Adzookie.com, a company whose service is to provide business owners with widespread advertisement of their companies, is asking homeowners to advertise for them. The deal is that for every month that a homeowner allows Adzookie to turn their home’s exterior into a giant billboard, Adzookie will pay the homeowner’s mortgage. This novel idea may sound crazy at first, but in light of current economic hardships it could have surprising success. In fact, less than 24 hours after the website’s launch of this new program last Tuesday, Adzookie had received over 1,000 applications!

The eligibility requirements for this deal are that the applicant must actually own their home and they must agree to keep the Adzookie ad on their house for at least three months. After three months, if the agreement gets cancelled, Adzookie promises to paint the house back to its original color. 

It is unclear how people may feel about their neighbor’s house bursting into brilliant, attention-grabbing colors, but if the community permits it, this could be a way for qualifying families to relieve some financial tension. Of course, they only have to look at the ad when entering and leaving their house.

Adzookie is a “free mobile advertising network” that serves to increase online businesses’ “visibility” by placing advertisements for the businesses on people’s smartphones. Considering the prevalence of smartphone usage, the concept of the company seems to have quite a bit of potential. Moreover, this new self-marketing effort certainly seems to attest to the company’s knack for creative (but maybe a little too in-your-face?) advertising. 

Check out their offer at http://www.adzookie.com/paintmyhouse.php.

-Chris Segerblom

When the iPad was released last April, it seemed the tech world didn’t quite know how to react. Here was a device that wasn’t quite a laptop and couldn’t quite be dismissed as a scaled up iPod touch; some loved it, some hated it, and the New York Times featured a two-part review to address the perspectives of both tech wizards and casual consumers. Millions of units and a 95% share of the tablet market later, it’s clear now that Apple’s pioneering tablet could hardly have been more successful – the iPad is changing the architecture of tech markets, and other companies are taking notice.

Right now it’s hard to imagine another device breaking the iPad’s decisive branding lead when it comes to tablets, but a number of Apple’s competitors, including Samsung, Toshiba, Research in Motion and Hewlett-Packard, are aiming to do just that this year. To do that, different companies are adopting different strategies in a common effort to carve out their own niche in the tablet market. Some, like RIM and HP, are addressing their efforts towards the business world where Apple products traditionally haven’t penetrated as well as they do with other consumers. Others are looking to compete on price, or by offering new features that the iPad currently lacks. Regardless of what form the competition takes, Apple can be sure of new challenges to its tablet dominance in the coming year.

Meanwhile, Apple has teased its fan-base suggestions that the iPad 2 will be announced on March 2^nd. Playing on tech blogs that labeled 2010 the “Year of the iPad” or “Year of the Tablet,” Apple has asked consumers to, “Come see what 2011 will be the year of.” Whether they’re waiting for Apple’s next launch, or for competitors’ announcements at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show, potential tablet buyers will just have to hold their breath a little while longer.

- Grayson Clary

 As the world becomes increasingly digital, your good ol’fashioned time-tellers are also getting revamped. A design by TickTock that combines the wristwatch and the iPod Nano has received a shocking amount of support online, including over $540,000 of funds through various investors. The design basically attaches the Nano with a wrist dock, making all of the functions of the iPod just an easy snap onto your wrist.

This initial TickTock design is the start of a revolution for watches. Several companies have offered different versions of this new type of watch. Another watch in the experimental stage is the Allerta inPulse, which currently has an estimated market price of $150. The creators of Allerta plan to design brand new applications just for this savvy watch, and they ultimately want to market the device as an extension to mobile phones. Next time, you won’t need to take your phone out of your pocket to check the time.

Trendy programmers have already started using the new Allerta. These people can control their iTunes music library, check emails and calendars, and even play videogames all from the comfort of their wrist. It looks like the wristwatch has been transformed for the 21^st century.

- Mindy Yuan

It’s hard to believe that we could possibly require our smartphones to have any more technological capacity. However, the industry has been growing so fast that most of us are constantly curious as to what the next innovation will provide. Many people were not overly impressed by Apple’s upgrade to the iPad which turned out to be just “a big iTouch” after a lot of excited speculation preceding its release. Yet, it did take only 24 hours for Apple to sell 300,000 of those. Anyways, if you’re wondering what the next thing in cutting edge smartphone technology looks like; Motorola seems to have quite a good candidate!

