We’ve all been there. The big moment is happening right in front of your eyes, so you pull out your smartphone to take a picture. By the time you can get through the lock screen, open the app and hit the button, the moment is gone.
Pressy is a project on Kickstarter that wants to end that pain by offering a small button that plugs into the headphone jack of a smartphone to control basic functions. The Pressy also has a companion app that allows the user to customize the button in really powerful ways. Forget waiting for the lock screen and the app… just pull out your phone and hit the Pressy button. Instant picture.
According to the Kickstarter campaign page, the device can actually perform many functions and ships with one for a single tap, one for a longer press and a third for a double tap. The default functionality ties a single click to turning on a flashlight app, a long click to toggle silent mode and the double tap snaps a picture.
However, the user can customize the device as well. For example, the device promises the ability to send a predetermined text message by specifying a custom button sequence. (eg: three taps, or two long presses, or a tap and a long press… you get the picture)
It’s a simple idea and it makes you wonder why smartphone manufacturers haven’t thought of it, but that is a story for another day. iOS users wanting this device will be disappointed to know it is Android-only. The team say the iOS API is too restrictive for a device like the Pressy, but they have hopes that the larger development community may find a solution in the future.
The campaign page explains that the funds will be used to attain the type of scale necessary to keep manufacturing costs low…
At the moment we have many working models and prototypes of the Pressy Button. All prototypes were made using 3D printing and CNC, and manually assembled by us. In order to take production to the next level, we have already contacted all the suppliers and manufacturers we need. We got the best price offers in order to make Pressy affordable for everyone. Production costs per item are relatively reasonable, but the molds and minimum order quantity make it really difficult to carry out with our own funds.
The team behind the Pressy has experience in industrial design and app development according to Nimrod Back’s Kickstarter profile page. They’ve also augmented the team with an additional programmer and a user experience (UX) designer.
As far as funding, the project is fully funded already with 45 days left in the campaign at the time of writing. The device has raised over $180,000 thus far. A Pressy can be claimed for $20.
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