Skip to main content

Telling the time is just the beginning for this wall-projecting smart clock

What time is it, you ask? Time to call back your mother, break out the umbrella, or check your grocery list before darting off to the store. Oh, yeah by the way, it’s noon. Wouldn’t it be nice if the routine glance you throw at your wall-mounted clock could be a whole lot more informative? It’d be great if it could actually remind you that it’s your sister’s birthday today.

The Coolest Clock, developed by Vienna-based à tout le Monde Studios, is thisclose to coming to market, thanks to an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that’s already raised over $144,000, far surpassing its goal of $20,000.

Just what can this time piece do? For starters, its many smart “faces” can be customized to fit your décor, because the clock is basically a projector. There’s the place-setting option for the kitchen, and in the bedroom or bath, a floral face may be better suited. You can adjust the brightness of the clock’s display, so it won’t glow at all hours of the night.

The clock plugs in to a wall outlet, and your smartphone controls it. Once logged in to the app, users can select which features they want displayed. The clock can present the daily and weekly weather forecasts, show Facebook updates and tweets from friends, and display news feeds and the latest sports scores.

Coolest Clock.. ever. [for more information: www.coolestclock.com]

In addition, you can notify your family of your location via your smartphone and this information will be displayed on the clock. Let your loved ones know that while you’re still stuck on the train or in a taxi to your hotel on European business. Want to overshare with your family? The clock can display what song you’re listening to, along with any photos you care to show them.

An energy-saving beacon feature, using a low-energy Bluetooth chip, syncs with your smartphone and automatically shuts on or off when enter or leave the room. Other nifty attributes include the digital or analog time mode, instant daylight savings time adjustment, and multiple time zone capability.

With all that money in the bank, the team may achieve their stretch goals of adding more face colors and including sound to enable music and radio play before the expected ship date of December 2015. Most of the early bird options are gone, but you can still get one for $189, which is over $100 off the expected retail price.

Erika Prafder
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Erika Prafder is Digital Trends’ Home contributor. She is a veteran writer, with over fifteen years of experience covering…
Lenovo’s cute Smart Clock 2 now comes with a wireless charger for your phone
lenovo smart clock 2 news charging dock

It was very easy to fall for Lenovo’s cute Smart Clock, the small-screen, Google Assistant-powered gadget perfect for the bedside table, and now Lenovo has brought out an updated sequel. It doesn’t just have a new design either, because the Lenovo Smart Clock 2 comes with an added feature: A wireless charging plinth for your phone, boosting its space-saving usefulness.

Previous

Read more
More affordable than ever before, smart lights should be your next home project
Mother and daughter dancing in living room with Govee smart lights on.

I love the various smart lighting solutions out there, but I still don’t like the prices attached to many of them. Don’t get me wrong, Philips Hue smart lights are the most popular around and fantastic to use, but they don’t come cheap. In fact, you can easily spend a small fortune on outfitting every light socket in your home with them. Thankfully, though, the improvements in technology and additional competition in this space have helped usher in a new era -- one where there’s an abundance of affordable smart LED lights to choose from.

I’ve raved about some other affordable smart lights before, like the Wyze Bulb Color and Sylvania Smart+ Light Bulbs, but I've also believed that there’s very little variety outside of your standard light bulb options. That’s until I was acquainted with Govee, a company that specializes first and foremost in smart lighting solutions -- rather than dipping its toes in several product categories. Naturally, having prices that are cheap make me a little skeptical of their performance, but after checking some of Govee's smart lights, I’m convinced that upgrading the lights in your home should be your next priority.
Beauty in variety

Read more
Nanoleaf Elements look like wooden smart light panels on your wall
nanoleaf elements look like wooden light panels

Nanoleaf has long been known for its innovative, brightly-colored decorative light panels. The company has earned a spot on the wall of almost every Twitch streamer, but the latest release caters more to earthy, rustic themes than the gaming.

Nanoleaf Elements is the newest lighting experience from Nanoleaf, designed to look like natural wood tiles. It follows a hexagonal design but retains Nanoleaf's modular system so users can create custom designs on their walls. The idea is that, even when the lights are turned off, Nanoleaf Elements will serve as a standalone piece of art in your home.

Read more