We’ve already seen one mobile app that rewards kids for keeping parents updated as to their whereabouts and well-being, but Evado Filip takes a different approach. Earlier this year the London-based company launched VIVOplay, a wearable mobile communications and location device designed to help families stay connected. READ MORE…
Queuing is more often than not an annoyance for consumers and can also be bad for business. Estonian startup Qminder has already offered one option to help customers avoid queues, with its number allocation app that alerts them when it’s their turn to be seen. Our latest spotting is Australia-based ExpressQ, which enables event attendees to pre-order and pre-pay for food, drinks or merchandise for easy collection on the day. READ MORE…
We’ve already seen an iPad app that lets consumers seek guidance from the masses on design plans for their homes. Now taking that crowdsourcing premise a step further, Italian CoContest is a site through which homeowners can set their own design competitions, getting architects to fight for the chance to work on their renovation projects. READ MORE…
When energy is transferred, heat is always a waste product – however, if the heat can be captured it can be converted back into useful energy. This is something that the creators of the BioLite stove and device charger has already recognized, and now Germany-based AOTERRA hopes to place cloud servers in people’s homes, using the waste heat they produce to keep the properties warm. READ MORE…
We’ve already seen astronomers and cancer charities tap the crowds to help them with their research, but regular businesses can’t do this so easily. UserScout is a platform that connects willing participants with market research projects in one place. READ MORE…
Internet marketplaces have made it possible for sellsumers to turn their unused objects into extra cash, but the process of getting those items online, ensuring they sell and packaging them can be a laborious process. That’s where Sold. comes in, with a mobile app that aims to do all of the work for them. READ MORE…
In today’s world of non-stop information and endless social network notifications, it’s hard to find the time to concentrate on just one story, never mind finishing a full-length novel. The Netherlands’ VertragingsApp has already encouraged train passengers to discover short story authors based on their delay time, and now a new project has created a range of fiction titles for customers of Australia’s Qantas airline, selected to correspond with flight times. READ MORE…
Advertising agencies may no longer be able to rely on simple QR codes to keep audiences engaged with their content – unless they come up with something special. We recently covered Berrge Tattoo‘s innovative recruitment ad, which could only be scanned once talented artists had carefully filled out the code with ink, and now a similar stunt in Israel means only students with the right quiz answers are able to correctly fill out a QR code to apply for a place on the Kidum 700 course. READ MORE…
Starting a new venture anywhere can be a daunting task, but factor in the tough environment of rural Africa, and an idea that’s as ambitious as it is technically difficult, and you’ve got a job on your hands. Undaunted, SOLARKIOSK has set out to deliver easy-to-install solar electricity and light-providing hubs that could help those in off-grid areas to develop their own businesses. The company is guided by the fact that those regions where electricity sources aren’t abundant are what could be considered a no man’s land – even more so when the sun sets and complete darkness descends. In actuality 1.5 billion people around the world spend their lives in such areas, where they have to walk for days to charge their phone, find refrigerated food or medicine, or resort to dangerous kerosene lamps for illumination. These communities have little opportunity to socialize, never mind set up a business. READ MORE…
We’ve already seen the GothamBox subscription service give New York and San Francisco residents the chance to try each other’s local cuisine through monthly parcels. But what about those wanting to sample culture from further afield? Try The World is offering boxes of products sourced from a different corner of the world each month. READ MORE…