Like the way the Apple Watch looks, but don’t want to spend a few hundred bucks? Cheap Chinese knock-off makers are here to save the day! At first glance, this $16 wristwatch looks just like Apple’s popular timepiece.
If it weren’t for the words printed on the face of Skmei’s watch, you’d swear it was an Apple Watch with the sport band. But one push of the button quickly confirms that this thing lacks all but the most basic of functions: telling the time and date.
I actually kind of like the retro segmented red LED face that lurks behind the watch’s smoked mineral glass crystal. And just like Apple’s watches, you can get it in a several colors to suit your personal style. Best of all, you can buy every single one of the styles for way less than a single Apple Watch.
So if you dig Apple’s minimal styling, and don’t need things like activity tracking, GPS, notifications, or other apps, this could be the perfect fashion accessory.
There is a whole universe that we can only see through a microscope. But high powered microscopes are cumbersome and often quite expensive. The Foldscope can help you check out the microscopic world and goes anywhere.
You punch out the microscope from a sheet of paper, and it has a lens that delivers 140X magnification, which is enough for “imaging live individual cells, cellular organelles, embryos, swimming bacteria and much more.”
The Foldscope is not new. It has been around for about 5 years, but started out as a project for teaching in developing countries. While the Foldscope itself costs a little more than dollar, it’s being sold to individuals as a scientific kit including slides, Petri dishes, strainers, pipettes, tweezers, an LED light source and more. Schools and teachers can pick up sets that include 20 or more individual Foldscopes if they want to pass them out to their classes.
You can get the individual set for a pledge of $20 over on Kickstarter, while teachers can get sets of 20 Foldscopes (just the sheets, lenses, and carrying pouches) for $30. This is great for anyone who has an interest in science.
[via OhGizmo!]
By Chris Heinonen
This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, they may earn affiliate commissions that support their...
Today, even single board computers are locked in an arms race of size and power. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, but Konstantin Dimitrov thinks that for budding programmers and electronic engineers, simplicity and soul will go a long way. That’s why he designed the ELLO 2M, a DIY laptop that’s mostly made of stacked circuit boards.
The ELLO 2M’s body consists of six PCBs, while the keyboard’s keys are simply punched on a metal sheet. The computer is controlled by Geoff Graham’s Micromite, a 32-bit PIC microcontroller based on his version of BASIC called MMbasic. It also has a 7″ 800×480 LCD touchscreen, three microSD cards (two are removable), an RF module, a speaker, a 4500mAh battery and an optional prototyping board with 1156 holes.
Konstantin hopes that the ELLO 2M is simple enough that the people who use it will learn to maximize the hardware’s capabilities and be focused on honing the fundamentals of programming or electronics.
Pledge at least $65 (USD) on Crowd Supply to receive just the ELLO 2M’s boards in return; pledge at least $180 to receive a fully built computer as a reward. Check out Konstantin’s GitHub page for the ELLO 2M’s documentation.
[via Gadgetify]
Earlier this year, we checked out the ScopeAround, a set of affordable scientific cameras that stream video to smartphones. But if you’re looking for something even simpler and cheaper, check out SmartMicroOptics’ Blips, a pair of macro and micro lenses that you stick over your mobile device’s camera.
Blips lenses are mounted on films that adhere electrostatically to your mobile device. They also have reusable sticky portions on both ends to further secure the lens. The macro lens provides eight to 15 times magnification, while the micro lens magnifies an image between 16 to 30 times.
The lenses come with a case that fits in most wallets or pockets so you don’t have to keep them stuck on your phone.
Pledge at least ~$23 (USD) on Kickstarter to receive a pair of Blips lenses as a reward.
[via The Verge]
Even though geeky hobbies are increasingly going digital or electronic, the action figure and scale model market has remained strong. You know what’s even more enduring? Our love for dinosaurs. But veteran toy designer and sculptor David Silva has yet to find a winning combination of the two, so he wants to fill the void himself.
In 2008, after making toys for the likes of McFarlane Toys, Hasbro and NECA, David began sculpting dinosaur figures under the company Creative Beast. Now he wants to make a line of affordable, scientifically accurate and highly articulated sixth scale dinosaur action figures called Beasts of the Mesozoic. He’s launching the line with three raptor action figures: the velociraptior, atrociraptor and tsaagan.
Each action figure will be around 12″ long and 6″ tall and have 26 points of articulation. I think we can all agree that they’re also beautifully detailed. Each figure will also come with a print of the dinosaur by artist Jonathan Kuo, and the packaging will have a card that contains information about the dinosaur. If successful, David plans on releasing eight more raptors for this inaugural line.
Check out Ultimate Toy Collector’s interview with David if you want to know more about his career and plans for Beasts of the Mesozoic.
Pledge at least $35 (USD) on Kickstarter to receive your choice of raptor action figure as a reward.
[via Toy News International]