Standalone wireless info display device an easy fit

A Latvian team has come up with a good-looking WiFi display device, connecting to the Internet using WiFi, which runs on a high-capacity built-in battery and tracks what's important to you. This is a standalone notifier from the Draugiem Group, a team of engineers, software developers and designers. The company is a Latvian business focused on home automation, GPS tracking and telemetry. Draugiem Group consists of 14 companies and over 100 employees. Services include SMS marketing solutions, telemetry and GPS devices, web applications, and television platform with social media integration. Displio is customizable and standalone. You are presented with a collection of widgets and you choose which information matters most—stocks, dentist appointments, tracking shipments, e-mail, Twitter, traffic conditions, for example. A built in speaker gets your attention when important notifications arrive.

Raivis Lancetovs, in an article by Steve O'Hear in TechCrunch, said, "We are building a device that brings internet widgets into [the] physical world." He said Displio started out as a way of turning Facebook 'Likes' into a physical counter. They thought that would help venues and stores promote their Facebook pages. They wanted easy setup and use so they concentrated on making it wireless as a easy-fitting standalone in any interior. In time the team realized their concept of a wireless, Internet-connecting display carried more potential than as a mere 'Like' counter. Why not add, they said, a range of customizable widgets.

The team behind Displio has turned to Kickstarter for funding. One advantage is convenience. "You could constantly pull out your smartphone and check your calendar, but that gets annoying," commented Shane McGlaun in SlashGear. No buttons pushed—you interact with the device using gestures. Tap or shake Displio to reload when it's running on batteries and you rotate to switch between multiple widgets

The Displio app is for both iOS and Android smartphones and helps you to set up Displo, install and configure widgets and receive notifications when its battery is low. A Developer API is available for developing widgets; the vision is, if it is on the Internet it can be on the Displio. They provide libraries for most programming languages and visual editor for building widgets.

Displio can be obtained in any of seven colors. There is a 2.7-inch e-ink display and a microUSB charger is included. Prices are provided on the Kickstarter page, with estimated delivery dates of June.

Where they are in progress: They made several prototypes, tested designs and built the electronics and software for display, server and smartphone apps. "Displio is almost finished," they said, "but we need your help to start mass production."

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