 per plug, but are well worth the cost in terms of the value you can get from them.

And that is where the Belkin Power Pack 4000 comes in to keep you mobile devices charged until you get to a power source. Measuring at 4.3 by 3.3 inches with a height of 0.6 inches, this one is compact enough for you to drop in a pocket or bag for your use. And while weighing 4.6 ounces, it weighs a little more than the iPhone 5. But, with most of us, we are carrying both a smart phone and a tablet and need something which can charge both when we are seeing low battery indicators.

The Belkin Power Pack 4000 has 2 USB connectors to provide power to both your smart phone and tablet at the same time. And they throw in 2 USB to microUSB cables with this portable charger. These are not a partial charge, but a full charge for both devices. Not all portable charges have the ability to charge up two items at the same time.

The Belkin Power Pack 4000 comes with a wall adapter for charging it up after use. But with a 95% battery staying power after charging, it will hold that charge for up to 30 days, so you are not going to need to carry the charger with you for short trips. While the initial charge on the 4000 takes about 8 hours, recharging this portable battery takes 3 to 4 hours from then on.

While the idea of having to carry a portable battery charge is not exactly what we what to be doing, the reality is we are going to experience low battery problems on our smart phones because of the poor battery life in them. The current technology is not where it needs to be for having multiple days of battery life on smart phones. Until you get the kind of battery life that is demanded by our mobile lives, carrying a portable battery charger is a fact of life. The Belkin Power Pack is one of those items which becomes a necessity.

While there are many portable surge protectors, few have all the features that we want to see. We have found the Travel Swivel Socket with Surge over at Herrington Catalog and this one provides great features. We have searched to see if you could find this one elsewhere and were not successful. There are several things which make travel swivel socket with surge protection a desirable part of your travel gear, if not an essential part.

The two outlets have the ability to turn 360 degrees, so if you have one of those over-sized transformer style plugs, you can still use the other outlet. By providing the swivel feature, it gives you the flexibility to move things around and have 2 items plugged in. There are also 2 USB outlets as well for charging up your smart phone or tablet at the same time. As you can see from the picture, there is a grounded light and a protected light to provide you with the knowledge that you are protected.

The one big additional feature for this portable power surge protector is the retractable plug on it. So many of the travel surge protector do not have one specific feature which is one we consider to be an important feature. With plugs sticking out, they can snag on things causing potential problems with poking holes in your bag if not covered up. For me, this is a great feature to reduce the packing concerns when traveling.

There are a lot of other popular travel surge on the market, such as the Belkin SurgePlus which has a swivel plug. But the swiveling plug is the one that plugs into the wall. And that plug does not retract so it sticks out to catch on things in your bag. The one nice feature is that the USB plugs are on the side and will not be blocked by the items plugged into it. On the Travel Swivel Socket, the USB plugs are on the top and could be covered by a large transformer block style plug.

If you do not have a travel surge protector, the Travel Swivel Socket is a great item to carry because of the flexibility of the plugs which can be turned 360 degrees. And it provides the ability to know that you are connecting to a grounded power source.

Home security systems have become very important today. And there are so many different ways that you can protect your home and belongings. The problem with so many of the various home security packages which are available is that they are not open. If you buy a package from a security company, you get their products along with the monthly fees. You cannot add some other product into the mix. Even the ones which leverage mobile technology today are not able to take advantage of other products or apps. And there are a number of different methods used for communication, like ZigBee, Z-Wave and WiFi. And vendors are not going to include multiple methods for communicating with devices.

So, for this weeks KickStarter Friday, we are talking about SmartThings which raised over $1.2 million for their base product. This was done last year and they have shipped product. At the moment, they are working to manufacture more to meet the continuing demand and you can “Reserve Your Spot” for one when they come in which is currently estimated to be in May. The SmartThings hardware unit and the associated software is being worked on to continue to include more and more devices.

If someone’s product allows for it to be controlled by a 3rd party, then it can be controlled by SmartThings. There are developers working to add various products and controls to be able to join the SmartThings unit. While this does sound like a fantastic way of doing things, it is going to take a little while longer to create the software connections to other devices. The company is working to make connections to the things in your home and allow for automation of them from a single device. That is a big undertaking and if they are only 50% successful, they will have a great product.

While they sell “things” which are devices you would normally have with a security system, such as door and window monitors, it is the potential to use other devices which do not come from SmartThings. Their SmartApps are designed to let you monitor just about anything that you can reach which has an interface. And with that, they have a large development effort which appears to be operating much in the same way as open source projects. It is these apps which will allow the SmartThings unit to monitor and control so many more items than one would think. It is all dependent on whether those devices will allow for the SmartApps to access their information.

This may be the next be thing for home security and move beyond the limiting packages that you are forced to purchase.

While you can run wired cameras, WiFi cameras are far easier to set up and use. It is just a matter of making a connection to them and you are ready to use them. Those of a few years back were limited to connections to the back of a DVR, but the ones of today are using mobile devices to alert you as to activities besides recording the actions. More and more are storing the recordings in the Cloud with added services, so even if someone steals the camera, you still have the images to turn over to the police.

