Right off the bat you can tell that Meta 1 is a bit different than Google Glass, but that’s also because Meta 1 serves a particularly different function than what Google Glass offers. While Glass merely consists of a small display that shows you alerts and other information, Meta 1 shows you virtual 3D objects that are mixed in with the real world in front of you.

The device itself is still in the development stages, hence the fact that the Kickstarter campaign is for a dev kit of the Meta 1. And as such, the pair of glasses aren’t quite as compact as Google Glass. The Meta 1 features rather squared-off frames that look uncomfortable, with a 3D webcam mounted on the top. Granted, it’s only meant for developers, so the final version should be much more catered towards consumers.

Essentially, the goal for the Meta 1 is to create HUDs similar to those seen in Iron Man and Minority Report, but once more developers join in and begin to make apps for the headset, the possibilities will most likely be endless. The video above gives some decent examples of what’s possible the Meta 1.

The hardware specs of the Meta 1 are quite impressive at this point. You get a 960×540 resolution with each eye that comes with a 23-degree field of view for each eye as well. The webcam that sits on top includes two cameras (one for each eye), and the glasses have HDMI and USB input. And despite looking a bit cumbersome to wear, they only weigh a little over 10 ounces.

The company plans to have these development kits shipped out starting in September of this year. As for price, the full development kit will cost $750, which is a bit steep compared to other headsets, like the Oculus Rift, but the Meta 1 does seem a bit more complex. Granted, it’s still half the price you’d pay for Google Glass Explorer Edition, so if you’re bank account is only allowing so much cash to be spent, the Meta 1 is the cheaper grab.

The people behind the project say that you can build your own customized wake-up routine using any combination of several different items while your device charges. You can be woke up using a standard alarm including soft, loud, or progressive chimes. You can also be woke into a song from your device.

If normal alarms aren’t your deal, you can also wake to the days weather report or traffic alerts. The alarm can also wake you using voice reminders to remind you do specific things during the day. You can also program the alarm to offer a brainteaser before it will turn off to ensure that you’re actually awake. One of the brainteasers has the user trying to touch a fly buzzing across the screen on tim-E’s face.

If you poke the robot and not the fly, he will say things like “Swat the fly, not the eye, sleepyhead!” The traffic reports come in the form of phrases from the robot with things like, “Give yourself some extra time today, because the 405 is jammed!” The robot will also give you perky little phrases the weather forecasts such as “75 and sunny today! Forget work, let’s hit the beach!”

I think that’s much better than just having a buzzer that goes off and having to read the forecast on the screen of your iPhone. It also makes this device particularly well-suited to younger children who have a difficult time getting up and may not be the best readers. Rather than using the blue robot face, you can also use pictures of friends and family as the robot’s face. The project is seeking $150,000 and has 28 days to go. So far, it has raised a little under $3200 and the pledge of $60 or more will get you your own tim-E.

SOURCE: Kickstarter

A company called VOX One Labs has a new MP3 project on Kickstarter seeking the funding to come to market. The company has designed this MP3 player specifically for active users so it stays in place and usable no matter how strenuously you exercise. The MP3 player is called the ITreq and it’s designed to be compact and very lightweight.

The MP3 player rather reminds me of headsets worn by law enforcement officers or the military in that the MP3 player hangs behind the ear with an ear piece that plugs into the ear canal. The ITreq does have an extra 3.5 mm port allowing it to be worn as a stereo headset if desired. The device will come in white, black, or red and will support 4 GB microSD cards. The device will play any MP3 file that you put onto the little memory card.

Users will be able to carry multiple memory cards with them to have access to as many audio tracks if you want. Another nice feature of the audio player is that it has a high impact ABS shell along with medical grade silicone rubber ear hooks. That means it shouldn’t feel heavy behind the ear and can survive sweat and the elements.

The devices IP53 water resistant, but not waterproof. That means you can’t swim with it, but sweat or the occasional sprinkle of rain won’t destroy the player. The project is seeking $56,750, which is a strange amount. So far, the project has raised $6225 with 26 days to go. You will need to pledge at least $59 or more to get one of the ITreq MP3 players for yourself. The more money pledge up to $99, the more 4 GB memory card you receive with your purchase.

SOURCE: Kickstarter

The gaming experience itself is carried over directly from the original, developers Stainless Games Ltd. claim, with eleven environments to race in and 28 different opponents to battle with on the track. The initial release has 36 levels, and there are 30 cars that can be unlocked by doing sufficiently well in each round.

The 110MB download (which runs on Android 2.3.4 devices or above) can be controlled either with digital or analog buttons, or by tilting the phone or tablet, or a mixture of the three. In fact, Stainless has built in a control layout editor that can be tweaked mid-game, allowing you to quickly fix any extraneous buttons that might be cramping your driving style.

Both single-player and multiplayer modes are supported, and Carmageddon also has an action-replay mode, the video clips of which can now be shared via YouTube. Facebook and Twitter integration for sharing highscores and game progress is also supported.

Carmageddon for Android will normally be a $1.99 download, though as a launch-day promotion it’s being offered free from the Google Play store today, Friday May 10th.

