Products with a purpose

We are living in a time where a lot of great products are being invented, but perhaps the way the technology is being implemented doesn't strike the demand, or the technology isn't strong enough. I'm trying to talk about smart devices. Fitness trackers, thermostats, online shopping, et cetera. Here are a list of a few items:

1. Vessyl Smart Cup - I wouldn't normally call a thermos cool, but this cup is cool. It advertises the ability to analyze what is in the cup at a molecular level. You put coffee in it, it displays 'coffee' on side of the thermos in led; put beer in it, it displays beer; put a smoothie in it, it reads out 'mix' and then proceeds to display 23g of sugar, et cetera. That's awesome, but I don't know what I would benefit from this. I know I'm drinking coffee, so why I do I need this cup? I think they are trying to achieve ultimate integration with fitness tracking by getting to know what you are putting in your body, tracking it, then doing something with that data in an app that is supposed to inform you to make better decisions.

I predict that in the near future (perhaps 5 years or less from now) that there will be an attempt on a one-stop shop app: a piece of software that is compatible with your fitness tracker, beverage tracker, and some sort of food tracker (either choosing items by choice or eventually taking a photo of your food and having it guess what it is and analyze for you). Then this app will take the data you put in it, such as weight, age, et cetera, hell, maybe there will be something to poke your finger and analyze your blood, and be your personal fitness/health guide. I'm not saying this is a bad idea, it can be hard to be well informed, but with so many ideas on what it means to be healthy, I'm not sure if there ever will be a truly successful attempt at this idea.

I think what this cup is trying to do is cool, I just don't know if it is enough to drive people to seek cup technology.

2. Nest - The Nest thermostat is the best home improvement thing I have ever done...and I got to do it through technology! Every single thermostat is ugly....grey/yellow-beige, with buttons that require to be pushed by extreme force, and shitty menu's that no one knows how to use...seriously, how do you use the scheduling tool on these old thermostats? The thing that caught my attention most on Nest is their freaking installation video. I could watch it multiple times. They made it so easy and they thought of literally everything...even down to telling you to use your personal cell phone to take a photo of your old thermostat configuration before unplugging anything! I purchased one, installed it, and haven't looked back.

The fact that I get monthly reports on my energy usage is a major win. It lets me know how many hours I heated the house, whether that was on average or not compared to the rest of the state country/ and breaks it down to contributing factors: weather & my personal contribution of either keeping the house cooler or hotter. You earn leafs (I know it's leaves but I'm still going to say leafs) based on how energy efficient you are, which makes you really think about how often you need to turn that heat up. The nest also learns about your habits. If you consistently turn the heat up to 68 degrees at 8am, it will start to automatically do that for you.

I can go on, so you seriously should just watch the videos on there...they even have one for smoke detectors so you don't have to flap your arms like an idiot with a towel the next time you fuck up dinner.

3. FitBit/Jawbone/Fuel - There are various fitness bracelet accessories that many people use and swear by, but I can't get behind it yet. I think it's a great start, but I want more than a 3 star review on each band..I want a compelling argument that argues the features of each brands fitness tracker instead of figuring out which is the most accurate. I think we will see some great improvements over the next year or two....so I can hold off until they get it down.

I'm sure there are more smart accessories to talk about....but I will leave it at that. These are creative ways to use technology we have, and I can't wait to see what other creative ways people will come up with. Fitness trackers aren't a new idea, there always have been step counters and heart rate monitors....but now you can have a simple wristband that syncs to your phone/computer and displays the data from that day. These are great examples of significant improvements on existing ideas. What other semi-ancient tech can you think of that could be streamlined? How about scanning items in your pantry that generates a new shopping list? How about an app for your car that integrates the ability to order/renew your tabs ( and gives you notice when they are due), tells you when you are due for an oil change, or that your tire pressure is low?

Lots of great ideas out there!

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