open hardware
open hardware
Video 1   |  Video 2   |  Video 3   |  Video 4   |  Video 5   |  More...   |  Buzz  



About our latest innovation: the MeCam



Open Hardware Open Hardware
Always Innovating is working on a tiny flying video camera called the MeCam. The camera is designed to follow you around and stream live video to your smartphone.

You can enable the “follow-me” feature which tells the camera to just follow you around while shooting paparazzi-style video.

Liliputing, jan.24th, 2012

open hardware"There's a little quad-helicopter device coming to the market relatively soon known as the MeCam, developed and manufactured by the friendly folks at Always Innovating. This little chopper has its own video camera and will connect to your smartphone as well as follow you around automatically while otherwise accepting voice-commands galore." (01/24/13) 

open hardware"Always Innovating is working on a tiny flying video camera called the MeCam. The camera is designed to follow you around and stream live video to your smartphone. You can enable the 'follow-me' feature which tells the camera to just follow you around while shooting paparazzi-style video." (01/24/13) 

open hardware"In essence, this version of the MeCam is a small quadrocopter flying robot which will be smart enough to follow you like a forlorn looking puppy everywhere you go (as long as its battery lasts, that is), where it will then snap pictures or videos using its built-in digital camera, stream them over to an Android or iOS phone or tablet device, followed by sharing these clips and images on social networks." (01/31/13) 

open hardware"Always Innovating has unveiled their new MeCam flying copter camera, which has been designed to follow you and stream live video to your smartphone. No controls are needed and you simply use voice-commands to manoeuvre to copter around." (01/25/13) 

open hardware"Have you always wanted a tiny robot that hovers behind you, documenting your every move, but don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on a lumbering UAV or a quadcopter so noisy it can’t join you inside fancy restaurants? Well, your long wait is getting close to over with the announcement of MeCam, a tiny, digital camera-equipped quadcopter that will follow you around and upload pictures and videos of you to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and more in real time." (01/26/13) 

open hardware"A version of it would certainly be appealing to the military. No doubt there are many major defense contractors sticking pins in dolls to try and prevent the product hitting the street at $49 a unit. If you want to just look around a corner a bit further away than a mirror on stick can manage it might be just the ticket." (01/31/13) 










About the HDMI Dongle



Open Hardware Open Hardware
Always Innovating is making a triumphant return to Las Vegas with what might be the raddest little gizmo of the show.

Convert your completely vanilla HDTV into an internet-connected device: just plug it into your HDMI port, grab the bundled RF remote and start enjoying Android on the big screen.

Engadget, jan. 7th, 2012

open hardware"Always Innovating is making a triumphant return to Las Vegas with what might be the raddest little gizmo of the show. [...] The goal here is to convert your completely vanilla HDTV into an internet-connected device; just plug it into your HDMI port, grab the bundled RF remote and start enjoying Android on the big screen." (01/07/12) 

open hardware"[CES 2012] Want Android on your TV? Well, the folks over at Always Innovating have come up with a solution called the HDMI Dongle, which is essentially Android on a stick. All you have to do is plug it into the HDMI port of your TV and you’re good to go." (01/07/12) 

open hardware"Always Innovating fits the Texas Instruments OMAP4 motherboard with all the needed features for a Desktop, Set-top-box and 3D home console into a USB stick sized device that connects to the HDMI port of your HDTV and gets power from USB." (01/12/12) 

open hardware"Developed by Always Innovating, the company that introduced the Linux-based, open platform Touch Book and Smart Book products, the HDMI Dongle [...] packs IP STB functionality in an HDMI dongle the size of a USB flash stick." (01/09/12) 

open hardware"Running Ice Cream Sandwich, the HDMI dongle can run any Android apps that are compatible with your HD TV. You’ll be able to run 1080p video, which can be broadcast from a micro SD card – via the device’s handy slot, play online games, and surf the web." (01/10/12) 

open hardware"Google TV’s in quest of a second wind here at CES, but for those of you tired of buying a brand new TV (or a brand new set-top box, for that matter), here is a little diddy that just might tickle your fancy. Always Innovating is creating a triumphant return to Las Vegas with what may be the raddest little gizmo of the show." (01/07/12) 

