STRETCH GOAL REACHED!
over 10 years ago – Sat, Aug 30, 2014 at 10:05:40 AM

Hi Backers,

WE DID IT – we reached our stretch goal of $125,000 this morning and we have YOU to thank for it! None of this would have been possible without your help, and we appreciate your support more than you know. Now you get to tell everyone you’re an early adopter, and helped bring the myType Keyboard to the market for all (bragging rights)!

We had previously set a “stretch goal” of $125,000, with a reward of a carrying case. Some of you felt that was too great a stretch. We were optimistic, but on Monday, in response to your concerns, we announced that we were in the process of ordering the carrying cases, and that we would ship one with each keyboard regardless of whether or not we reached the goal. In other words, as we explained, we were not going to penalize our backers for our setting any overly-aggressive stretch goal. Some of you noticed that – some did not. In any event – we thank you for your support – and because of the tremendous response, we are in the process of upping our order on the cases to make sure we have enough!

The case is black with a blue zipper and the myTypeKeyboard.com logo. It is made predominately of neoprene, with exterior dimensions of approximately 6 ½" x 8 ½" x 5/8". It will hold a myType Keyboard, a charging cord, and a smartphone or tablet up to 7 inches in size. The new case will allow you to keep all of your accessories together in one case!

Have you heard about the iPhone and iPad Smarter Stands? They’re the perfect companion for the myType Keyboard – simply use them to prop up your iPhone or iPad while you’re working with the myType!

We’re offering the iPhone Smarter Stand for $8, the iPad Smarter Stand for $10 and a combo of the two for $16. Just add the appropriate amount to your current pledge and you’re good to go!

We’ve also added some new rewards:

• myType Keyboard PLUS iPhone Smarter Stand – $67
• myType Keyboard PLUS iPad Smarter Stand – $69
• myType Keyboard PLUS iPhone Smarter Stand AND iPad Smarter Stand $75

BackerKit Invite Emails
over 10 years ago – Sat, Aug 30, 2014 at 10:05:37 AM

This post is for backers only. Please visit Kickstarter.com and log in to read.

myType Updates + the ODIN Android Smart Projector
over 10 years ago – Sat, Aug 30, 2014 at 10:00:28 AM

Hi Backers! 

• If you have not received your keyboard or if you have had any other issues, please contact us at [email protected]. We could not have done any of this without Kickstarter, so we want to make sure that everyone is happy and has been taken care of.
  
• The majority of rewards (approximately 90%) were shipped on time (August for early shippers and October for standard), and the balance were shipped in the following month. 
• There have been some issues with deliverability of packages and customs. We have been working directly with the affected backers to resolve these and any other issues on a case by case basis. 
• Our campaign was helped substantially through some collaborations with other successful Kickstarter projects. We would like to return the favor by asking you to please check out and consider supporting the ODIN Kickstarter by Dos Owls before it ends tomorrow. ODIN is the world's first battery-powered Android SMART projector and works great with the myType Keyboard. ODIN allows you to stream movies, powerpoint, PDF, music or any digital content on any viewing surface from a portable, battery powered device. We are partnering with ODIN to offer the myType as a reward to ODIN backers for just $50, so this is a great opportunity if you have been contemplating getting another myType! 
  

We would like to thank both our Kickstarter backers and those who have helped us along the way. We also thank those who have taken the time to send us comments and thoughts. The majority of the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, but we especially appreciated the constructive criticism as it has helped us immensely. There was a lot of hard work to get as far as we got – and we have hopes of improving upon our success. But before we can do that, we need to attend to current concerns, as well as plan for the future.

Shipments have long ago been made. 

After considering alternatives, we decided to do the shipping ourselves. Reducing the Kickstarter backer information to shipping labels was not a trivial task. “Stuffing” several thousand shipping packages with the instructions and the right colored keyboard and preparing the shipping labels was very time consuming but rewarding. We had promised to send out keyboards to the early backers in August and the remainder by October. The majority of rewards (approximately 90%) were shipped on time with the remainder shipped in the following month. We had built in a month of leeway, and because of some unforeseen delays with the factory, this was a good thing. In summary, we have shipped everything we believe we were required to ship a long time ago. If you have not received your keyboard and other stuff, please contact us at [email protected]. 