According to the individuals behind the project, a lot of the work has already been done, including the development of the DNA designs, researching the legality of creating plants that glow, and more. The Kickstarter is to raise funds for printing the DNA and bringing the project to fruition. The sequence printing is done via the Genome Compiler.

Once printed, the DNA sequences are then inserted into the plants, resulting in plants that naturally glow. The process is being done using bioluminescence genes and the Arabidopsis flowering plant. The insertion process will be done via “a special type of bacteria” that imparts its own DNA into the plant, which is shuttled to the seeds, with those seeds then growing a plant that glows straight from the dirt.

According to the project’s page, it costs at least a quarter of a dollar per DNA base pairs, with the DNA they have created coming in at 10,000 base pairs. The printing of several sequences is planned. The project was seeking $65,000, and has thus far hit $284,373, with 28 days remaining. The minimum pledge is $1, but you have to shell out at least $5 to get anything in return, with $40 being the minimum amount to receive seeds. If you’re feeling especially generous, you can pledge $10,000, for which any word under 30 characters will be written via DNA into the plant’s genome.

[via Kickstarter]

The game will be released through 12 episodes. Each episode is said to consist of 2-4 hours of gameplay, and will contain “sanity effects”, like in Eternal Darkness, that will mess with the player’s “perception of reality”. The $1.5 million will be used to develop the first episode, with any excess many being used to develop the other episodes, more characters, and more in-game content. The additional funds will also be used to expand the availability of the game to more platforms.

Shadow of the Eternals’s plot revolves around Detective Paul Baker, who is asked to interrogate two survivors of “one of the bloodiest gang massacres in Louisiana state history.” While interrogating the two suspects, Baker begins to “uncover the truth about the ‘Eternals’.” The game spans across 2,500 years of history throughout various countries like Egypt, England and the United States. Precursor states,

“Shadow of the Eternals will take players on a memorable journey throughout time; weaving historical fact with disturbing fiction to create an experience unlike any other.”

Precursor Games plans on beginning the crowdfunding for Shadow of the Eternals on May 6th. It will release along with it the first gameplay trailer for the game. While the game is being developed by a new game, Eternal Darkness director/producer Denis Dyack will still be involved in the project, assuring fans that the game will retain some of the original values of the GameCube classic.

[via IGN]

The gaming controller has a special cross shape and four programmable buttons. You can map those buttons to various commands using the videogame software. The device is designed to be very flexible allowing the users to place it in any direction they want and teasing with one or both feet.

The designer made the footboard to be easy to return to neutral position after you activate key. One of the more interesting features of the Stinky Footboard is that the device shipped with multiple Springs allowing you to customize the tension to your preferences. The project has now met it Kickstarter funding goal.

In fact, it raised a bit more than its goal of $75,000 racking up a total of $79,562. The funding goal is met yesterday and the controller cost those who backed the project $89 or more. Shipping is expected to happen in July of 2013, but you’d be safe to expect some delays. The laser very common with Kickstarter projects as roadblocks are hit during the ramp-up to production frequently.

[via Kickstarter]

Over 170,000 people have contributed money to the project, which was started by gaming designer veteran Chris Roberts, who is behind classic games like Wing Commander. The game raised over $2 million on Kickstarter, with the remaining funds being donated directly on the Star Citizen website.

As for the developer’s reason to go with crowd funding, they cite that “the internet is the great equalizer,” and used examples like Minecraft, Riot Games, and Wargaming.net for not needing a publisher, but rather just die-hard fans willing to pay for a game and support the developers throughout the project.

They continue by saying that they’re essentially throwing themselves “on the mercy of the PC gamers” who share the same vision and passion for the PC as they do. Without a publisher, the game will cost less and it’ll be more “creatively pure.” As for a time frame on when to expect the game to arrive, Star Citizen is expected to enter the alpha stages toward the end of the year.

[via GamesIndustry.biz]

Vertus offers two Bluetooth receivers that support streaming music to both receivers at the same time from a single device. The Vertus receivers use CSR TrueWireless Stereo technology. The kit ships with a left receiver and a right receiver that plug into any speaker featuring a 3.5 mm headphone port.

The people behind the project say that once you plug in both receivers and pair them with the smartphone, you can enjoy stereo sound from two separate speakers at the same time. You can also use the two separate speakers to bring audio to different areas a large room or outdoor space. Another interesting feature of the Vertus Bluetooth receivers is that they don’t need ports for power.

Both of the Bluetooth receivers plug into an included charging station for recharging. The charging station itself gets power from a micro USB port. The wireless range for the system is 30 feet and battery life is promised be 10 hours. The project is seeking $40,000 with 27 days to go and so far, it’s raised over $8800. A pledge of $79 or more will get you your own set of Vertus Bluetooth receivers.

[via Kickstarter]

There are a huge number of available applications for smartphone users who also like to ride bikes. The apps can do things such as track their ride history, route, and even keep up with their cycling cadence and performance. Many of these people end up running bicycling specific applications as well as listening to music at the same time. What that means is battery life for a mobile device is greatly impacted.

A new project has turned up on Kickstarter called the Siva Cycle Atom that is a small power generator that you connect to any bicycle to keep your gadgets charged on a long bike ride. The project is currently seeking $85,000 and has raised over $52,000 with 28 days to go. The Atom uses what the developers call top-of-the-line magnetic rotors, powerful lithium-ion batteries, and will be built in the United States.

