At last: simple solar charging on-the-go for your iDevice! Plus a mouse shaped like a writing pen, an ingenious app for songwriters, and an accessory that makes the life of any MacBook Air owner a lot easier, in this week’s Kickstarter roundup.
SunStash
Charge your mobile devices from anywhere, just as fast as it charges from a wall outlet. Even if you’re traveling or off the grid entirely, SunStash will power your device with solar cells. It comes with its own portable battery unit that you plug into one of the solar cell packs (above). Once it shows you have a full charge, unplug the battery and plug it into your iDevice. There are also all kinds of adapters available to make it work with just about any device imaginable. I can’t believe Apple, Samsung, Nokia, Motorola, and all the rest aren’t already building solar technology into their devices.
SLiM
It’s a Stand Like iMac. SLiM. Get it? If Apple made an iPad stand that would make their tablet look like an iMac, then SLiM would be it. It works in both portrait and landscape mode, it attaches easily to your iPad, and there’s a smaller model available for your iPad Mini. There’s a hole for the power cord in the stand just like the one on the iMac. I’m not crazy about the idea of using foam to attach my iPad to anything; rubber micro-suction pads would be better. And the seller’s horrible grammar doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. But from the outside looking in, the SLiM stand looks great.
gStick Mouse
File this under “C” for can’t-believe-no-one-thought-of-this-before. It’s a mouse in the shape of a magic marker, or a very large writing pen. On the downside, it uses an old-school rollerball for its tip, where modern mice always use lasers for more precise tracking. Presumably this was to help with affordability. And gStick is also kind of… well, fat. Users used to working with a slender stylus may be a little put off by it. On the plus side, it has clickable buttons and even a scroll wheel. It’s so smart and ergonomic, I honestly can’t believe no one has ever made a pen-shaped mouse before now. It’s one of those great ideas you instantly grasp the moment you first see it. No explanation required — it just makes sense.
Hum
Songwriters usually find inspiration at odd times. Sometimes you’re out somewhere shopping or at the beach and all you have is your phone, when an idea comes along. Most songwriters find themselves using about three different apps to capture their idea: they sing the melody into a voice message, type out lyrics in a notetaking app, and then use some kind of music app to record the guitar chords. Hum is an ingenious app that combines all of those tasks into a single app, making it the songwriter’s very best friend. It was dreamed up by a songwriter, it sports a wonderfully minimal design, and it comes with all sorts of nifty bells and whistles, like the ability to edit your own audio files right inside the app. Brilliant.
Snuglet
Snuglet’s inventor got sick of the tiny MagSafe plug falling out of his trusty MacBook Air. Anyone who uses an MBA knows how easily the cord falls out; if your laptop isn’t perfectly level with nothing beside it, it’s going to get disconnected. The teeny little metal Snuglet attachment fixes this problem beautifully: it slides onto your MagSafe plug like a collar, and greatly increases the magnetic strength of the plug. It’s still easy to unplug the cord, but now it won’t pop off on its own. Nifty.
AER Infinity
I’m not sure of the usefulness of this 3-in-1 device in light of the highly publicized XiStera, which features 8 tools in 1 small device. The AER Infinity combines a stylus, iPhone stand, and a USB Flash drive into a single accessory. The thumbdrive can be virtually any capacity between 8GB and 64GB, and it’s described as super durable and reliable.
Ledge
Ledge is exactly what it sounds like: a minimal, grooved shelf you can mount to any wall and then place your iPad on. Painted walls, tiles, mirrors, and more will hold Ledge. You can hang it using 3M Command strips or drywall anchors and screws, both of which are included.
Choosing to pledge financial support to any Kickstarter project always carries risks. Apple Gazette will not be held responsible for any failures on the part of a project’s creator(s). These are the projects we think stand the best chance of succeeding, and that look the most interesting and useful. These listings do not represent paid endorsements, and are selected at the sole discretion of the staff of Apple Gazette.