open hardware"US-based Always Innovating has introduced the HDMI Dongle, which transforms any dumb TV with a HDMI port into an internet-connected device. The HDMI Dongle enables internet browsing, movie watching and games. The HDMI Dongle can run Android Ice Cream Sandwich and is technically compatible with GoogleTV." (01/13/12) 

open hardware"Confidently-named US tech firm Always Innovating have announced their HDMI Dongle, a USB stick-sized gizmo that can swiftly transform your boring old dumb TV into a swishy Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich-powered device capable of running GoogleTV. The wee gadget can be plugged into any HDMI port on your gogglebox and packs a Texas Instruments Cortex-A9 OMAP 4 CPU, running from 1GHz to 1.5GHz, depending of the configuration." (01/09/12) 

open hardware"HDMI Dongle is an Open Source, USB-sized set-top box from Always Innovating, a technology outfit based in San Francisco, CA USA. A TV on a stick, it is designed to turn any TV with USB and HDMI ports into a connected TV running Android 4. Like the Cotton Candy, it has an HDMI and a USB port. The magic comes via the HDMI port, while the USB port is to power the device from the TV it is attached to." (01/11/12) 










About OS hot-switching



Open Hardware Open Hardware
Users of Super-Jumbo--which is bundled with hundreds of applications--can run the four operating systems concurrently and then switch among them without rebooting or incurring any performance loss. Each can also be set to load by default.

Can more choice and flexibility ever be a bad thing, particularly when it's all Linux-based, free and (mostly) open? I certainly don't think so.

PCWorld.com, April 27th, 2011

open hardware"Users of Super-Jumbo--which is bundled with hundreds of applications--can run the four operating systems concurrently and then switch among them without rebooting or incurring any performance loss. Can more choice and flexibility ever be a bad thing, particularly when it's all Linux-based, free and (mostly) open? I certainly don't think so." (04/27/11) 

open hardware"The entire disk image weighs in at just 2.04GB, which isn't bad at all for four complete operating systems. I think Super-Jumbo is a pretty cool concept, at least for devs writing code on or for multiple platforms." (04/27/11) 

open hardware"Do you ever wish you had the choice of two different operating systems? How do three operating systems sound to you? Always Innovating, the company behind the refrigerator tablet/netbook hybrid has come up with Super-Jumbo – a single disk image that combines four different operating systems." (04/27/11) 

open hardware"Always Innovating (AI) has been working on hybrid devices — like its Smart Book — for quite some time, and they’re no strangers to the market. The company’s newest revelation is a little number called Super-Jumbo, which enables the humble, $150 Beagleboard to do some pretty impressive stunts." (04/26/11) 

open hardware"The very nature of open source lends itself to innovation and companies like Always Innovating have fully embraced this. Obviously Always Innovating takes the open model and extends it not only to hardware development, but to business development. That is true innovation." (05/09/11) 

open hardware"The software is called Super-Jumbo, and for good reason. Basically it’s a single disk image which combines four operating systems: Google Android 2.3, Ubuntu 10.10, Google Chromium OS, and AIOS, a custom operating system developed by Always Innovating." (04/26/11) 

open hardware"If you have the need to multitask between operating systems, or just can’t live within one environment, this may be for you. It could also make for a nice parent or kid-friendly Internet surf station while running Chromium OS. " (04/26/11) 

open hardware"Android has the most polished browsing experience, Ubuntu has the most apps, and Chrome OS is unique as it’s the first time the platform is running on OMAP3/4 hardware. " (04/26/11) 










About the Smart Book



Open Hardware Open Hardware
Always Innovating's Smart Book breaks the traditional netbook into pieces.

A touchscreen VoIP phone, a tablet, and a keyboard. Use them apart, or combine them into a full-powered device when you have to.

Buy one device, carry what you need.

