The standard keyring is a bulky, cluttered mess – we’re all victims of the pocket-poking nuisance. But there’s a better way to be found with KeySmart 2.0 – the beautifully compact and stylish key organizer that made headlines during its Kickstarter campaign. TNW readers can grab one at 31 percent off, for just $29.99 + free shipping .
Creator Michael Patrick describes his invention as “The minimalist key ring with maximum strength”. KeySmart’s claim to fame lies in it’s small form, which still enables the device to fit up to 10 keys in a Swiss-army knife fashion. KeySmart accommodates most sizes of keys, and is able to fit two times the amount of keys in just half the space thanks to its efficient design.
You can even attach your USB drives and car remotes to the built in polished loop. KeySmart is made of aluminum which makes it lightweight, strong, and most importantly, very affordable. Get it now for just $29.99 + free shipping .
While you’ve got efficiency upgrades in mind, the Titan Loop MFi-Certified Lightning Cable (now just $19.95 ) is perfect for your on-the-go charging needs and compatible with all of Apple’s latest devices. Designed to be easy to carry around, it can be folded in half and attached to your keychain or bag.
This keychain cable is long enough to extend to your power source, but short enough to fold in half and attach to your keychain or belt loop. Wrapped in industrial-strength steel, not only is the Titan Loop virtually indestructible, but essential for your on-the-go charging needs. Get it now at 33 percent off from TNW Deals .
I can’t wait to try this flexible, holographic smartphone
Hardware designers and manufacturers have been dreaming of bringing holographic mobile devices to life for some time now. But it seems like a team of researchers at Queen’s University in Canada might have beaten them all to the punch with the HoloFlex .
The team behind the Android 5.1-based Holoflex says the phone can render 3D images with motion parallax and stereoscopy so that whatever’s on the screen looks like a floating hologram to anyone who is within viewing range, without the need for special eyewear.
Plus, it lets users interact with objects by bending the device. So, for example, you could edit a 3D model by swiping on the display to manipulate it in the x and y axes, and squeeze the screen to move it along the z-axis.
Or, if you’re playing a game like ‘Angry Birds’, you could pull back on the catapult by bending the device and then letting go to launch your avian friend. When you do so, the bird will appear to pop off the screen, thanks to the 1080p Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode (FOLED) display.
Dr. Roel Vertegaal, the director of the university’s Human Media Lab, which previously saw the development of the ReFlex flexible smartphone ( PDF ) earlier this year, believes that Holoflex’s tech could be used for holographic video conferences that make callers appear like they’re in the same room as other participants:
Of course, don’t expect tack-sharp images on the Holoflex just yet: the current version manages a resolution of just 160 x 104 pixels. That allows people to inspect 3D objects from any angle, but it doesn’t make for high-quality visuals.
Holoflex will be unveiled at the upcoming ACM CHI human-computer interaction conference, slated to kick off on May 9 in San Jose. Other cool tech we’re looking forward to there includes Microsoft’s pre-touch interaction concept for phones.
Livescribe teams up with Moleskine to create a special edition smartpen for handwriting fans
Livescribe has partnered with notebook maker Moleskine to launch a special edition of its flagship smartpen that lets users automatically capture their handwriting and doodles in a companion app.
The company is offering a bundle that includes a Moleskine-branded Livescribe 3 smartpen, a Livescribe Notebook by Moleskine that was launched last year, a Moleskine tool belt, a one-year subscription to Evernote Premium and free downloads of the Livescribe+ app for iOS and Android.
Pre-orders for the $230 package are now open on Livescribe’s site, and the company will begin shipping them out later this month.
➤ Livescribe