Courtesy of popSLATE
There are over 94 million iPhone users in the United States alone. Hoping to tap into this lucrative market, the founders of popSLATE 2 have created a novel case that turns the unused slab behind every iPhone into a smart second screen. Although they had a fully funded initial Indiegogo campaign three years ago that raised nearly $220,000 (exceeding its goal of $150,000), that case didn't quite live up to its expectations. It had several drawbacks, including relying on a different cable to charge, a bulky appearance and its connectivity with limited apps. However, having recently attracted crowdfunding of over $1.1 million on Indiegogo, the popSLATE 2 seems very promising. It recently appeared on ABC's reality show Shark Tank.
"We were lucky enough to have a pretty big community of users from our V1 product, so a highly motivated crowd provides you with feedback and ideas that help shape the product. You are able to then keep customers motivated and get them showing their friends on social media, which initiates a snowball effect, so everything just added up to making a very successful campaign, which we feel very fortunate to have experienced," said co-founder Greg Moon.
Users download a free app and leverage content through a provider's APIs, which stream information into a feed and dashboard on the e-ink screen. The screen can display pictures, breaking news, a limited number of books (downloadable from Project Gutenberg), stocks, and live sports scores. It also comes with an e-wallet. In addition, according to Wired, "the case itself provides a backup battery that can add up to nine hours of talk time (or four hours of browsing) to your iPhone."
"The idea was: how do you best leverage a second screen, because you don't want to replicate the front-side experience, as you already have a beautiful device that does just that," Moon explained.
Founder Yashar Behzadi presented the company’s original model (popSLATE 1) to investors on Shark Tank last year, which just aired earlier this month. However, he was not able to secure an investment. Ashton Kutcher, who guest starred on Season 7 of the show, found the concept compelling, but opted out because of the product's exclusivity to iPhones and its high price point of $149 ($89 for early pledgers), which he thought would restrict mass appeal. Lori Greiner, too, was wary of the price point. Herjavec pulled out because he envisioned the market transitioning to wearable technology, while O'Leary believed the risk wasn't worth the reward. Mark Cuban also said he saw the lock screen improving, so the case would become obsolete.
Though the Sharks decided not to invest in the product, appearing on the show increased sales considerably. "Our evaluation of $10 million was pretty high for them, but after we aired, we just set up our website and followed analytics closely, and it was nice to see the country come alive as the episode aired," said Moon.
"We're also looking forward to the release of the iPhone 7, and that will be our next iteration of the product. We're thrilled to be back on the learning cycle, where you get the product out there again and learn more from your users and turn that feedback into more and more features people get excited about."
As popSLATE 2 hits the market in July 2016, its intriguing solution could empower devices to fundamentally change the 5 hours a day Americans spend on their phones.