Extending the Early Bird Special!
almost 11 years ago
– Sat, Feb 22, 2014 at 12:01:59 PM
We continue to be thrilled with the response and overwhelming support for the myType Keyboard. As a way of saying thank you to our backers, we have decided to increase the Early Bird Special from 288 to 500 keyboards!
If you selected a different reward while the Early Bird was sold out, feel free to log in and adjust your pledge.
Thank you!
THANK YOU, BACKERS!
almost 11 years ago
– Sat, Feb 22, 2014 at 12:01:56 PM
Hi Backers,
WOW, we are just completely overwhelmed by all of your support - we’re approaching 500% of our funding goal, so thank you VERY much for being a part of our campaign, and helping us bring the myType Keyboard to life!
We also wanted to let you know about one of our friend’s projects - The Roost, a Kickstarter project ending in just 2 days. The Roost is a super portable laptop stand, and a perfect match for the myType Keyboard. You can work anywhere with these two! Click here to learn more about The Roost’s Kickstarter campaign and thanks for checking out our friend’s proect: http://kck.st/14JuLsg!
We still have 27 days to go, so here's how you can help us spread the word about our campaign, and continue to show your support:
- LIKE us on Facebook - feel free to post on our wall and let us know what you like about myType
- FOLLOW us on Twitter - RT our Tweets and spread the news
- Click here to send out a pre-populated Tweet about our campaign
Thanks again,
Team myType
A Brief History of the myType™ Keyboard
almost 11 years ago
– Sat, Feb 22, 2014 at 12:01:45 PM
We have been thrilled with the response to date, and we wanted to provide some additional detail on the history of the myType™ Keyboard.
After contemplating the possibility of making a small device on which a user could touch type, Brunn came up with the notion of a collapsible keyboard in 1989 and began tinkering with keyboard designs.
There were several hurdles:
1. We needed suitable and widely adopted devices to pair with the keyboard
2. There was no easy way to connect the keyboard (writing and maintaining separate drivers for all the different devices was very painful and expensive)
3. Mobile internet didn't exist, substantially limiting the usefulness for such devices
Hewlett and Packard famously started in a garage, as did the two Steves of Apple fame. We didn’t have a garage – only a carport. We bought a small, numerically-controlled milling machine and started trying to make working prototypes. We used wood, metal and cannibalized commercial keyboards for parts. We could only use the “function” keys, as they were the only ones thin enough, so we needed a lot of keyboards. Brunn's oldest son would acquire and send us broken keyboards from his college IT department.
Early Prototype with Cannibalized Keys
In 2001 we found and contacted George, a local Phoenix keyboard specialist, and arranged for the creation of a prototype. However, we could not overcome the obstacles mentioned above, and there the matter sat for nearly a decade until late spring of 2010. At that time we reconnected with George, essentially on a social call, and considered that the conditions had changed: smartphones (with their clumsy thumb boards) had become powerful computers and were widely adopted; Bluetooth had become a standard protocol for connecting to wireless keyboards; and mobile internet was quickly becoming fast, affordable, and ubiquitous.
2001 Prototype with Custom Molded Keys and Palm Cradle
We began development on what was to become the myType Keyboard in the summer of 2010. By December of 2011, after about 10 iterations including a complete redesign, we had ordered and had received 50 units in five colors from our initial 1,000 unit proof of concept beta (1,000 being fewer in quantity than what the factory was willing to provide in production runs). They worked well, and we were thrilled, so we gave the green light to produce the remaining 950 keyboards. We received the 950 in January of 2012. The keyboards worked but did not meet our expectations. This was devastating. We spent the next approximately 9 months working closely with the factory to address these issues and make further improvements.
2010 Early Prototypes in Silicon Rubber
At this stage the factory agreed to provide us with another proof of concept beta run of 1,000 keyboards in our five colors. We tested the keyboards. They worked beautifully. However, given the history, we wanted more data points before launching our campaign. As part of our testing program, we marketed and sold a limited number on Sky Mall (132 units). The fact that the keyboard was well received and that we received very limited returns (1 before the start of our campaign and 1 subsequently) gave us the comfort and third party validation that we wanted before launching on Kickstarter. The myType Keyboard is not currently available on Skymall. It is still listed on the website, but is on back order until January of 2014 and will remain on backorder until all of our Kickstarter rewards have been fulfilled.
