Crowdfunding roundup: Blazar portable speaker, US3 multi-purpose flash drive, more

As the success stories keep piling up, so do the number of projects filling up crowdfunding websites with, among other things, neat hardware- and software-related products. Some projects, like Pebble, gain thousands of supporters as well as millions of dollars in funding (and end up at Best Buy’s retail stores). Other projects flop and don’t reach their necessary funding amount.

Rather than make you sift through all of these projects, we’re rounding up the best or most notable projects from around the web and delivering them to you in a simple roundup.

If there’s a project that you’ve backed – or even a project that you founded – be sure to leave a link below so it can be considered for the next roundup.

• Blazar Aluminum Bluetooth Speaker (Kickstarter project) – With a really small footprint and sleek aluminum shell, this is sure to fit in with your Mac’s setup. All of the early bird pledges are taken, but you can grab this device for $124.
  
• US3 Drive (Kickstarter project) – This device is a waterproof flash drive, stylus, and phone stand. Flash drives seem to find their way into washing machines, so this device will keep your bytes safe. Depending on your pledge amount, the drive will come with 8-64 GB of storage.
  
• iblazr (Kickstarter project) – The iPhone’s built-in LED is… acceptable. It works, but most of the time it’s better at being a flashlight than providing a great boost for low-light photos. In comes the iblazr to create great lighting, even in daytime conditions where you wouldn’t think it’s necessary.
  The device’s four LEDs light up your pictures and hook up to your iPhone through the audio port. The built-in battery lasts for about 1000 flashes per charge, so you don’t have to worry about draining your iOS device’s battery by using the iblazr.
• PortPilot USB Power Analyzer (Indiegogo Project) – This neat tool, which has already reached its funding goal, allows you to prevent data from going through the USB plug – great for travelers who plug into random USB charging stations but don’t want their data going anywhere. It also stops chargers that push out the incorrect voltage.