The device allows the power generating unit to directly charge your smartphone or other gadget and it comes with a removable battery pack as well. The designers constructed the Atom to output USB compatible 5 V at up to 500mA. The removable battery pack holds 1300 mAh of power. The device generates different amounts of electricity depending on how quickly you ride. At 3 mph, the power output is 0.75 Watts. At 10 mph, the device puts out 3 W of power and at 15 mph the power output is 4.5 W, which is the maximum output. If you want one of the Atom devices, a pledge of $95 will get you a unit by November of 2013.

The company behind the product has now turned to Kickstarter to raise the money it needs to come to market. The project had a goal of $100,000 and with 29 days to go, it has surpassed that goal with a total of over $153,000 pledged at the time of writing. 1438 people have backed the project so far.

Space Monkey is described as a next-generation cloud service and for $10 a month; you get a terabyte of storage space. The company promises that the Space Monkey service is up to 60 times faster than other cloud services. The idea behind the project remains the same, rather than having to send your data across the Internet to some big data center, Space Monkey puts the cloud server in your home or office.

That means uploading data from devices in your home or office directly to the cloud is much quicker. However, you can still access your data and upload data to your personal cloud server via Space Monkey at the same speed as traditional cloud-storage networks anywhere you have access to the Internet. Currently a pledge of $109 or more will get you the 1 TB Space Monkey for 12 months.

[via Kickstarter]

A project has turned up on Kickstarter that lets you make your drinks nice and cold without adding any additional water to change the taste. The project is called Pucs and they are simple little devices made of solid stainless steel. The idea is that you take the Pucs and place them into your freezer along with the little wooden holder.

Once those Pucs are nice and cold, you can then pull one out and drop it into your drink. The people behind the project say that the way the solid little chunks of stainless steel work one will add a little chill to your drink while adding additional pucs will drop the temperature of your drink even further allowing you to custom tune the temperature.

Another interesting use for these objects is in hot beverages. You don’t have to put these in the freezer to absorb heat from hot beverages such as coffee. You can drop one into a cup of coffee that’s too hot to absorb some of the heat allowing you to get your caffeine fix more quickly. The Pucs are machined from solid 304 stainless steel and are 100% inert. They are unable to change the flavor of your drink and will not absorb smells or flavors from the freezer. They’re designed to be cleaned with soap and water or in the dishwasher. A pledge of $35 more will get you six Pucs and a maple case to place them in. The project was seeking $2500 and has raised almost $14,000 so far with 44 days to go.

[via Kickstarter]

The Kickstarter campaign is launching a bit later than expected, but nonetheless, it’s now up and running, and HAPILABS is attempting to raise $100,000 in a matter of a month and a half, which shouldn’t be too difficult if enough weight-watchers want to take the initiative to actively control how fast they’re eating.

You can pre-order a HAPIfork now for as low as $89, but the price will jump to the regular $99 after 2,500 people have taken advantage of the early-bird special. The fork is expected to ship in September of this year, but you can pay $300 to get a fork early and participate in the company’s beta program, which will allow you to get your hands on a fork in July.

Essentially, the HAPIfork vibrates if it detects that you’re eating too fast, and the computer chips inside of the fork track various things such as the number of “fork servings” taken per minute and per meal, as well as the specific duration of each “fork serving” interval. It’ll also track your overall meal duration and the exact time at which you start and end your meal, which you can take a glance at with the web-based dashboard after uploading the data using the included USB cable.

A new router has turned up on Kickstarter seeking funding called Skydog. This router gives an incredibly detailed review of what your network is being used for and which computers are accessing websites and for how long. If you have a large number of people in an office using a wireless network or you have kids that you want to monitor Internet usage on, this might be the perfect thing.

Rather than simply telling you six computers are on your network and Facebook has been accessed, the supporting applications for the Skydog router will tell you which specific computer accessed which specific website and how long they spend there. The router can even send you alerts to tell you when a child has spent all the time allotted on a particular website or online gaming.

Parents can use the included applications to schedule the amount of time kids can use the Internet for homework and for entertainment. Limits can be set for the amount of time spent on social media or gaming and the app can optimize the router for online gaming when needed. The app will also send you a notification if your broadband service is down or a guest connects to your home network. Skydog is seeking $75,000 and has 34 days to go. So far, the project has raised over $29,000. A pledge of $99 will get you one of the routers and the application with no monthly fees with delivery expected in August.

[via Kickstarter]

InXile created a chart of financial goals it had reached. $900,000 was the initial goal, however, whenever funding reached another goal on the chart, InXile would add on more features that would please players. At $1.2m, it added gender options for your characters. At $2m it added new areas, music, deeper story lines, and more. Backers were able to fund the game and achieve 17 new goals on the chart, bringing many more features, deeper stories, more areas, more quests, and more developers to the game.

Torment is a single-player RPG whose development is based on “four pillars”. The first pillar is a “Deep, Thematically Satisfying Story”, where the “philosophical underpinnings” drive the game. The second pillar, “A World Unlike Any Other”, centers around the game’s beautiful world of Numenera, which is said to have “magic” that is surprisingly different.

