These two products made their recent debut on crowd-funding websites – sites that rely on “donations” from consumers to develop and manufacture the product.
Hapilabs’ Hapifork is now receiving fundraising on Kickstarter. The “smart” fork, which initially debuted at International CES in January and won a CES Innovations Award, monitors how quickly the user is eating, and will vibrate and flash a light if he’s going too fast. Info can be downloaded via USB or Bluetooth to a computer or smartphone, and details can be shared with those who are interested in eating competitions or public shaming. Funding starts at $89.
Bluebulb launched its Bluetooth Bulb on FundAnything.com this week. At $59.99, it costs about the same as a single Philips Hue bulb, but it uses Bluetooth 4.0 rather than Philips’ wireless bridge system. The company plans to offer discounts for purchasing multiple bulbs. As of right now, only iOS devices can be used to control the bulb, but a company spokesman told TWICE an Android version is scheduled to become available within the next two months. Life of the bulb is expected to be 10 years or more, he said. In addition to being funded on FundAnything, the company also plans to sell it directly from its website within the next two weeks.
