Ekster, the world’s largest smart wallet brand, recently launched its third-generation product line with over $1 million gained from its crowd-funding campaign.
This time they have engineered both the slimmest and the first voice-activated smart wallet to date. With a collection of smart products designed for an efficient and secure everyday carry, Ekster’s products help to safeguard your daily accessories in the most stylish manner.
The first voice-activated smart wallet, Ekster’s products are compatible with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. This means you can now locate your wallet or phone using your smart speaker or even just use voice command on your phone using either of the two apps. “This is the first solar-charged smart wallet on the market, which means you won’t ever have to charge or replace your tracker batteries,” says Ekster co-founder Richard Canneman. This patented solar-charging solution does not require direct sunlight to charge and only requires three hours of charge time to last two months with full worldwide tracking functionality.
Partnering with Chipolo, a creator of the world’s slimmest and loudest tracking devices, owners can ring their wallet, find it on a map or make use of the widespread community to help locate their missing belongings. Each tracker has a unique QR code that links it to your smartphone like a fingerprint. If your wallet is lost and someone finds it, by scanning this QR code a message will be sent to you, immediately letting you know where the wallet is. Seamlessly designed with luxury in mind, these wallets are made with handcrafted premium leather available around the globe, sourced from LWG gold-rated tanneries who serve only top-of-the-line luxury leather brands.
Ekster was first brought to life in Rotterdam by Canneman and two other Dutch founders who shared a frustration with the everyday carry products offered in the market. Today, the company finds itself as the largest smart wallet brand worldwide, with products available in hundreds of stores ranging from Macy’s to Selfridges. Though their reach extends across the globe, no expense is spared on even the smallest detail. Every product that makes it through the company’s detail-oriented design process adheres to five criteria that distinguishes these products from the others on the market: efficiency, safeguarding, innovation, quality craftsmanship and style.
“We named our company Ekster after the Dutch word for ‘magpie,’ a bird who often hides its high intelligence, and has a taste for finding and protecting shiny objects,” says the brand. “Just like this bird, we wanted to create classically attractive leather products jam-packed with hidden technology to easily access and protect important everyday valuables.”
Photos courtesy Ekster.
You’re rushing around the house in the morning, scrambling to make coffee and open the blinds as you get ready to head off to work. As you hurry out the door, you remind yourself not to forget to turn off the lights and lock the front door. For many busy homeowners, this is a daily occurrence. But what if you could control everything in your home with only the touch of a button?
Photo courtesy of Barry Grossman
While this once seemed like the distant future, the rise in smart home technology has made it a reality. It’s 2018, and nearly everything within the home can be controlled with your smartphone — from brewing coffee to adjusting the thermostat. Whether you’re home or not, clocks, speakers, lights, doorbells, windows and appliances can now be controlled automatically from the palm of your hands.
Using Savant Smart Home technology, residents at Residence 2680 can control lighting, climate and security. Meanwhile, the Biometric entry systems allows keyless, fingerprint entry. Residents can even watch TV while showering, as the bathrooms are equipped with in-shower Seura Mirror TVs.
Increasingly, homebuyers are demanding homes with smart technology. Devices like Google Home, Alexa and Amazon Echo are becoming essential household items, which has only increased the movement toward smart homes. In fact, Zion Market Research predicts the smart home market will reach $53.45 billion by 2022, according to Forbes.
At 285 West 110th Street, each resident will have his/her own Amazon Echo for the true feel of living in a smart-home environment. Features can be controlled remotely via a mobile app, including Insteon lighting switches to set the scene, music to greet homeowners when entering and blinds that can be controlled to open and close.
Common areas and residential units at Privé at Island Estates are also equipped with Savant technology, allowing for automated control through any Apple or Android device of all thermostats, audio, visual and window shades.
According to Forbes, 2018 will bring more integration that supports homeowners in 2018 such as an app that reminds you to turn off the lights or to lock the doors, and an alarm that can deactivate upon recognizing your face. Forbes also predicts that technology will become much more efficient, allowing homeowners to control everything from appliances to radio volume from one central location.
Residence 2680 brings the 21st century into the bathroom with an in-shower mirror with a waterproof TV screen.
Photo courtesy of Troon Pacific