The third pillar, “A Rich, Personal Narrative”, is centered around a character-driven story with even NPCs having deep-seeded storylines. The final pillar is “Reactivity, Choice, and Real Consequences”, which brings replayability to the game. Every time you make a decision, go down a different path, or make a different approach, the course of your game changes.

Torment has many aspects that promises to hook you for hours upon hours. The game is being developed on the Unity Game Engine, and will be available to download through Steam. The expected release date for this game is December 2014, but like many Kickstarter projects, we could see some delays. You can pre-order Torment: Tides of Numenera from InXile’s store right now. If you want to read up on the tons and tons of features this game will offer, check out its Kickstarter page here.

The Kickstarter project for the 3Doodler has now ended and has been funded. The project raised $2,344,134. That is an incredible amount of money raised via Kickstarter and places the project as one of the top 25 projects of all time. It’s hard to believe that the team behind the 3Doodler had only hoped to raise $30,000 to begin with.

Funding for the project ended on March 25 and the company is now working on producing its product to ship to customers. The 3Doodler pen was priced at $99 during the Kickstarter campaign and the first examples purchased via backers on Kickstarter will begin delivery in September of 2013. The team behind the project have offered up some interesting statistics.

As I mentioned, within hours of launch the team had passed its target of $30,000. Within the first day the 3Doodler racked up $500,000 in funding. With the final amount being over $2.3 million, the project raised 7781% more than its initial funding goal. The team also says that almost half of the people who backed the project were women, which is significantly higher than the estimated 7% share women hold of the 3-D printing market. If you missed out on the Kickstarter project, you can still pre-order the 3Doodler for yourself on the company’s web store. However, orders placed via the web store won’t be delivered until after all Kickstarter orders are shipped.

[via Kickstarter]

A new project has turned up on Kickstarter called the Smart Herb Garden that aims to make it easy to grow fresh herbs in the kitchen using technology. The people behind the project say all you need to do is plug the Smart Herb Garden into the wall, add water, and the smart growing device will take care of everything else. The device comes with special cartridges for basil, thyme, and lemon balm.

The company offers refill cartridges that will be available offering other plants such as chili pepper, mini tomatoes, peppermint, spinach, salad rocket, and other kinds of lettuce. The company is also working on some cartridges for strawberries. It’s not cartridges of seeds that make this garden smart, it’s the technology in the pot itself.

The high tech nature of this product comes in a growth medium, which is a nanotech material engineered to supply plant roots with the right amount of oxygen, water, and nutrients at any time. The company says this is the easiest indoor garden solution on the market. The device even has its own growing lamp so you don’t have to place your garden near a window. The lighting solution uses LED bulbs that require only six watts of power making it cheap to operate as well. The project is seeking $75,000 with 33 days to go and has raised over $50,000 so far. A pledge of $39 will get you your own Smart Herb Garden and three plant cartridges.

[via Kickstarter]

The DUO 3D sensor is open source, meaning that you can do anything with it that you please. It comes with open hardware plans, and you can get it in kit form where you assemble it or you can get fully assembled devices. The drivers and SDK are also open source, so there’s quite a bit that you can do with it right off the bat.

The company even claims that the sensor is practically plug-in-play, where you just plug it in, download the necessary software, and start playing around with it “within minutes.” From the video itself, the DUO looks to be extremely accurate, tracking fingers with every slight move. From the looks of it so far, it’ll definitely give the Leap Motion a run for its money.

The “DIY” portion comes into play with the open source hardware blueprints that you can purchase (or “back” in this case). The hardware plans will provide you with everything you need, but it’ll be up to you to get the parts and assemble it. However, you can modify the plans however you wish and truly make it your own.

Pledging $10 gets you the SDK, while $20 will get you the hardware plans, as well as the SDK. $40 will get you everything previously, as well as a custom-molded case for your 3D sensor. $140 will get you a fully-assembled kit, while $110 will score you all the parts you need to assemble it yourself.

The MiiPC runs the Android 4.2 operating system and allows users to play all sorts of Android apps right on the TV or computer display. The machine uses a Marvell ARMADA dual-core 1.2 GHz SOC. The machine also has 1 GB of DDR memory and 4 GB of internal storage. Storage can be expanded via an integrated SD card slot.

The computer also has a USB port supporting external storage devices. The machine has integrated Wi-Fi, an Ethernet port, and Bluetooth 4.0 built-in. The little computer is designed to connect directly to a TV via an HDMI port supporting up to full HD resolution content. Other features include a pair of USB 2.0 ports, a speaker input, and microphone jack.

One of the key features is companion mobile application that is available for both Android and iOS users. This application allows parents to monitor real-time Internet usage right from their smartphone. Parents can also use that app to limit the amount of time children can spend on the computer in any given day. The app supports multiple user accounts as well. The project is seeking $50,000, and has raised over $49,000 so far. With the early bird special, a pledge of $89 will get one of the computers when it ships this July.

[via Kickstarter]

However, it seems that XBMC will be available on the GameStick right at launch. Previously, it was said that the console wouldn’t be seeing XBMC support until later in September, but it looks like the partnership with Pivos will eradicate the need to wait, allowing gamers and home entertainment junkies access to XMBC right away.