WiFi cameras will leverage your local WiFi router to stream the video, which can be to the web, computer or Cloud. One that is popular is the Samsung SmartCam which has a lot of features at a low price. That includes the ability to detect noise or motion around the camera and then provide notifications to you. Another popular WiFi camera is DropCam which offers a similar set of features and adds night vision to the package as well. The include the streaming video to the web and notification alerts should be the standards you are looking for.

Having a camera for indoor use which these are designed for, still leaves the outside of your home to be covered. You want something which can withstand the weather, such as the Wansview WiFi camera which has notifications and motion detection. The growing market for outside WiFi cameras is growing and it is the feature sets which make these desirable. The Wansview has built in night vision as well which is something that should be expected from all outdoor cameras. There are many other outdoor WiFi cameras on the market and you should research those that you are considering for your home.

With summer approaching and vacation planning, you need to make sure that your home security is where it needs to be. If you need to improve on what you have, WiFi cameras look to be your best bet to cover your home and property. There is no one size fits all for this and you will need to do some research to find cameras that fit your needs. Indoor cameras come in many shapes and sizes while outdoor cameras are less flexible in shapes and design. The key to look for is WiFi enabled cameras that can send you notifications to your phone to alert you along with streaming video which can be viewed remotely.

So, in continuing with gadgets around the home to provide security, we are looking at the old door peephole concept and the numerous improvements which have come about. There are a variety of door viewers which can provide an excellent LCD picture for you to see. And they include a wide angle picture as well. The other big improvement is that they take a picture of what you are looking at and store it on a micro SD card, such as the Digital Door Viewer from Yale shown above. Viewers have improved greatly and the whole family can use them. You press a button and the picture appears, so even the younger members of the family can use an electronic door viewer to see who is at the door.

The pictures being recorded have pretty much become the standard for the door viewers and most come with a 512 MB micro SD card standard. With the 2.5 to 3.5 inch screen sizes being sold today, you get a great picture. The biggest issue with these is the batteries required to power door viewers. It seems that not all door viewers are created equal and some do not get the best battery life. As an example, a generic viewer has people complaining about the battery life in the reviews. Brand names do not seem to have the same complaints, such as the Brinno electronic peephole viewer. Viewers are going to be one of those items which require research on your part.

When you are looking at viewers, be aware that some of the digital viewers do not record pictures of the person at the door and that will obviously impact the price. The added picture taking has more technology with it and raises the price for the electronic door viewer. Some viewers have an associated door bell with them, so that when someone rings the bell, it will take their picture. There are so many features associated with the electronic door viewers that you are going to have to determine which one fits your needs. The best feature of all for these is that from the outside of the door, you cannot tell that there is an electronic viewer which can take a picture.

Coming this summer, Lockitron will be shipping to provide you with an electronic security device. Listed at $179, you can pre-order one now and be part of the first group to receive your own Lockitron. This is such a simple concept to provide you with the peace of mind to know that you have locked your door. I have left home a number of times only to return a few minutes later to make sure that I locked the front door. With the Lockitron, I would no longer have to wonder. While it can do much more than just this single feature, for me, this is the reason I would go out and buy one.

When the Lockitron arrives, it will have the both Android and iOS apps to provide you with the ability to check the status of the deadbolt lock. With the app, you can lock or unlock the deadbolt with ease. If you need to let someone into your home while you are at work, you can to that with the WiFi enabled Lockitron. While the plans to include WiFi into this security device are underway, there will be no visible interface for the device to set things up. The built in WiFi device can be configured with the Lockitron app on your phone. You place your smart phone near the device and enter the provided user name and password. Then press Send and it syncs things up for you in a matter of seconds.

Since this is technology, it requires power which is provided by 2 AA batteries. And they claim that this will power the Lockitron for more than a year. This looks like a great device to have and is very simple to use. It can even alert you when the door is unlocked which is a great feature. And there is even more to this. They are going to include Bluetooth 4.0 capabilities so that the Lockitron knows when you are approaching with your smart phone and automatically unlock the deadbolt for you. All of this is coming and will be easily installed. Take a look at the video to see just how great this product is.

The DoorBot Smart Doorbell has recently received funding via Christy Street and is preparing to come to market by July this year. And the concept is very simple to install for anyone. Requiring 4 screws to attach it, it is powered by 4 AA batteries which are supposed to last up to a year. And there are no wires to run as with the current door bell on your home. With a camera, microphone and speaker, you have all the parts you need to help protect your home.

When someone comes to your door and rings the bell, you are notified on your mobile device via the DoorBot app which you can download for iOS or Android. This is via the WiFi in your home which then sends the information to your mobile device. You are then able to see who is at your front door via the adjustable camera. The angle of the camera is set by you when you install the DoorBot. With a view of the person at the door, you are able to communicate with them as to what it is they want. As far as the person at the door is concerned, you are at home talking to them. And the person at the door cannot see you, but only hear you and assume that you are at home. You can be miles away or hundreds of miles away, but it creates the illusion that you are at home.

The one drawback to this is the label on the DoorBot. It makes it very obvious so someone that you are using the DoorBot and those who looking to burglarize your home are going to know about the devices. While this is a very simple model to install, it may not be the best one for you. If you want something simple to install, this is the one to get.