Taking 3-D Printing Up To The Cloud
Sculpteo is a company I stumbled across at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last month. Headquartered in France and founded in 2009, its service offers you a powerful cloud-based 3-D print engine that converts just about anything into a real-life object.
The concept is simple. You take a photo of yourself, upload it with the Sculpteo app, then it can be converted into a mug, bowl, plate, vase, iPhone case and more. Basically, you can put your face on one of these items, then customize it with various sizes, colors and materials.
Sculpteo partners with a number of world-renowned designers, such as JeanLouis Frechin, who has created designs that really push 3-D printing to its full potential. The emphasis is using human data as an input, and Sculpteo prides itself on setting a new benchmark for 3-D printing. Additionally, according to the description built into the app, the company believes it is its “role to help people release their imaginations.”
If you’re an artistic person you’ll love the items Sculpteo has to offer! Prices range from $50 to $450, depending on what you print. Visit sculpteo.com or find it on the iTunes App Store.
Juice Packs
Since I’ve been an iPhone user for years I have convinced my non-Apple friends, one-by-one, to cross over to the iPhone world. With that, one of the biggest complaints I hear is that the battery doesn’t last very long, especially with the latest 4S model. That is true, but if you put a juice pack on your phone, it will give hours and hours of added battery life.
Mophie makes a variety of cases, and I currently have the Mophie Juice Pack Air (1500 mAh) on my iPhone 4S. You can switch the power on when you need it, so it’s not constantly being recharged when the case is on. It doesn’t even look like a battery pack, but it adds about double the battery life to my phone with up to six hours of talk time, 36 hours of audio or nine hours of video. The only small drawback is the case makes the phone a little heavier. On the plus side, you can charge your phone as well as sync it to your computer with the juice pack on. The retail price is $79.95.
The latest from CES this year is an Outdoor Edition (2000 mAh), which adds eight hours of talk time, 44 hours of audio or 11 hours of video. This model is geared toward campers and hikers. Additionally, it not only keeps your phone charged and protected, its companion app also turns your iPhone into a functional GPS receiver. You can even share your adventures via Facebook or email (racks, waypoints and geo-coded photos).
The app includes 5 million square miles of high-resolution maps for Hawaii and the Mainland. The $119.95 case comes with a oneyear subscription, but after that it costs $29.99 per year.