XBMC stands for “Xbox Media Center,” and it was essentially created for the original Xbox, but has sense been released as an open-source media center platform. It’s available on a wide range of devices, and it can run on Windows, OS X, Linux, Android, and iOS. It’s also available on a handful of set-top boxes like the Boxee Box.

Of course, PlayJam says that the GameStick will still primarily be a portable gaming console, but the added functionality of a home theater media center will no doubt attract a larger niche of users, especially at a price of only $79, which comes with the HDMI dongle and a nifty game controller to go along with it. Developer units will begin shipping out very soon, and the console will be available to the public next month.

The Games category on Kickstarter includes video games, as well as table-top board games, the most notable successfully-funded projects being Double Fine Adventure, Faster Than Light, and Organ Trail, as well as table-top games like Sentinels of the Multiverse, Mobile Frame Zero, and Cards Against Humanity. Double Fine Adventures raised the most money out of the bunch, racking up over $3.3 million.

Breaking down the past four years but the amount of money raised each year, Kickstarter says that in 2009, the Games category raised a total of $60,601, with 2010 raising $546,362. In 2011, $3,855,692 was pledged, and in 2012, a record $83,144,565 was raised during those 12 months. So far this year, $22,423,264 has been raised, totaling more than all of 2009, 2010, and 2011 combined.

Back in January, Kickstarter announced that all crowd-sourced projects during 2012 raised a total of over $320 million. The company notes that times sure have changed since 2009. A successful gaming project back then was Kingdom Death, which raised $1,741 from 28 backers, with the same project relaunched in 2012 and raising over $2 million.

Pebble says that the watchface SDK is still a work-in-progress, and that it’s mostly just a “proof of concept”. It wants developers to note that the watchface SDK will not allow them access “to the accelerometer (or magnetometer), or communication between watchfaces and smartphones (among other deficiencies).” There’s a good possibility that 99% of the APIs in the SDK will change “as we move towards a full blown SDK”.

Pebble also plans on releasing a firmware update next week as well. The firmware version, 1.9, helps improve user experience. Your watchfaces are now at the bottom of the stack, meaning if you keep pressing the back button, you will find your way back to your watchface. Also, by pressing the up and down buttons on the right side of your Pebble watch, you can alternate between the watchfaces you have installed. There are also “under-the-hood” changes that allows developers to more easily and quickly display text on the watches.

The new watchface SDK will open a new chapter for Pebble E-Watches. Pebble provided a few examples of watchfaces developed through the SDK, including a watchface that tells time in Dutch, a watchface with a dragon that blinks every minute, and a watchface that shows Mario (from Super Mario) grabbing a coin every minute.

Over 40,000 Pebbles E-Paper watches have been made so far, and over 85% of Kickstarter backers who ordered the long strap version of the watch will receive their watches next week. Pebble is making good progress in getting its watches out to all of its 70,000-ish backers. If you haven’t ordered the watch yet, you can pre-order it now through Pebble’s website for $150.

[via Pebble]

Memoto released a handful of photos demonstrating the camera’s 5MP sensor. From the looks of it, the quality of the images aren’t too bad. The company notes that these photos were taken on a beta version of the software, so when the final product comes out, “color saturation will probably be increased a bit compared to these images, and the exposure in some of the darker images will be equalized. Sharpness and compression levels will also be adjusted” in the final version.

Memoto also notes that these photos are not post-processed, meaning that they were uploaded straight to the interwebs after being taken off the camera. As with any cheaper camera, indoor photo quality suffers only slightly, but low-light capabilities actually seem quite respectable, and but it looks like shutter speeds could be ramped up a bit, especially for outdoor shots.

The Memoto Lifelogging camera is about the size of a postage stamp, and it’s an “intelligent micro-device” that captures every moment of your life in photos. The camera takes tons of photos over the course of a period of time, and users can search through the archives for the photos they want in order to share them or just revisit them using the company’s web platform or mobile app.

Shroud of the Avatar is supposed to focus more on the player and their choices rather than just boring, old level grinding. Portalarium Inc, the company that the game will be launching through, has stated that while games have become much more graphically beautiful since Ultima, they lack the immersive, fantasy-like feel that made the Ultima series so great. Shroud of the Avatar hopes to “reinvent the classic fantasy role-playing experience”.

The game has an emphasis on solo play and players developing their own, unique stories, but players are also given the option to adventure through their stories with friends and other gamers. The game won’t be an MMORPG, nor will it really be single-player. It’s described to be a mix between both, like a persistent online world similar to Bungee’s Destiny. Everything is in the player’s hands. They are able to choose how to play the game, whether they want to explore and discover new places, battle dangerous monsters, or stay within the safety of their homelands.

The game will be fully interactive. Portalarium says, “If it looks usable, it should do something”. It will also feature it’s own original story that is deep and complex, with interwoven stories, and there will even be an alternate, fully-developed language featured in the game. Players will have their own houses (which they will have to pay taxes on) that they can decorate and furnish. There isn’t just one cookie-cutter house layout, but several and all will be marked with varying price tags. Players will also be able to build their own businesses.

