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Pooch Selfie Helps Pups Stay Focused During Photo Shoots

Posted: 05 Oct 2015 06:28 AM PDT

Now that we’re mostly done with taking pictures of just ourselves, it’s time to include man’s best friends in some of them. The problem was that most of the time, our quadruped pals would lose focus right when you pressed the camera’s trigger, but now Pooch Selfie comes to the rescue.

One thing that dogs can’t keep their eyes off is tennis balls, and Clever Dog Products, the company that created the Pooch Selfie smartphone accessory, is fully aware of that. Given how hyperactive some breeds are, it’s no wonder that it’s very difficult to make dogs sit still, let alone look at the camera. Pooch Selfie solves that problem by attaching a tennis ball to smartphones. This is by no means a smart device, so there will only be a physical connection between the accessory and the device itself, with no companion apps or any of that. Truth be told, it would probably be even better if cat meows came out of the tennis ball.

Even though it might seem like simple gadget that was made in no time, Clever Dog Products admits to have spent quite a while designing and developing Pooch Selfie:

“After a year of design, development, and prototyping, Pooch selfie is ready to go to market. We are now prepared to kick off a production tool and submit an order for mass quantities. This is where we need your help! We have qualified and selected highly reliable manufacturing partners to provide each component of Pooch Selfie. We feel very confident that our suppliers will deliver quality parts to schedule.”

This is how the company describes the product:

“Pooch Selfie is a smartphone attachment which helps pet owners take better pictures and selfies with their dogs. Pooch Selfie takes advantage of a dog’s natural draw and focus to a tennis ball and uses this focus to hold their gaze as you snap away that perfect portrait picture. Turn the attention to your smartphone’s front facing camera and use Pooch Selfie to capture the best selfies you’ll ever take with your pup! Need some extra incentive? Simply remove the Pooch Selfie ball for a few squeaks and regain your dog’s focus and then place back into the attachment for some awesome pics!”

The only aspect you should worry about is not to leave Pooch Selfie within the dog’s reach, especially if the tennis ball is detached from the contraption.

Clever Dog Products‘ smartphone attachment is currently a project on Kickstarter, where the company was looking to raise $7,000. Needless to say, given how useful such a gadget could turn to be, the funding goal was surpassed quickly, and now the pledges amount to nearly $33,000.

Super early birds had the chance to secure a Pooch Selfie for themselves for as little as $7, but since those spots are long gone, you will have to back the project with at least $13 to get this smartphone accessory. Deliveries are expected to start in December 2015, so you’ll get the chance to take selfies with your pup around Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about Sony’s action cam pet mount that enables dogs to shoot wacky videos, or the PetChatz treat dispenser that emits smells, lets you talk with your pet.

Via: Laughing Squid

Logitech Circle Is Smart Home Monitoring Done Right

Posted: 04 Oct 2015 01:16 PM PDT

Logitech Circle Home Monitoring Camera 00

Home monitoring has become very accessible in the recent past, and since more and more manufacturers include connected cameras in their smart home kits, keeping an eye on your valuables while away is very convenient, not to mention affordable. Logitech’s Circle is a smart camera that keeps an eye on your home when you’re not around.

The second product to be launched under the Swiss hardware manufacturer’s Logi brand (did they just drop ‘tech’ from the name?), Circle is a security camera that, once turned on, connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth. It is accompanied by cloud storage for up to 24 hours of recordings, so everything should be OK, assuming that you check the companion app at least once a day. Once it’s connected to your smartphone and you have the companion app installed, you can set up the connection between Logi Circle and the local Wi-Fi network. You can even take the camera with you, but its built-in battery only keeps it running for three hours, or up to 12 hours, in power save mode.

“There’s a new movement in home monitoring,” explained Vincent Borel, director of new ventures at Logitech. “The nature of today’s connected world is changing the way people interact with cameras in the home. Video surveillance is no longer just about security, it’s about staying connected with our homes and loved ones.”

That’s exactly the idea Logitech wants to convey, even in the promotional pictures for this product. We see kids playing around, doing potentially dangerous activities, and the Logi Circle taking the place of the babysitter. Maybe you shouldn’t take the babysitter off the payroll just yet, unless you spend the whole time away from home with the phone in your hand.

Just in case the kids seem to be doing something that could harm them, you can take advantage of the camera’s 2-way audio. Talk to them and listen to what they have to say. This is not really an innovative feature, as it has been done before, including by Xiaomi in it’s Yi Camera. The video will be streamed real-time in HD, while the wide-angle viewing and the 8x zoom will help a lot at seeing the details. At the end of the day, the companion app allows you to see a 30-second clip of the previous 24 hours.

Logi Circle doesn’t feature motion tracking per se, but it does use a video analysis algorithm that can tell when there is significant motion. In other words, if the camera is pointing to your window and there are leaves falling, Circle won’t think much of it.

The Logi Circle app is available for both Android and iOS, and even though there aren’t that many reviews for it, yet, people seem to be happy with its functionality.

Unfortunately, Logi Circle isn’t yet available worldwide and it may take a bit till it finds its way to retailers. For the time being, it can only be purchased from the Logitech website in the U.S. and selected European countries.