Gizmodo, Sep. 16th, 2011





open hardware"Always Innovating's Smart Book breaks the traditional netbook into pieces. A touchscreen VoIP phone, a tablet, and a keyboard. Use them apart, or combine them into a full-powered device when you have to. Buy one device, carry what you need." (09/16/10) 

open hardware"The company is back with the next generation that takes the multipurpose theme up a notch. The Smart Book is the swiss knife of mobile devices." (09/16/10) 

open hardware"Always Innovating generated a lot of buzz when it introduced the Touch Book last year. The new model looks a lot like the original at first glance, but inside the case there’s a removable mobile device which you can use as a handset for making VoIP phone calls, or possibly for surfing the web or running other apps." (09/16/10) 

open hardware"The best part is the price. In its super duper everything-and-the-kitchen-sink-configuration price – a mere $549. For that you’re not just getting a netbook, a tablet and a mobile touchscreen device but true innovation." (01/03/11) 

open hardware"The keyboard “dock” for the smartbook is a very smart design in itself. It has compartments to store a USB pen-drive and the Dual-Screen USB to HDMI adaptor. It can connect not only to the Smartbook but to any other computer via bluetooth or a USB cable." (05/04/11) 

open hardware"To make things neater for the frequent traveler, the Smart Book will also feature compartments to stash away a USB-to-HDMI adapter as well as a slot to hold a USB dongle." (09/16/10) 

open hardware"The good news must have sunk in at Always Innovating, because the company has just made known their next “version” of the Touch Book, known as the Smart Book. And they’re definitely treading into some creative waters." (09/16/10) 

open hardware"Like the Touch Book, the Smart Book is offered as a fully open platform. The 8.9-inch capacitive, multitouch screen offers a generous 1024 x 600-pixel resolution." (09/16/10) 

open hardware"Always Innovating’s Smart Book may just be the most flexible mobile device yet. It takes the current netbook you know and love and breaks it down into pieces, allowing you to take what you need or use as few or as many pieces as you need." (09/17/10) 

open hardware"What’s actually peculiar about the Smart Book is that it unlike the Fujitsu Lifebook T580 or the Dell’s Inspiron Duo tablet doesn’t fold out or swivels the screen to transform into a handset or tablet, but instead actually provides a removable screen which can be separated for the notebook to become a tablet PC and a handset, and can be attached back to form a laptop." (09/17/10) 

open hardware"Always Innovating has made the Smart Book a hybrid device that brings together a VOIP phone, a tablet and a netbook, enabling an all-in-one mobile computing experience." (09/17/10) 










About the Touch Book

Open Hardware

Open Hardware
The Always Innovating Touch Book does something I've never seen from a netbook. It has a fully detachable keyboard dock and transforms from a standard looking 8.9-inch netbook, to a stand-alone tablet.

Gizmodo, March 2nd, 2009

open hardware"The Always Innovating Touch Book does something I've never seen from a netbook: it has a fully detachable keyboard dock and transforms from a standard looking 8.9-inch netbook, to a stand-alone tablet." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"What's really interesting about the Touch Book, is the form factor. The system is essentially a touch-screen tablet with a detachable keyboard base. In 'keyboard mode', the Touch Book performs the basic functions of a netbook... but once you convert the device to tablet mode, you can take advantage of its touch-screen abilities." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"What makes it unusual is that you can detach the keyboard and transform it into a stand-alone touch-screen tablet. It's magnetized so you can hang it on the fridge to access the family calendar, or use as a digital photo frame. For that matter, you can use it as a frame even if the keyboard is attached, by propping it up in an inverted 'V.'" (03/04/09) 

open hardware"About the size of an 8.5-by-11-inch sheet of paper folded in half, the Touch Book is for those times when the iPhone isn't quite enough but a notebook computer is too big." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"I think the most eagerly anticipated demo at Demo 09 here will be Always Innovating's Touch Book... it's got a cool detachable (and optional) keyboard, and a magnetic mount for sticking onto a refrigerator." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"The Touch Book is poised to dramatically change our view of netbooks... It fills the needs of a netbook and slate in one device." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"The Touch Book is one of the more innovative netbook designs to date, combining the features of a netbook and a touch-pad." (03/03/09) 

open hardware"The Touch Book's battery will last 10-15 hours on a charge. It uses an ARM processor, which means it won't require a fan and won't need much power." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"I haven't gotten a chance to try a Touch Book yet, but I want to. Who wouldn't? The netbook starts at $299, that's cheaper than an Amazon Kindle. And this thing can do a whole lot more." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"The $299 Touch Book eschews pricey Microsoft software and a power-sucking PC processor for a home grown operating system and a power-sipping ARM-based processor from Texas Instruments." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"Always Innovating's new Touch Book is a netbook with a few extra tricks. The versatile system can be used in a variety of ways - as an ultra mobile personal computer (UMPC), as a portable gaming console, as a video player or as a standalone touchscreen e-book reader." (03/03/09) 