There are so many aspects to Shroud of the Avatar that make it sound like a promising RPG. Currently, the Kickstarter campaign has reached $557,600 in funding from 9,136 backers. There are still 28 days left, and it’s very likely that they will meet and beat their goal. There are varying levels of pledge backers, with each increasing level being more expensive (of course), but more beneficial. Go ahead and check out the Kickstarter page.

[via Portalarium]

The developers are looking to create a DRM-free version of SimCity, with the ability to play the game completely while offline, something that SimCity doesn’t offer, and it’s the one feature that’s currently causing all of the problems. Plus, the game will only cost $15, at least if you back the project on Kickstarter right now.

Of course, the folks behind the project weren’t afraid to call out EA on their Kickstarter page, claiming that EA is “forcing the worst form of draconian DRM on its players.” Those are certainly some fightin’ words, but it seems the developers are confident that Civitas will be an excellent alternative to EA’s city-building offering.

Of course, the game will go into beta first for a few months, and you can join in on the beta fun by pledging $10 more on top of the $15 price of the game, which still isn’t a bad price at all, even if you didn’t get access to the beta. However, we’ll have to wait and see if the game can live up to its own expectations. So far, the project has raised almost $37,000 at the time of this writing, and they’re looking to raise $250,000 total, but there’s 24 days to go, so it can be easily achieved.

[via Kotaku]

The game is a World War II team-based action-strategy game where players are able to collect companies of units and battle in fast online matches. The project is seeking $700,000 for development and has 28 days to go before it funds. So far, 276 people have backed Victory and the game has raised $16,373.

The game offers online team versus team battle arena and allows users to choose units from their collection to bring in each match. Players command squads using RTS style controls and viewpoint, but Victory isn’t a RTS game. Players don’t focus on base building or resource management. The game will be available for Windows gamers and the developer is clear in stating that the game is not free to play.

Players earn currency in the game allowing them to buy booster Commander Packs that have random units and other items. Matches are won by using your units to capture and hold key points on the map or by destroying all enemy units. A typical match will last 15 to 20 min. Check out the video below to see more of the game in action.

[via Kickstarter]

The JackPod is essentially just a 0.2-ounce piece of plastic, with a screw hole on one end and two headphone jacks on the other, with one mounted vertically and the other mounted horizontally. The JackPod looks to be the easiest wait to mount and unmount your smartphone to a tripod, since it’s literally as easy as plugging in headphones.

You simply insert the plastic 3.5mm headphone plug into the headphone jack of your smartphone, and your device is now mounted to a tripod. Of course, some users may be weary of mounting their smartphones from nothing other than the headphone jack, but for occasional use, we can’t really picture a scenario where this would go bad. Obviously, if you’re deep into smartphone photography, it might be better to get something a bit more sturdy, but for casual users this seems to be perfect.

Plus, the JackPod only costs $10, which is pocket change compared to most other smartphone accessories. For $10 more, you’ll also get the UltraPod, which is a mini tripod that you can use alongside the JackPod. Both are expected to shipping sometime in May, and so far the campaign has reached over $5,000 of its $16,000 goal with 28 days to go.

A new mouse is on Kickstarter called the Ego! Smartmouse and it looks like a single mouse that can do just about anything you might want a mouse to accomplish. You can use this mouse on the surface of your desk like you would any other mouse for controlling your computer pointer. You can also pick the mouse up, walk across the room, plop down on the couch and use the Ego! Smartmouse in the air like a 3-D pointing device to control multiple computers and devices.

The little mouse can even be used as a portable game controller for gaming from across the room. The mouse runs the Linux operating system and has an internal 400 MHz ARM-9 microcontroller. The mouse also has up to 4 GB of integrated memory along with a number of sensors including an accelerometer, gyroscope, compass, and an optical mouse sensor.

Wireless connectivity for the mouse is handled by an integrated Bluetooth chip. Other hardware features for the mouse include a VGA resolution camera, touch surface, a vibration motor, and LEDs. The mouse uses a lithium polymer rechargeable battery that gets power via a micro-USB port. I told you this mouse could do just about everything. Check out the video below to get a better idea of everything you can accomplish with the Ego! Smartmouse. The Kickstarter project is seeking £20,000 and has so far raised £14,249 with 36 days to go.

[via Kickstarter]

One of the best parts about the 3Doodler is that the device is so inexpensive with a pledge of $75 giving you the pen and a couple bags of mixed plastic. The downside to pre-ordering this device is that the ship time at this point isn’t expected to happen until February of 2014. That means you’re looking at almost a year before you’ll have the device in your hand.

Last time we talked about the 3Doodler was on February 20 when the device had raised over $456,000 within only a few hours. At the time of writing, the 3Doodler has raised over $2,057,000 and still has 19 days to go. Over 23,000 people have backed the project making it one of the most popular on Kickstarter right now.

If you missed our other reports on this device, it uses ABS strands of plastic allowing you to draw in the air making 3-D sculptures of just about any sort. It’s rather unclear where you can get replacement plastic at this point after you run out of the bag or two that the pen comes with. Funding for the project is set in the March 25, 2013.

[via Kickstarter]

Kickstarter for iPhone v1.1 now has a new messages view. Basically, messages are now broken down into two categories — inbox and sent. Next up is an improvement in terms of push notifications. There isn’t a great deal of detail on this one however it was said that creators will now better control over push notifications. Basically it seems as if creators will now have a bit more control over how and/or what is sent to those funding their projects.