It’s a phone that is also the life and mind of your laptop! It plugs into a docking station on the companion laptop, literally bringing the processor-less, hard-drive-less, memory-less computer to life. Now that’s a testament to the power that these smartphones are packing! The Atrix just took this to the next the level, sporting its very own dual-core processor.

Walking into lecture a college student could be finishing up their latest text message and then simply insert the phone into their laptop and be ready to take notes.    Not to mention, this means that all those important documents and other computer files one has, are at all times just a reach-in-your-pocket away. The coolest part about the whole setup though, has to be the fact that a cellphone running the computer means wireless internet access wherever you go! One could even be surfing the net on their computer during a long car ride. 

Of course, as with anything that sounds this good, there are bound to be a few small strings attached. There is a$20/month fee required to have access to AT&T’s data plan, but most smartphone users pay that already. Also, the laptop does not come free with purchase of the Atrix phone so in reality the whole package costs somewhere around $500. Yet that is still less than half of the cost of Macbook computer alone . Finally, a small number of complaints with particular functions of the phone have apparently been expressed, but then again, I don’t remember the last tech innovation that was introduced without experiencing criticism about room for improvement. I haven’t tested it myself, but the Motorola Atrix 4G certainly presents a phone with a new practical twist and is likely to be the most recent product responsible for “raising the bar” in terms of personal electronics intelligence.

Get more details on yahoo: 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/A-Phone-Thats-the-Life-of-nytimes-2445913871.html?x=0

- Chris Segerblom

College viral videos are a great way to spread ideas, products, and start trends. A video about beer cups that fill from the bottom up? Sounds like a video with 100% viral success in the college world. BottomsUP Beer’s “bottom up” video was posted, re-posted, and re-re-posted on Facebook pages, Youtube, twitter pages, and just about every other kind of social networking website as soon as it hit the web. GrinOn Industries, the group responsible for BottomsUP Beer, claims that the system fills up cups of beer nine times faster than a beer tap. In fact, GrinOn’s company mission is to “eliminate beer lines” from clients’ venues. GrinOn’s website boasts a number of other features of their beer-filling system including “operational efficiency,” speed, and novelty. So, if you’re over 21…bottoms up—literally.

- Margot Connolly

In 1989, the Oxford English Dictionary included an entry for the word “nimby” for the first time. An acronym for “not in my backyard,” nimby refers to the attitude of residents who object to hazardous sites being developed close to them – landfills, power plants, incinerators, and the like – but have no problem with the projects being sited in another neighborhood. While the OED has yet to include a similar listing for “ioby,” or “in our backyards,” a New York startup launched in July 2008 just might lead to the word being included in the Dictionary’s next edition.

Ioby is a nonprofit based in Brooklyn, NY. The company is using online microphilanthropy to further its mission of encouraging engaged, transformative environmentalism across the five boroughs of New York City. This trendy new form of charitable giving has been quickly gaining popularity across philanthropic circles due to its ease of use, speed of transfer, and direct connection between a giver and a specific project. In the words of ioby, “you don’t have to be wealthy to participate in microphilanthropy – you just need to care.”

So how does it work? Groups planning environmental projects in NYC neighborhoods are invited to submit their cause to ioby, along with the dollar amount required to keep their project moving forward. Approved projects are then posted to the ioby website, enabling donors around the world to pledge money to contribute to the project budget. Each project is given seven months to generate their required donation, and the collected funds are only disbursed to the group at this time if they have met their monetary goal. Successfully financed projects then document their progress with regular updates to the ioby blog, allowing project supporters to track the impact of their dollar.

Interested in helping fifteen high school interns to rebuild a shade structure at a South Bronx community garden? Supporting a three-day workshop that will teach Queens second graders to make reusable grocery bags out of repurposed materials? Assisting in the creation of a Manhattan public composting demonstration center? Point your browser to ioby.org to support these projects, and check out dozens of other examples of small-scale environmental entrepreneurship, searchable by borough and category.

- Claude de Jocas

            When it comes to finding a great deal on a new restaurant, hotel, or event, Groupon has put power in the hands of the consumer. That is, if there are enough of them. Founded in 2008 with just shy of 500 subscribers, this deal-of-the-day website has since grown into a multi-billion dollar international behemoth that is changing the way businesses provide for their customers.

