Shiny Shiny: What is it with the proliferation of evil alarm clocks these days? First there was the you’ve – got – to – find – me – to – turn – me – off Clocky, and now there’s the truly insidious Sonic Alarm. If you want to rouse a reluctant sleeper, you pull the pin, lob the alarm into […]
Wake You Up
Pet Friendly Vehicle
Popgadget: The W.O.W. Concept, which stands for “wonderful openhearted wagon,” features a special crate for dogs in the glove apartment to allow owners to interact with their pets on the road. A bigger crate pops up from the floor in the back seat area and can be folded back into the floor when it’s not needed. For bigger dogs, there’s […]
Eco Gadget
Popgadget: Shodensya, a Japanese provider of energy-saving services to corporate clients, will launch in November devices that reduce energy consumption in the home. Power Monitor can instantly measure the power consumption and voltage used by household appliances. The gauge itself does not have an energy-saving function, but it is helpful in making people more aware of the need to switch […]
Compass Boots
we make money not art: The prototype consists of three parts: the shoes with a series of sensors and mechanics, an interface and a computer running a software to analyse the data from the sensors. The Interface provides the communication between the shoes and the Mac. In the future both the interface and the computer could be embedded in the […]
Party Business
Entrepreneur: When Christopher Hughes heard his clients singing ?La Bamba? in anticipation of their Cinco de Mayo party, he knew he was onto something. Hughes, 34, had recently co-founded Day Perks with business partner and friend Leanne Mumm Pardo, 40. As co-workers at a branding and design firm, Hughes and Mumm Pardo saw a need for a service to take […]
Hobby Turned Business
Entrepreneur: Trudi McCullough happened to learn about decorative painting and wall finishes while searching the net for fun activities for her children. Inspired, McCullough–once an art major and a former art gallery owner–did more research, took an art class at a local college and began to practice painting and finishing around her own home. “Our house transformed a lot,” laughs […]
Pay Per Call Advertising
Small Business Trends: Pay-per-call is an advertising service that connects online searchers with your business by phone. You place an Internet ad, and Internet surfers who respond to the ad call you on the phone. You pay for the ads similarly to pay-per-click advertising, except you pay per phone call, rather than per click-through. As with any advertising, it is […]
Animal Business
Entrepreneur: The saying goes, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. In Patrick Meiering’s case, what’s good for the owner is good for the pet. In 1995, Meiering was out on a four-hour hike with his chocolate lab, Zuke, when he noticed his canine companion was looking a bit worn out. He shared some of his Clif […]
Bio Wear
Popgadget: UK-based designer Diana Irani is working on the Re_Medi fashion label that not only makes you look good on the outside, but also makes you feel even better on the inside. The clothes will be made from specially developed fabrics that release a controlled dose of a complementary or homeopathic medicine into your bloodstream through your skin while you […]
Mobile Food
Springwise: Benjys Delivered is a service that definitely delivers: it’s a fast growing ‘mobile pop up’ business owned by Benjys, one of the biggest sandwich retailers in the UK. Fully equipped vans unfurl into actual sandwich and coffee shops, delivering sandwiches, salads, hot pies, snacks and bean-to-cup specialty coffees to hungry office workers in food and beverage challenged business parks. […]