With something new and something improved, it is now time for the fixes, of which there are three listed. First up deals with the app banner, which should now open to “just the right spot” when you click Open from the website banner. Nothing major in that respect, but this next one should be a bit more exciting for those searching for that next project to back. The video experience has been fixed. The changelog notes that international users should see better performance when it comes to loading a video and that all issues with full-screen videos should be resolved.

Lastly, the Facebook logins and new user signup issues were taken care of. It seems some of the Facebook logins were simply failing and not processing correctly and that some users were seeing a “Name is required” error message even when they entered a name during the sign up process. Bottom line, a relatively minor, but still decent app update. The Kickstarter for iPhone app can be found in the iTunes App Store and while free to download and use, it may end up costing some money in form of backed projects.

[via iTunes App Store]

OUYA says that Kickstarter backers will be receiving shipping information in an email within a few weeks, and assembly lines are “buzzing” with the sound of tens of thousands of OUYA consoles being manufactured — we can smell the Android-powered portable gaming goodness already, and we’re pretty excited to see how the OUYA will shape the gaming industry.

Developer console began shipping back in December, so some people have already been playing around with the OUYA for a couple months now. OUYA mentioned that a load of new indie games will be making their way to the console, as well as games from popular developing studios and individual developers, like Tripwire Interactive and Kim Swift from Portal and Left 4 Dead.

If you didn’t back OUYA on Kickstarter, but want a piece of the pie, Best Buy, Target, and GameStop will sell the OUYA console for $99 starting sometime in June, which is the same price that Kickstarter backers paid for the device during the console’s fundraising campaign. The console wil also be available for purchase on OUYA’s website and Amazon.com.

The device is designed to be a portable camera stabilizer meant to reduce shaking and improve stability when recording. The device is designed to work with smartphones, point-and-shoot cameras, still cameras, and just about anything else. Any camera that uses a standard 1/4-20 tripod mount can be secured inside of the wheel.

The device has no moving parts and is resistant to salt water making it usable for water sports. The SteadyWheel weighs 1.6 pounds and is 11 1/2 inches in diameter. Looking at the device, the diameter of the wheel makes it seem as though it would be very difficult to use in some settings. I can’t see the device being usable by a person who’s actually riding a motorcycle or driving a car for instance.

A pledge of $50 or more will get you one of the SteadyWheels during the early bird special. So far, the project has 200 backers and has raised $10,532 at the time of writing with 17 days to go. The project is seeking $27,000.

[via Kickstarter]

Inocente tells the story of a 15-year-old homeless girl from California who dreams of becoming an artist. The film’s creators raised $52,527 from a total of 294 backers on their Kickstarter page, narrowly achieving their $50,000 goal. The film ended up winning the “Best Documentary Short” category at last night’s Oscars.

Co-director Seth Fine says that Kickstarter “really helped galvanize a community,” and “it helped fund a bunch of the film and kept us going through post-production. It’s a great outlet for films especially for documentaries.” Other crowd-sourced films, such as Kings Point and Buzkashi Boys, also received nominations for an Academy Award.

While Inocente became the first-ever Kickstarter-funded film to win an Oscar, Kickstarter says that this year’s nominees actually marks “the fourth, fifth and sixth Kickstarter projects to be nominated for Oscars,” with Incident in New Baghdad, Sun Come Up, and The Barber of Birmingham being the first three.

[via Mashable]

Without getting into whether or not this project will ship as expected, we can say that as of today it has almost 700 backers with a total pledged of $36,177 towards a goal of $75,000. Before we get to the Keyport Slide 2.0, lets begin with this, the Keyport Slide is a little gadget that consolidates your keys and other gadgets. Some of the other items include a bottle opener, flash light and even USB flash drive with up to 32GB of storage. Each Keyport can hold up to six items in total. Aside from consolidating keys and other little gadgets, the Keyport Slide has a nice recovery program — just in case you ever lose it.

Moving forward the Keyport Slide 2.0 will also have an option to add a pen. More important though, the Keyport Slide 2.0 is said to have been redesigned to be lighter, stronger, more customizable and more affordable. The customization will deal with colors as well as logo plates. According to details coming from the Kickstarter page, the funds will be used to “accelerate the production of 2.0.”

The pledge levels vary depending on what you need and/or are looking for. Perhaps the one most appealing would be the Keyport Slide 2.0 Tech Bundle (for $89) which give a Slide 2.0 in black, white or red along with a button set, flash light, 8GB flash drive and 4 standard key blades. Basically, enough to get started. You can always purchase extras from the Keyport website. Alternatively, there is an option for current Keyport owners — a $33 pledge level that will give you a Slide 2.0 and set of buttons.

[via Kickstarter]

The device is designed to be an easy-to-use, yet secure, password manager. A product like this is needed for many users who have a myriad of passwords, account numbers, and screen names they need to remember to manage their digital lives from banking to e-mail, and social networking. The device plugs into the USB port on the computer and is unlocked using a fingerprint.

