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Show HN: I built this notifying device – electronics, code, design, marketing

notifon.net

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Re: Show HN: I built this notifying device – electronics, code, design, marketing

#21

Post by clement87 »

swamp40 wrote: post #19
jpwright wrote: post #10

Looks great! Out of curiosity, why go with the hub/node approach using ZigBee for sending such a small amount of data? There are WiFi modules like TI's CC3000 ( http://www.ti.com/product/cc3000 ) available for very low cost that would make separate hub hardware unnecessary. This is the product used in Spark Core ( https://www.spark.io/ ), for example. I imagine there are a few different reasons why you might spring f…

We use a wifi module in a battery operated environment (we kill power to the module when it isn't in use). It uses about 225mA @ 3.2V. The connection/handshaking take about 5-7 seconds to talk to a local server, plus the time for whatever data you are sending. When talking to an internet based server, the connection time can extend out to 20+ seconds. So you can see wifi isn't the greatest choice for low power/batter…

Exactly, for Notifon the transmit time is 40ms. That's why it can run on a small and sexy coin battery (CR2032).

Re: Show HN: I built this notifying device – electronics, code, design, marketing

#22

Post by zapt02 »

clement87 wrote: post #11
aalpbalkan wrote: post #8

This is cool marketing but it is way expensive than I expected. I am not sure pricing is DIY-friendly but you would certainly find people to buy that.

I use a technology called ZigBee. It's a wireless protocol made for Internet of Things devices. This part represent about 60% of the production cost. This chip is expensive but gives years of battery life. Curious about what price did you expected?

I expected this to work through either wifi or a very cheap USB dongle. The price point for a base station with one device should be 49.99 and each additional device should retail for 14.99. That's my honest opinion.

Re: Show HN: I built this notifying device – electronics, code, design, marketing

#23

Post by clement87 »

zapt02 wrote: post #22
clement87 wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use a technology called ZigBee. It's a wireless protocol made for Internet of Things devices. This part represent about 60% of the production cost. This chip is expensive but gives years of battery life. Curious about what price did you expected?

I expected this to work through either wifi or a very cheap USB dongle. The price point for a base station with one device should be 49.99 and each additional device should retail for 14.99. That's my honest opinion.

Thanks for the reply. This kind of price can be reach using Bluetooth Low Energy. Those chips are really cheap but as you might know, the range is too low.

Re: Show HN: I built this notifying device – electronics, code, design, marketing

#26

Post by clement87 »

erikano wrote: post #24

Looks very nice. When I went to the page, I wondered, "notifying about what?" Your video did a great job at presenting the product and explaining what it's good for. Good luck with your crowdfunding.

Thank you, I wanted the video short and demonstrative

Re: Show HN: I built this notifying device – electronics, code, design, marketing

#27

Post by barbs »

itafroma wrote: post #2

Interesting. Seems similar—complete with slightly creepy base station—to Sen.se: https://sen.se/store/cookie/#mother (Though it appears Karotz is a separate thing: http://store.karotz.com/en_US/ ) There's also Electric Imp, but it's a bit more of a platform/DIY: https://electricimp.com/

My first thought was that it looked very similar to Ninja Blocks: http://ninjablocks.com/products/ninja-blocks-kit

Re: Show HN: I built this notifying device – electronics, code, design, marketing

#29

Post by clement87 »

Pyrodogg wrote: post #25

You've got precious little runway left on that campaign, which launched in early March. What other promotion have you been doing to get people to buy in to Notifon?

That's the point, I think I launched the campaign too soon. I didn't had a good press coverage on the launch day. One week later, I got answers from Mashable and Techcrunch reporters, they seemed very interested by Notifon, until I sent them the campaign link (with only 3% of the financial goal reached).

Re: Show HN: I built this notifying device – electronics, code, design, marketing

#30

Post by clement87 »

lnanek2 wrote: post #28

Wow, Amazed someone used ZigBee instead of Bluetooth Low Energy. There's just so many more BLE chips out there and Android and iOS phones are even compatible nowadays.

The key is to get notifications when you're away. BLE don't have a good range (about 10 meters). ZigBee is more like Wifi (about 50/100 meters).
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