Kickstarted

FROM THE PRACTICAL TO THE QUIRKY TO THE DOWNRIGHT STRANGE, CROWDFUNDING WEBSITES HAVE ALLOWED THE CREATION OF AN AMAZING RANGE OF PRODUCTS. HERE’S A SELECTION OF LATEST PROJECTS THAT PIQUED OUR INTEREST.

Light Phone 2 DISCONNECT WITH THIS LIGHTWEIGHT PHONE. www.thelightphone.com | Goal: US$250,000 | Raised: US$656,572 from 2,282 backers | RRP: US$400

The goal of the Light Phone 2 is to get the user to leave their actual phone at home and to take this slim device instead, providing that peace of mind that only the lack of social media and gifs can give. It’s designed to give you your time back, to break those hooks that keep you glued to your screens, and to prevent addiction. So what can the device do? For a start, it has a beautiful design, with a black or white matte E-ink display. It allows you to send and receive messages and calls, and it can also act as an alarm clock. The OS is as simplistic as is possible, with a selection of tools that are essential (phone), as opposed to distractions (Facebook). While the devs are contemplating adding in a handful of other tools (directions, weather, ride-sharing), they’ve made it clear that you will not be able to access email or social media through this Light Phone.