Wearable tech might be the hot trend of 2014, but Boston-based Laforge thinks there’s just enough room on the market for its Icis smart glasses.
The company claims that where other devices go wrong is by focusing exclusively on the tech experience, but in doing so, completely ignore fashion. This is where Laforge hopes Icis can carve out its niche – by providing a range of different frames to suit different people, but all with the same core functionality.
Like Glass, Icis glasses play home to a camera, microphone, and a speaker. Unlike Glass, however, they feature a display directly in the line of vision that will show you all your updates as they happen. The company says that app notifications on your smartphone will be automatically converted into widgets displayed on the UI of the Icis glasses.
Essentially, it seems Laforge wants to get around platform compatibility issues by providing its own app called SocialFlo, which will then take care of showing you notifications from your usual networks and apps. All you’d need to do is download the app and connect to your phone (whichever platform it is) via Bluetooth to receive notifications.
Laforge said that Icis will also have three main activity modes: Normal, Active (cuts social notifications to a minimum while jogging, for example) and Drive, which only allows data related to driving to be displayed.
Whether or not Laforge’s system will be able to compete with the sudden influx of smart wearables remains to be seen, but the company’s CEO Corey Mack is optimistic about its chances:
That’s a pretty big ambition right there.
Laforge is only kicking off its Indiegogo project today, so there’s a way to go still to get these particular glasses through from crowdfunding idea to a delivered product, but if you want to show support there are a range of options available.
The cheapest pledge that will actually net you a pair of Icis glasses is the $420 Beta Kit (plus $50 for international shipping) option. Alternatively, if you want one of the first pairs of slightly more aesthetically appealing ones from the Icis Bold line, that’ll cost you $620. The Bold versions also include a higher resolution 1280 x 680 pixel display, instead of the 680 x 480 pixel resolution on the regular/beta kit version.
If the project reaches its target, the first Icis Bold units are expected to start shipping in January 2015, although the Beta Kit orders should be sent out from December this year, if you just can’t wait the extra month.
➤ Laforge | Icis [Indiegogo]
Dropcam acquired by Google’s Nest and will be folded into the Nest brand
Home surveillance startup Dropcam has been purchased by Google’s Nest reports Re/Code . Nest, which was recently acquired by Google, will pay $555 million in cash for the company.
The Dropcam name and products will be part of the Nest brand and the acquisition took place outside of Google. In other words, Nest bought Dropcam, not Google. But of course Google owns Nest.
In a blog post about the acquisition, Nest Founder, Matt Rogers wrote the following:
Nest was purchased by Google for $3.2 billion . The deal was finalized back in February . That was Google’s big play to get into the connected home. Now with Dropcam, the company is expanding that play.
Explora lets international travelers rent a Nexus 5 with 4G for $8 a day in the US
International travelers coming to the US now have a convenient option for renting a smartphone with a data plan. Explora today launched its rental service offering customers a Nexus 5 with unlimited voice, text messages and 4G data for $8 a day.
To make things easy, Explora can ship the phone ahead of time to an address, such as your hotel, so that the device is ready to use as soon as you arrive. When you’re done with the phone, you can just ship it back via the included pre-paid envelope.
Explora rentals come pre-loaded with several apps that you might expect to use while traveling, such as Google Maps, Yelp, TripAdvisor and Taxi Magic.
If you’ve ever paid for international roaming fees while traveling in the US, Explora is worth checking out. Visitors on extended trips might find it cheaper to go with their own pre-paid SIM card, but short stays that require heavy data usage would benefit from the unlimited supply that Explora offers.
➤ Explora