Growing Just the Right Plants for the Conditions
One of the more innovative products at the event was this product called the PlantSense easyBloom. This product, based on technology used in the NASA Mars Missions, allows you to take the guesswork out of gardening. It does this by measuring environmental conditions like soil, moisture, temperature and recommends plants that would thrive in this location in as little as 24 hrs.
The device is inserted into the soil and begins to take readings immediately. Once those readings are taken, you then plug the device into a USB port on your PC or Mac and it will download those findings and compare them to an online database that makes suggestions based on what it finds out. The product is even smart enough to help you diagnose why a plant is sick and can help you make it well. It can even help you resurrect a dying plant (or at least tell you what’s killing them).
Retailing for around $59.95 US, it’s a cheap way to improve your green thumb. If you tend to kill a lot more plants than you’d like to admit, it can even save you money.
Griffin Technology’s Portable Power Solutions
When it comes to the iPod accessory market, one of the best known names has got to be Griffin Technology. Not surprisingly, Griffin was on hand at Digital Experience as well.
Two of the superstar products from Griffin, in my mind, are the newly announced PowerJolt Reserve and the PowerBlock Reserve. The former is designed to work with a car’s DC power outlet, whereas the latter works with a regular AC wall outlet. The functionality between the two is essentially identical. What you get is a way to charge USB devices, like certain cell phones, without having to deal with an actual computer.
What makes the PowerJolt Reserve and PowerBlock Reserve so special is that both come with an extra battery pack that can then be detached from the chargers themselves. This internal battery essentially turns into an extra portable power pack for your iPod or iPhone. This is similar to the Ecosol Powerstick, except with the added ability of converting AC/DC outlets into powered USB ports.