With the swipe of a thumb or finger, the device is unlocked allowing users to read passwords and other data on the devices integrated screen. Once the device is unlocked with a fingerprint, the user holds down the microphone button and says their myIGkey to recall and see personal information needed more quickly. The device also supports voice searching so you can say things like “Chase checking” and it will bring up the checking account information on its little screen.

The Bluetooth technology allows the device to pair your smartphone, tablet, or computer wirelessly allowing it to auto fill credentials for any website providing seamless password management. The device can even generate unique passwords that would be too complicated to remember otherwise for additional protection. The device can also be secured with an additional layer of protection by setting up an optional tap sequence activated by tapping on the device. A pledge of $79 or more will get you one of the myIDkey devices with estimated delivery in September 2013.

[via Kickstarter]

The Embrace+ works in conjunction with an app that runs on your smartphone allowing you to set custom colors that the bracelet will glow to tell you just about anything your smartphone is doing. You can set custom color notifications for incoming calls from specific users such as your significant other, boss, friend, a specific color for a group, or for unknown callers.

The bracelet can also be set for notifications about text messages, e-mails, Facebook posts, alarms and timers, low phone battery, phone out of range warning, calendar alerts, and lots more. The application that runs the bracelet is available for the iPhone and Android devices. The app is also designed to be easy to skin for customization.

The bracelet user can set custom colors for notifications or custom colors and custom blinks as well as vibration feedback. The application has a color wheel that allows you to choose just about any color you can think of. The bracelet will be available in three shapes named after gemstones including Topaz, Beryl, and Opal. The bracelet is available in three different sizes and promises 10 days of use with approximately 100 notifications per day per charge. The device charges via a USB port and a full charge takes only 10 minutes. The bracelet is waterproof and connects to the phone using Bluetooth. Kickstarter backers can get their hands on one bracelets for $39 with shipping expected in June.

[via Kickstarter]

It took only a few hours for the project to raise the $30,000 it was seeking on Kickstarter. A pledge of only $50 meant early backers via Kickstarter would get them one of the 3Doodler pens. As of the time of writing, the project has raised $456,373 and still has 32 days to go.

The project has 5187 backers so far. Currently the cheapest pledge that will get you a pen via Kickstarter is for $75 or more. That pledge will get you the pen and two bags of mixed color plastic along with a Hall of Fame mention. A pledge of $99 or more will get the pen and 10 bags of plastic.

The company also still has both of its $10,000 or more pledges available that get a pen, a membership to exclusive beta tester mailing list for future projects from the company, and a day with the people behind the project. The company hopes to deliver the finished product by November of 2013. The 3Doodler would certainly make for cool gift for Christmas.

[via Kickstarter]

In fact, early Kickstarter backers will be able to get the 3Doodler from $50, though that award tier is already nearly halfway claimed at time of writing. Next is the $75 bracket, which should stick around a little longer, with the eventual Kickstarter goal being $30,000.

Unlike traditional printers, which require programming, the 3Doodler takes a more abstract approach. You can freeform draw sketches, or alternatively trace out patterns that have been printed, and then peel the set plastic off; 3Doodler suggests possibilities include jewelry, 3D models, artwork, and more.

It’s not going to be the way you print your next coffee cup or car wheel, as we’ve seen promised from regular 3D printers, but the plug-and-play approach has plenty of appeal nonetheless. The Kickstarter runs for the next month, with first deliveries expected in the fall of 2013 assuming it’s funded.

This app has two sides to it – you can see it as a project backer or you can see it as a project creator. When you’re a creator, you’re able to connect with your backers with messages and updates. You can track your project’s progress on the back-end, and you can post updates from wherever you are in the world – all mobile-like!

You’ll first come across a list of Kickstarter “staff picks” when you enter the app, with several other list views available to you with a tap at the title of the list. From there you’ll be able to work with Popular projects, projects you’ve starred, and a collection of categories just as they’d appear on the full Kickstarter website. Art, Fashion, Technology, and the rest are all here.

This app is available for free from the iTunes app store right this minute and is optimized for iPhone – iPhone 5 display size included. Go grab it right this minute and let us know what you plan on backing first! Also have a peek at the timeline below to see recent Kickstarter-related stories to see what all the hubub is about!

The Kickstarter details why Gorilla Glass on handsets and tablets is not the end-all, be-all of impact resistance, demonstrating this with a couple YouTube videos that show the iPhone suffering a sad fate on the pavement and other such hard items. While a good measure, Evolutive Labs says, devices need a little extra something to help protect them from mishap.

This is where Rhino Shield steps in. The impact-resistant screen protector is very thin at 0.028cm thick, with most screen protectors measuring in a tad less than that at 0.015 to 0.020cm. Like other display protectors, it has an adhesive backing, and is said to have a “silky smooth” texture. Rhino Shield is said to feature “scratch resistant nanometer coating” to protect against scratches, and to have an anti-fingerprint oleophobic coating to guard against smudges.

Sadly, there aren’t any videos of the protector in action, but there is a two-shot series of images showing a large metal ball over a piece of the plastic, then another picture of the damage inflicted, which you can check out via the link below. Evolutive Labs is seeking £50,000 in pledges, having so far received 152 backers for a total of £2,562. If you’re interested, you can get a Rhino Shield of your own in April by pledging £12 or more.

[via Kickstarter]