By popular demand, an interim update!
over 3 years ago – Thu, Aug 27, 2020 at 01:17:26 AM

Hey everyone! A few people pinged me recently for an update, so here we go!

The white ones from the first batch are still on schedule per my last post (end of aug for fab + then shipping + a couple weeks for buffer/assembly). I did get inspired to call and double check an hour ago, and unfortunately found out that the black ones are going to take longer (how much tbd, but I think three weeks judging by where in the process they are). 

So... waiting for the white ones to get to me next week, and I'll get to assembling the speaker/software. Will make a video in case anyone is curious. Also I truly hope they will be bug free!

Packaging

Meanwhile, we've talked about some packaging. And of course, being historically a graphic designer by trade, I played around quite a bit going as far out as I could. 

What if it was in something like a sealed coffee bag? Shiny, embossed, glossy, etc. So I mocked it up, and boy, did it look good.

But, it's a crazy idea. I talked with a packaging company and the flat bottom is impossible unless it's a very high order quantity (like over 5k bags). So it would be heat sealed top and bottom. Maybe that wouldn't look so bad, so I requested a sample. 

When I got a sample of a bag, it looked more like small and crinkly. (you have to use your imagination for the colors and logos). The lack of flat bottom makes it look kinda flimsy. And ultimately, the size feels somewhat small. I think even with the graphics and colors, my wife said "like a fancy snack bag in a hotel or something" 😂

Anyway, now I'm looking at something simple, decent, inexpensive and fast. Probably a simple craft paper box with some padding. 

Cheers everyone!

-Nick

The first 200 Bitties have been ordered!
almost 4 years ago – Sun, Jul 19, 2020 at 06:06:47 PM

We have blastoff! 

I have placed the order for 200 (not 100) for the first batch of Bitties to be fabricated! Screenshot below.

Now, I would add a buffer to that estimate of maybe a week. 

Assuming they are trouble-free, I'm going to finish assembling each one by hand (speaker, knobs, buttons + loading the code). I think even at hyper speed, it's going to another week easy for me to do 200. And then ship them.

Also assuming they're trouble free, I would order the next batch!

If there are problems, we'll debug, send back, fix, adjust for the subsequent run.

That's the whole point of doing batches (ordering a thousand would take longer to receive, longer to mail back if trouble, longer to fix, etc, so it's less risky this way)

If you're curious about some behind the scenes, here are some of my notes for this run about things to be careful with (based on the last small set).

Now we wait! 

And thanks everyone, been quite a ride!

♥ Nick

P.S. For anyone who ordered an additional Bitty or something else on Backerkit, I'll be charging those cards soon in the process. Figured I'd mention it because it's been a while and might come as a surprise. 

And if you have any questions, or just want to say hi, my email is always open: [email protected]

Slow and steady
almost 4 years ago – Sun, Jul 12, 2020 at 11:30:30 AM

Hey fellow backers! A few people have been pinging me about the status of these Bitties. Scaling up production to a thousand of these during covid has been slooooooww. 

There's no way this project won't happen, so please be patient.

Details: since my last update, it turned out that my idea to make 100, then more, was going to be too expensive (must be judicious with that Kickstarter money).

So instead, I've been working out a contract with the fabricators where we can get them made in batches and still take advantage of the higher quantity price breaks in exchange for a commitment for more later (which was an no brainer for me). 

This process has taken weeks longer than I imagine it would without covid. It's not the amount of back and forth, it's the latency between exchanges is sometimes mind numbingly slow. (I get it, everyone's running at 1/3 capacity, but I want people to have these things already).

Anyway, I wanted this next update to contain concrete times, but stay tuned, we're almost there.

-Nick

Product Update - Let's gooo
almost 4 years ago – Thu, May 28, 2020 at 05:03:28 PM

Keeping this update is short and sweet, a lot of things to do!

Got the modified Bitties back and they all look and feel great. New buttons amazing. Sound squeal free.

Five of these Early Release units are going to the first five kickstarter backers (one already has one).  

These people are: Jason, Javier, Marcelo, Benjamin, and Clarissa!

Meanwhile a few dear friends locally have been testing them for the last week, and giving feedback on the devices and the desktop software. So far so good. And really useful suggestions, thank you guys.

Next week I'm ordering the first 100 of the entire run. I'm doing this to be safe, if no problems there, will order the rest! I'll keep you guys updated on timelines when I get the estimate from the factory.

-Nick

Product Update #6 - Excellent Bitties
about 4 years ago – Sat, Apr 25, 2020 at 02:00:13 AM

Hey friends! I hope you're safe and doing alright. 

I spent the last two nights making a nice and slow video of me showing all the different Bitties, latest ones, and demos of some of the new sounds.

It's pretty in-depth, you can probably listen to it like a podcast.

Too long didn't watch

I go through all the different versions, the challenges and improvements on each, and next steps. We ordered the latest set of Rev5 prototypes in Jan, expecting them in Feb, anticipating they would be the finished versions and we'd order the big run. We got them mid-March because of covid. They were still a little squealy, and had a couple manufacturing errors - wrong main buttons, and faulty mini buttons - see video.

But it's the homestretch.

Brian was able to tweak the circuitry by hand and filter out the noise. Without reducing volume! 

🌟 That combined with the proper buttons gives us a Bitty worth shipping. 🌟

So I sent the rest of the  prototypes back to Texas for them to fix the buttons and apply his recipe to see if it works consistently. The time estimate on that is a week. (I'd probably double anything they, or I, say to be safe because everything is slow right now). 

If they're good to go, I'm going to ship five of these reworked Bitties to the first five backers. (I'll message you individually to see if you're into that or if you'd rather wait, then move down the list).

After that, I've decided to order and ship them in batches. Or at least the first batch of 100-200 and then the rest. It'll be more expensive and take longer, but it feels to me like the wise thing to do. These latest rev5s had some manufacturing errors, and I don't want to risk the whole load. 

So timeline: week or two to get these prototypes, send backers five of them. Order a large subset of the entire run to make sure the manufacturing holds up. I'll have a real estimate when I place the order, best guess about 6 weeks. Then the rest!

I hope you watch that video! You can see all the love and tribulations behind this thing. Also the last third is about something I haven't shown at all.

And let me know if you have any questions: [email protected]

❤️ Nick