It’s been an amazing year, dear Quirks, and we’re looking forward to continuing the amazingness in 2011. Here’s our holiday weekend sched:
Sat, Jan 1 – Quirky office is closed
Sun, Jan 2 – The community team will be online, but not in the office
Happy New Year’s!!!
It’s a rough life here at Quirky. A surprise holiday gift arrived from Mister Fred Ende, ideator of the popular holiday gift, Click ‘n Cook.
We did our best to wait until the rest of the team was back in the office, but a week is a long time to wait for delicious cinnamon bun waffles and pancakes. So we busted out the office Click ‘n Cook to mix…
flip…
and serve!
Then there was nothing left to do but attack the mini-pancakes and waffles! Oh wait. Oh no. The waffles are attacking back… watch out, Marni!
We’re making great progress on Product 81, the speakers we will be debuting at CES.
Upon posting the original CMF options, we read through the comments and found that they were very in favor of a neutral color palette. The reasoning was clear: we needed a product that worked in any context. For this reason we picked the Black/Grey “Business Time” option.
One thing we couldn’t help but notice in the comments was that, even though it worked in many scenarios, black and grey was just too boring. It seemed like a lot of the votes were there because either it was the “lowest common denominator” option, or it was the most common speaker color to choose from. While there was significant support for the color options, a lot of the comments showed that people only voted for them because it was their personal favorite, but they were worried about it performing well with mass consumers. We agreed. For these reasons we took the “Business Time” option further, and explored the range of the neutral palette.
The color scheme we’re moving forward with will be anodized black metal on the outside, with white gloss on the inside, and black silicone borders and buttons. The base will also feature the same materials: black anodized metal on the bottom, white high gloss on the tray, and black silicone details.
We were so drawn to the white because of the way it amplifies the curvature of the inside, and while on the stand it ties to the two together well. We also felt that the contrast is loud enough to help us stand out in the sea of products at CES. And as a product that is supposed to be forward thinking, we thought the white gloss referenced a futuristic feel that the mass market could relate to (Star Wars stormtroopers, the elusive white iPhone, EVE from Wall-E). The black anodized metal speaks to it being a tech and music product, and as it wraps around the speaker or base, it pulls your attention with it.
We’ve now sent this material spec out to our model maker and are on track to have the Quirky speaker, soon to be named by you, debut at CES.
Quirkaholics may have noticed the updated countdown clocks on our Invent page. We are collecting ideas for one additional week for general product round 87 and shoe organization round 88. That’s one more week to gather your thoughts, learn from our eval recap videos, and submit your genius ideas.
Make us proud!
I was dreaming of a white Christmas, but I guess the storm front overslept. NYC has been hit with a major blizzard, and we’re telling all Quirky team members to stay home if that’s the safest course of action.
The community team will be representin’ online, and you can reach us by email at questions@quirky.com, so all will be business as usual. I’m just taking this opportunity to remind our lovely community members about the importance of owning an ergonomic snow shovel during times like these. Wouldn’t your loved ones appreciate a social referral link to such an awesome product today?
Hee!
We’ve worked hard to deliver our very best, and now we’re taking a day off to receive. Happy holidays to one and all!
Ben and Gaz break down the results of Product 82 and Product 83 evaluation on Ustream.
Quirky is making great progress on the CES speakers! At present we are riffing off a few of our favorites from the Refine Phase. We have been looking at how people introduce sound into their everyday lives, and we have seen a common theme and great opportunity for this product. The humble cell phone has, for many people, replaced alarm clocks, watches, portable music systems, even video game systems… it has become a pivotal entertainment device in our lives. We feel very strongly that a great direction for this product would be to unify:
•power
•sound
•phone
It will incorporate a charging base for a wireless speaker module, and will also facilitate charging your phone, all in one discreet unit. One huge discussion point has been whether we should continue to tie ourselves to having the entire product mounted at the outlet, or whether it should be a charging base that the consumer can place somewhere more convenient and accessible. We have decided the latter is a stronger direction.
We have listened to your concerns about sound quality and are going to do everything possible to make sure this is a high quality unit worthy of the Quirky brand. So far it is looking like it will become a wonderfully iconic piece of consumer electronics… stay tuned!
Sling Back Highlights:
- Three weeks ago, we received T1 samples (the first shots off the manufacturing tool) for the small and medium versions of Sling Back.
- We found that the tolerances on those versions weren’t lined up. We now have our engineers in China working to make sure that the springs and plastic parts work in sync so that Sling Back functions correctly.
- In the next few weeks, we hope to receive a T2 sample once the tolerances are corrected.
Previous production reports: Production Report #1, Production Report #2, Production Report #3
Don’t let our Flash Sale overshadow our Flash Light! Lumi was the dream of Brian Wethington, and with the help of more than 653 community members, we’ve brought it to life. Lumi is now available in the Quirky store for $29.95 presale ($34.95 retail) with a threshold of 1250.
Lumi is a battery-powered flashlight and lantern combo, giving you the perfect light for any situation. Whether you’re on the move through the dark or lighting up your grill for a nighttime barbeque, you’ll always have a use for Lumi.
In flashlight mode, Lumi’s front LED lights project a powerful, focused beam straight ahead. Its compact, tapered shape makes it easy to grip and point.
In lantern mode, Lumi’s two LED panels work in three positions depending on what you’re illuminating:
– 1st position: LED panels pointing inward for lighting a small area
– 2nd position: opened 180 degrees flat for lighting in one direction
– 3rd position: LED panels pointing outward for 360 degree lantern light
Additional Features:
– Simple interface: just one top off/on button to operate.
– Front-mounted lights automatically turn on when the body is closed. Internal LED panels activate once the body is opened.
– Powered by standard AAA batteries.
Dimensions:
Closed: 4.53in x 2.36in x 1.18in (115mm x 60mm x 30mm)
Open: 7.87in x 2.36in x 0.59in (200mm x 60mm x 15mm)
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