Small Number of Broken Keyboards

We have had a few (less than 1%) failures of the keyboards. The source of the failures are varied – not systemic – and we have replaced any faulty keyboards, generally providing return postage for those in the United States so that we could learn from the failures. If you have had any issues with your keyboard, please let us know, so we can resolve the issue! 

Problems with International Shipping

There have been a few problems with foreign orders – customs problems, failure of backers to pick up the package, and the like. We have attempted to resolve these issues as best we can. German customs has been our biggest problem for reasons that we do not fully understand even after working closely with some of our German backers to understand the situation. We are currently looking into solutions including warehousing product in Europe but have had to stop taking orders from Germany in the meantime.

Trade Shows

So far this year we have attended CES in Las Vegas, Macworld in San Francisco, and the American Library Association conference in Las Vegas. Overall the myType continues to be well received, and it was very exciting to meet some of our backers at these events. 

Future Direction.

Right now, we continue to forge ahead. Will we be successful? Stay tuned. We hope so, but as any small business owner will tell you, the voyage is a difficult and perilous one. But as another small business owner commented, “That’s where the fun is!” What an adventure!

Thanks!

Above all, we thank you all for your support and your very helpful comments.

The (small but devoted) myType Keyboard team.

Thank You For The Amazing Start!
almost 11 years ago – Sat, Feb 22, 2014 at 12:02:06 PM

Thank you for the spectacular support! We reached over $6,200 in contributions within the first 24 hours, nearly 2/3 of our goal for the entire 35 day campaign. We appreciate immensely and are truly humbled by your support. We also thank all of those who have helped to get us to this point – who had the faith and commitment to take on the tasks that made this possible. With this affirmation of confidence and the psychological boost that your support gives us, we will continue to move forward. Again, thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement and keep spreading the word!

Over The Top!!!
almost 11 years ago – Sat, Feb 22, 2014 at 12:02:01 PM

Just 44 hours into our campaign we went "over the top" and met our goal. Please understand how much this means to our small group! Thank you all!!!

There have been several questions which we will attempt to answer here and post in the FAQ section at the bottom of the project page. 

Is the myType™ Keyboard durable? Can you roll it and twist it?
We spent 3 years and went through 15 “iterations” of models from the factory before we went to market with this. Some of that was to assure reasonable durability. Can you break it if you try? Sure. Will it stand up to normal wear and tear? Absolutely. If we were going to slop something together, we would have gone to market 2 ½ years and 14 “iterations” ago. That is not our style.

Does the myType™ have a good feel, or is it like most other flexible keyboards – a limp rag feel?
When we “showed” the keyboard at CES, one of the most encouraging comments was how good the keyboard “felt”. We wouldn’t have gone through those 15 iterations and taken the 3 years if we weren’t trying to get a keyboard that we felt comfortable typing on.

What about foreign versions – umlauts and other characters?
If you look closely at the photos of the keyboard, you will notice two “extra” keys – an extra left shift key and an unmarked key on the bottom row (above the left arrow.) That was to allow for non-American versions without having to retool the production molds. It will take different electronic programming, and it will take some time, but we hope to have sufficient market demand that, some time in the future, we can offer other versions.

What about a more waterproof version? 
That is probably our next model. Stay tuned.

Why not more specifics on battery life?
We had five keyboards at CES (the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas) that were in constant use for 4 long days. They were still working without any recharging at the end of CES. (In contrast, our Tablets could not last even one day.) We have tested the keyboard “in the field”, and it lasts for weeks of “normal” use. We think you will be happy with the battery life.

What About Bluetooth 4.0?
We are happy with our current model – the reception (of the receiving smart phone or tablet) and the battery life. At some point, we may move to Bluetooth 4.0, but we don’t see the need at present.

What About Stretch Goals?
We have some exciting ideas on this front but would love to hear what our backers want. Please leave a comment or send us a message, and tell us what would get you excited. 

 Again – thank you to all of our backers and supporters! We couldn't do it without you!