            So how does Groupon work? After signing up for a free subscription, you will start receiving daily emails that feature deals on everything from food to fashion associated with local businesses. Unlike your standard 30% off or “two for the price of one” sale, Groupon works on unique system in which a deal is made available only if a predetermined number of subscribers agree to purchase it by a specific deadline. For example, a Groupon offer may include a massage that is 60% off for the first 50 customers. Acting quickly is the key to getting in on the best deals, but luckily Groupon sends subscribers a new notification every morning.

            Groupon has had tremendous success over the past three years due to its ability to get the best deals for its subscribers, while also providing a new kind of exposure for local businesses. With almost 40 million subscribers, Groupon is quickly becoming the best way to save money together by spending money together.

- Spencer Cromwell

In one of the most high-profile films of the past year, James Franco depicts a hiker trapped by a falling boulder in 127 Hours. If anything, the story embodies the risks of extreme danger and unforeseen hazards when adventurers journey out into the wilderness.

Now, with satellite technology that enable the transmission of text messages from virtually anywhere on Earth, that risk – of suffering an injury without access to medical help – nearby might be somewhat reduced. A company named Spot has launched a new device that enables customers to send text messages for seeking help. In contrast to generic telephone calls, which often rely on spotty coverage when in remote locations, the text messaging system offered by Spot work even in the deepest jungles or valleys. At $99.99 a year for coverage, and $150 for the transmitter device itself, Spot offers an innovative solution that may just about resolve the hidden worries of many hikers and campers.

-Janice Chen

Bling Nation is a start up with bold ambitions. They are attempting to change the way we pay for everyday transactions. The service links to PayPal through a small sticker called a ‘BingTag’ that can be easily attached to your cell phone. At participating retailers, the cashier enters the total and your phone number. You then simply tap your cell phone to the Bing sensor and the transaction automatically deducts from your PayPal account. Nearly immediately you are notified by text message with a receipt for the transaction.

Now available in San Fransisco and the surrounding Bay Area, the service is beginning an expansion to cities nationwide in the coming months. The tag uses NFC technology, Near Field Communication, which uses a small chip, held beneath the adhesive of the sticker to verify the transaction. The service has special features such as allowing retailers to have loyalty points programs that replace the old punch cards. Furthermore, the service can link with your Facebook and Foursquare. Besides announcing your location, the feature will allow retailers to further connect with customers.

Perhaps the best feature of Bling is that it is so easy to get started. Tags can be picked up for free at participating retailers and can be set up in minutes.

-Ben Albright

The lifeguard has long been a staple of American beaches. We can all conjure up the Baywatch image of Pamela Anderson in her red bathing suit sprinting towards the ocean with a small raft in hand. The next generation of lifeguards may not be as sexy, but they could potentially save lives and make the ocean a far safer place.

These days it is not uncommon to see robotic technologies increasingly replace human labor. We have remote controlled robotics that diffuse bombs, perform intricate surgery through tiny incisions, and perform aerial surveillance in Iraq. In some cases these machines protect the operator from inherent risk and, in almost any instance, they allow for precision that cannot be achieved by the human body.

EMILY (EMergancy Integrated Lifesaving LanYard) was debuted in December at Malibu’s dangerous Zuma beach and interest in the product is spreading up and down the coast. The robot is 4.5’ in length and is in simplest terms a motorized flotation device, designed to rapidly reach struggling swimmers and pull them back to shore. The compact machine is incredibly robust and efficient, traveling at speeds of up to 40 mph in open water and, most impressively, 28 mph through rough waves in a near straight line. It can travel up to 80 miles or 35 minutes at max speed on a single charge. The 25 pound device is powered by a jet ski like electric impeller and is buoyant and powerful enough to carry 5 people to shore. The current incarnation requires human remote control, but the units that go to an estimated 25 beaches by the end of the year will be equipped with sonar technology that senses underwater movements and noises typical of distressed swimmers as well as a speaker system so lifeguards can verbally communicate with swimmers.

EMILY was produced by Hydronalix, a company founded by serial entrepreneur Tony Mullins, who has previously founded and later sold an unmanned aircraft company, Advanced Ceramics Research. He is actively marketing the $3,500 unit to beaches, hotels, and cruise lines with visions of fleets of the units patrolling the coast with the help of water sensing bouys. He even has bigger dreams for his small robotic child, foreseeing specialized units with applications in automated maritime research. "I definitely wanted to do something like this," Mulligan said. "To me, the exciting thing is inventing new things, and inventing a new business. Plus, I wanted to spend more time with the university and doing more community-related activities."

- Ben Albright