Kickstarter

If you treat your wallet like a Swiss army knife, you may want to save a card slot for the Hancept Zero MK2. Made from aluminum and stainless steel, it starts out completely flat and barely thicker than two credit cards, but rolls and fold into a hexagonal emergency ballpoint pen.

Look, not every company has the budget to hire a marketing team to help name their product, particularly companies relying on crowdfunding. As much as we like the idea behind this Bluetooth speaker that’s just 11 millimeters thick so you can stick it under a pillow without feeling it, we’re not entirely comfortable referring to the SluTune Q1 by name.

Thin enough to fit inside the Steam Deck’s case, protects joysticks and screen, unfolds to become a magnetic stand — dare I back it? Well, Shane Blomberg tells me his partners have lined up a factory that serves Incipio and Tumi; his partner Scott Truong has designed goods for both those brands; it takes minimal tooling to make this a reality, and that they’ve successfully shipped a pair of previous Kickstarters.

The Aurzen Zip — a tiny pocket-friendly projector with a tri-fold design making it easy to aim without a stand — is now available for preorder through Kickstarter. The earliest backers were able to claim one for $199, but its $399 price tag is still discounted for those who preorder. The company expects the projector to ship as early as March 2025.

Pixeldarts features a screen that can detect where its electronic suction cup darts stick for automatic scoring, but it also allows other games to be played, including one with paint splashes that’s reminiscent of Splatoon. It can be preordered through Kickstarter for $220, while full pricing is expected to be closer to $399, with shipping expected in June 2025.

The aftermarket upgrade uses a combination of suction and magnets to stick a temporary wiper to the rear window of older Ioniq 5 models lacking one. The GeckoWiper is battery-powered and rechargeable, uses standard OEM blades, and is controlled using a small wireless remote.

The 3i S10 Ultra is claimed to be the first robotic mop and vacuum that never needs to be refilled or connected to a water source. It instead cleans and recycles its wastewater, while also extracting all the clean water it needs from the air.

The Trozk RetroTalk is a portable 20,000mAh charger inspired by the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X, the world’s first commercially available mobile phone. Trozk’s version offers charging speeds up to 140W over USB-C, and while it can’t make calls, it does include walkie-talkie functionality.

I just got my copy of Shift Happens, an absurdly overengineered, utterly lovely, two-volumes-and-change book by Marcin Wichary on the history of the keyboard. It’s astonishing.

Marcin Wichary’s Shift Happens launched on Kickstarter four hours ago and is already 150 percent funded. I was going to put a joke here but heck, I’m just excited that it’s happening. I can’t wait to read it.