HABU

A new app curates mood-based music playlists

A mammoth music library should inspire pride, not anxiety. The problem is, how do you begin to sort through tens of thousands of tracks? Shuffle functions are too dumbed down, and there’s no time to create a custom playlist for every occasion. Enter HABU, the mood-based music app that auto-generates playlists from your library based on how you feel, designed by Gravity Mobile leveraging music …

iRobot Ava

An app-based robotics platform integrates mobile connectivity, gestures and independent automation

While scoping out the developments at CES in Las Vegas, we were delighted to meet Ava, a new mobile robotics platform prototype from the minds over at iRobot. Most will recognize iRobot’s past work on the low-profile automated robotic cleaners Roomba and Scooba. While Ava may lack her siblings’ sleek looks, she shines with potential as the world’s first app-ready robot. Standing between three and …

SpareOne

The cell phone that holds its charge for 15 years on just a single AA battery

Relying on just one AA battery, the newly launched SpareOne mobile phone holds its power for an astonishing 15 years, with 10 hours of consecutive talk time on a single charge. Developed by industry giant XPAL Power—which also makes the combined battery pack and phone case PowerSkin—SpareOne’s basic interface may not have the bells and whistles of an iPhone, but it works well for kids …