open hardware"It's two signature features are a detachable keyboard - enabling the netbook to transform from a traditional clamshell to a 'pure' tablet - and exceptional battery life of 10 to 15 hours on a single charge. The versatility of the hardware make the design one of the most appealing consumer tablet computing devices to date." (03/05/09) 

open hardware"The Touch Book, from Always Innovating isn't your usual netbook. The screen is completely detachable (and magnetic so you can stick it to a fridge) from the keyboard and the OS accommodates this with 2 different modes." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"Every once in a while a product is released that changes the game, breaks the mold, flies in the face of convention. The iPhone comes to mind, as do Tivo, the Slingbox, and the Roomba. The Touch Book from Always Innovating has the potential to shift the way we think about computers." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"The unit's open-source code and ease of use will make it perfect for so-called 'pervasive computing,' which means you can stick one up on your fridge or office wall. And post notes. Keep lists. Or play your favorite John Legend song." (03/05/09) 

open hardware"The Touch Book at first looks like a typical netbook, with monitor and keyboard. But the keyboard detaches, leaving just the monitor, which functions as a touchscreen tablet." (03/03/09) 

open hardware"There are a whopping six USB ports - three internal, two external, and one mini. The internal ports are for things like a wireless dongle or a USB thumb drive - stuff you wouldn't want hanging off the side of the machine all the time." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"The Touch Book is the first netbook featuring an ARM processor from Texas Instruments, resulting in outstanding battery life, and a fan less, heat-and-noise-free system." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"We have found the device of your dreams. Trust me, as far as geekness goes, this is pretty much the best it'll ever get." (03/03/09) 

open hardware"California-based Always Innovating is living up to its name. The start-up has designed an all-in-one netbook that comes with a detachable keyboard and a touch screen so it can work as both a netbook and a stand-alone tablet in your hands, on your lap and — thanks to a magnet — on your refrigerator or other steel surface." (03/11/09) 

open hardware"The device, which is expected to cost under $300 when it ships later this year, is one of the most innovative computer products I've seen lately and it comes from a company very few people have even heard of." (03/09/09) 

open hardware"One pound of that is the pull-out $299 1024z768 resolution resistive touchscreen, which has a magnetic back so you can stick it to the fridge as a picture frame; the other pound is the $100 keyboard, which has a second battery." (03/03/09) 

open hardware"The Touch Book is a versatile netbook that not only functions as a netbook, but also doubles up as a tablet. How is this possible? No, it won't employ the standard method of a swiveling display that covers the keyboard. Instead, the Touch Book's keyboard itself is detachable, where you'll then be treated to a 3D touchscreen user interface." (03/03/09) 

open hardware"Thanks to its design, apart from serving as both a netbook and a Tablet PC,...[the] Touch Book can also be utilized as a ‘a hand-held game device, or a video player. You can even reverse the keyboard to prop it up on a table in an inverted ‘V’. Finally, because it is magnetic, you can remove the keyboard and put the tablet on the fridge to serve as a kitchen computer or digital frame.’" (03/02/09) 

open hardware"This has got to be bar far one of the most impressive pieces of hardware I’ve seen in quite some time. The Touch Book, by a small California startup called Always Innovating, is designed to work both as a netbook (with an unheard of 10-15 hour battery life) when attached to its keyboard dock or as a touch tablet without it." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"The most interesting features of the Touch Book are its convertible tablet display which folds down to a tablet PC form factor with a touchscreen 3D interface. It’s completely based on open source software as well, running on a Linux-based variant of the Angstrom distribution and including Mozilla’s mobile Fennec web browser." (03/02/09) 

open hardware"In what’s probably the most impressive netbook to date, the Touch Book was unveiled at the DEMO conference today and is making headlines as a $299 tablet device that lays claim to a battery life of 10 to 15 hours. For $100 more, you can get a Touch Book that is a netbook and a tablet in one." (03/02/09) 



  CONTACT   |   PRESS   |   COMMUNITY   |   LEGAL   |   ABOUT US