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Rikka Altland

rikkaaltland

Rikka Altland is the Editor-in-Chief of 9to5Toys. Having joined the team at the beginning of 2017, over the past six years she has gone on to specialize in being a mainstay in the LEGO news and rumors scene while also reviewing the latest iPhone accessories, earbuds, and home networking gear. Contact it directly at rikka@9to5mac.com for tips and pitches.

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Hayo brings augmented reality control to Hue lighting, Sonos, and your smart home

Avatar for Rikka Altland Feb 13 2017 - 5:49 pm PT
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Controlling your smart home as been a topic of interest lately. We’ve covered various remotes, wall-mounted fixtures and more that all have a different take on letting you command your residence. What happens though when you want to turn on the lights on and your remote is in the other room? Hayo hopes to fix this by making anything around you a remote. By scanning its surroundings, Hayo and its iOS companion app lets you assign actions to any available objects. From making the nightstand turn off your Hue lights, to letting the coffee table play your favorite music through your Sonos.

Hayo can currently be backed on Indiegogo for $219, which is 27% off of the final retail price. It has currently reached 71% of its funding goal without about a month to go, and plans to ship in September 2017 if all goes as planned.


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Shoot iPhone video like a pro with Fancy the “world’s smallest” stabilizer for smartphones

Avatar for Rikka Altland Feb 10 2017 - 5:02 pm PT
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They say that the best camera is the one that’s always with you. That doesn’t mean the shots or video you’ll take will always be the best though, which is where Fancy saves the day. Designed to fit in your pocket, Fancy hopes to help you capture clear photos and smooth videos. The stabilizer fits any size smartphone and can even act as a power bank when you’re running low on juice.

You can back Fancy over on Indiegogo starting at the early bird price of $89. It’ll retail for $128, which means backing now saves you 31%. The campaign has already reached 80% of its funding goal and all goes well, plans to ship in April of 2017.


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Manage your smart home with ease: Wink Relay Touchscreen Control Panel for $70 shipped (Reg. $99)

Avatar for Rikka Altland Feb 10 2017 - 4:04 pm PT
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Amazon is currently offering the Wink Relay Smart Home Touchscreen Control Panel for 69.99 shipped. Also available at Home Depot. That’s a savings of $29, which matches the all-time low. Connected gadgets like Philips Hue and Nest add a lot of convenience to our lives. From using voice control to change the lighting, or automating the temperature in your home. But sometimes it’s a pain to dig your phone out of your pocket, or use your voice all to just turn on the lights. This is where the Wink Relay shines, which combines a touchscreen with standard two light switches in order to control all of the smart devices in your home.

Features:

  • 4.3″ multi-touch screen allows access to all your smart products via the Wink app
  • 2x smart light switches can be customized to turn lights, scenes, or other smart products on/off
  • Temperature, humidity, and proximity sensors put even more data at your fingertips
  • Microphone and speaker for intercom functionality (coming soon) and Replaces most single or double light switches
  • Please refer the trouble-shooting steps in page 34 of the user manual under the product description for issues with the product use

Lights, thermostats, window treatments. .. Now you, your family, or guests can access your entire smart home all in one place. Put Relay in the room you use most, sync up multiple units, or use the mobile app when you’re away.

Rated at 3.6 out of 5 stars across over 170 reviewers.

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The Orb outfits your home with Danish-designed, intelligent lighting

Avatar for Rikka Altland Feb 9 2017 - 5:04 pm PT
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Smart lighting systems continue to grow in popularity, and while most are fairly standard designs, the Orb breaks the mold. Rather than being the typical lightbulb shape, the Orb features a disk-like design which not only lets you control the color and intensity of light, but also the direction. The light can be controlled with either the bundled dimmer switch, or with a companion app that provides more customization, and let’s you create and set new scenes. It also connects over Bluetooth Low Energy, which differs from other lighting systems that rely on an existing Wi-Fi network.

Right now, you can back the Orb over on Indiegogo starting at the early bird price of $158. If everything goes according to play, it plans to ship in December, which means there’s still plenty of time to order one and help the light reach its funding goal.


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Control your Hue lights, Sonos, iPhone and more with this beautiful wooden remote from Kickstarter

Avatar for Rikka Altland Feb 8 2017 - 4:35 pm PT
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As more of the devices in our lives gain Wi-Fi and smartphone connectivity, the need for a more unified remote will continue to grow. While voice control is great for some, many search for a more discrete way to interact with their smart devices. This is where the Turn Touch remote shines, which provides four programmable buttons wrapped in an elegant wooden case. From setting the lighting with your favorite scene, to making sure the temperature is just right, Turn Touch hopes to provide a solution for controlling the gadgets in your life.

Turn Touch currently sports a companion app which supports iPhone, Mac and other smartphones. The remote can be currently backed on Kickstarter at the Early Bird price of $69 and has already earned over half of its funding goal with 29 days to go.

Turn Touch is a four button remote control carved out of solid wood. Get instant control of your devices and your home. With only four buttons, your Turn Touch connects you to apps, lights, speakers, and more.

There’s never been a remote quite like this:

  • Extraordinary design: This isn’t yet another plastic remote. Turn Touch is carved from solid wood and worked to a show-stopping, textured finish.
  • Always ready: Turn Touch is always on, always connected, and always ready to take your breath away. Never fiddle with pairing buttons, disconnected devices, or syncing procedures.
  • Built to last: Not only will your Turn Touch stand up to drops and shock— its entire circuit board can be inexpensively replaced with newer, future wireless tech. You also won’t have to buy a new remote every time Apple comes out with a new phone.
  • Well connected: Right now, Turn Touch is ready to connect with over two dozen apps and integrations. And this is just the first version. Over time, there’s no telling what you’ll be able to control.

Source: Kickstarter

Line-us lets you sketch on real paper with its robotic arm all from your iPhone, iPad and Mac

Avatar for Rikka Altland Feb 7 2017 - 5:23 pm PT
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3D printers and similar gadgets have been all the rage recently, which is where Line-us enters to shake things up a bit. The gadget can be found on Kickstarter and rather than printing physical objects, Line-us copies a drawing from the robot’s smartphone companion app using its robotic arm, pen and paper. Using Wi-Fi, you can create sketches and drawings from your couch, to the coffee shop and anywhere in-between. Line-us is also magnetic, which allows the device to draw on any surface. It works with iPhone, iPad, Android, Mac and PC, nearly any device can be your sketchbook.

Line-us can currently be backed on Kickstarter for a little over $60, and while the campaign just launched earlier this month, it’s already nearly doubled the original funding goal. The product currently plans to ship at the end of the year in October.

Line-us is a small internet connected robot drawing arm – it mimics your motion with a pen and recreates whatever you draw on screen. Draw with your finger, mouse, stylus or Apple Pencil and follow it in real time as it copies your movements. Save and share your drawing to start communicating with other Line-us machines! It’s not a plotter nor a printer, it’s a draw-er, which gives Line-us its own style and unique character. The magic bit is that Line-us draws in exactly the same order you did.

Source: Kickstarter