What if you could sellotape a Kindle to your smartphone while sandwiching fitness app functions into the resulting Franken-phone? That’s the concept behind a Kickstarter project called InkCase Plus (link), which has already smashed its $100,000 goal (with a whole 29 days still remaining to fund it, to boot).
The InkCase Plus is a smartphone case that adds an e-ink display to the front of your phone. Flip it open and you’ve got a smartphone as usual, keep it closed and you can use the InkCase Plus to read books, load fitness apps or display images. The screen is just an addition to your handset though, which clips into a custom smartphone cover facing either inward or outward, and looks a little like a mini-Kindle.
The easiest way to think of the InkCase Plus’ functions is to consider the benefits of a smartwatch with an e-ink display, like the Pebble, but scaled up and placed into a modular screen that connects to your handset over Bluetooth.
The creators claim a 19 hours battery life for the additional screen, which is longer than you’re going to get from most smartphones under heavy use. Plus, the case acts as protection for your actual phone, though you probably won’t be glancing at the display quite as much as you used to.
Only downside? The InkCase Plus will only support Samsung’s Galaxy S5 at launch but there will be other sized cases coming at a later stage.
Source: Digital Trends