We are a small organization and have put in a tremendous amount of effort and resources to get myType to a stage where we are confident that we will be able to deliver a quality product on schedule to our backers. We are especially thankful to both Kickstarter and our many backers for helping us get over the hump and by raising the necessary funds to get the myType into production and bring it to the world.
Check out our campaign page for some additional photos of our early prototypes:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mytype/mytypetm-pocketable-bluetooth-keyboard-for-phones
We still have 22 days to go, so please help us spread the word about our campaign, and continue to show your support:
LIKE us on Facebook - feel free to post on our wall and let us know what you like about myType
FOLLOW us on Twitter - RT our Tweets and spread the news
Click here to send out a pre-populated Tweet about our campaign
Thank you!
Team myType
NEW REWARDS & STRETCH GOAL!
almost 11 years ago
– Sat, Feb 22, 2014 at 12:01:40 PM
Hi Backers,
We’ve had a lot going on behind the scenes of myType recently, and we’re ready to make TWO awesome announcements:
#1. If you haven’t already heard about the iPhone Smarter Stand and iPad Smarter Stand by Smarterflo, you have to check them out! We’re now offering them as rewards at awesome, discounted prices to our Kickstarter campaign because they go perfectly right alongside the myType Keyboard. Simply use the iPhone or iPad Smarter Stand to prop your iPhone or iPad while using the myType Keyboard!
Here’s how pricing will work:
-
$8 - iPhone Smarter Stand (normally $12.99) - works with all iPhone and iPod Touch models
-
$10 - iPad Smarter Stand (normally $14.99) - works with iPad 2, 3 and 4
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$16 - iPhone Smarter Stand AND iPad Smarter Stand
If you’ve already pledged for the myType Keyboard, simply add the total of your Smarter Stand purchase to your existing pledge (by clicking the big blue “Manage Your Pledge” button at the top of our campaign page). For example - if you’ve pledged at the $59 level and would like to order the iPad Smarter Stand, your pledge total will be $69 ($59 + $10 = $69). No need to add any additional shipping for our international backers – we have you covered! Simply leave your reward selection as is - you’ll receive a survey at the end of the campaign where you’ll be able to tell us exactly what you’ve pledged.
#2. STRETCH GOAL = $125,000
Once we reach $125,000, we’re going to GIVE AWAY a brand new case for the myType Keyboard to all of our backers as a THANK YOU GIFT! 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!
So, what we need from you is to help us spread the word so we can reach our $125,000 stretch goal. Don’t forget to Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter to learn about new campaign announcements - or to help get the news out!
Thanks for your support,
Team myType
Over $100,000 and 1,600 backers! THANK YOU!!!
almost 11 years ago
– Sat, Feb 22, 2014 at 12:01:37 PM
Greetings backers and a fabulous THANK YOU!!!
We just hit $100,000 in backing and over 1,600 backers! That is an increase of over 130 backers and almost $9,000 in less than 12 hours! Fantastic! Thank you for believing in us!
We hope you will find the myType Keyboard a welcome improvement over what you now use “on the go.” It is better than lugging around a hard, full-size keyboard. We respectfully submit that it is better than any other silicon keyboard on the market and the only keyboard that disappears comfortably into your pocket. It is better than a thumb board, or a “virtual” keyboard that takes up half of the precious space on your screen, and has no “feel.”
After a few minutes of practice, my youngest son was typing at 75 wpm. Others have reported similar experiences. We think you will agree that this is a neat, useful keyboard.
On the cases: we are in the process of placing a non-refundable order for 2,000 cases imprinted with our logo. Before committing to the cases, we requested samples, which took time to be shipped to us for our review and approval. As for the “stretch goal” of $125k, this was to encourage a last minute “push” (and we have had some very pleasant results, thank you!) We have decided to ship the cases out regardless of whether or not we reach the “stretch” goal. We are not going to penalize our backers if we fail to reach the ambitious stretch goals we set for ourselves. But – having said that – look at the momentum you have fostered in the closing days of the campaign. We intend to reach those goals that seemed to some to be unobtainable. We believe!
We need to hurry to get this out. The number of backers and the pledges are increasing faster than we can keep up.
So – Again, thank you so much. We believed. It gives us great pleasure that you believed also.
As we enter the final days of the campaign, don’t forget to Like us on Facebook and Follow us on Twitter to learn about new campaign announcements and to help get the word out!
The [small but enthusiastic – and appreciative] myType Team.
