Perch: the Bluetooth speaker / smartphone dock of your dreams, shipping soon for $180
Okay, so maybe that's a stretch, but there's no question that Quirky's latest socially-developed product is one of the slicker wireless speaker / dock combos out there. Dubbed Perch, this two-piece device acts as a standalone Bluetooth speaker if you'd like, but it also includes a dock / tray for holding your device while it's charging. It's model and brand agnostic, and it's up for pre-order right now for $179.99. Gallery's below, but don't dive in if you're easily swayed by eye candy.
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Perch, Portable Wireless Speaker and Docking System, Hits Quirky's Online Store and Debuts at Pepcom's Digital Experience
socially developed by Quirky's online community in less than 3 weeks
New York, NY – January 5, 2011 - Today marks the official release of Perch -- a socially-developed wireless speaker that's designed for use with mobile media players. This product was developed with Quirky's online community in less than 3 weeks.
Now you can listen to music and charge your mobile media player at the same time. Perch features a slim two-part speaker/dock design, a tray for holding your media device while it's charging, a wireless connection using Bluetooth technology, and a digital alarm clock. It's perfect for iPhones, iPods, Blackberries, Android phones, and other compact multimedia devices.
Perch is the 81st product designed and developed by the Quirky community since Quirky's launch on June 2, 2009. It will be unveiled today at Pepcom's Digital Experience at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Perch was the dream of Quirky community member Maria Morrill, from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and was brought to life on quirky.com with the help of 638 influencers.
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Quirky makes invention accessible by partnering with creative people around the world to bring new products to life. This week ends the development phase of Perch, and it is now available for pre-sale in Quirky's online store for $179.99 (MSRP: $199.99).
You might remember other successful Quirky products including the Cloak, a sleek, sturdy iPad case; the Space Bar, a USB shelf for your computer screen; the Scratch-n-Scroll, a mousepad with a writing surface; and the PowerCurl, a cord wrap for Apple's MagSafe power adapter.
Quirky engages participants to collaborate in every aspect of product creation -- from ideation, design, naming, manufacturing, marketing, right on through to sales. Anyone can participate on Quirky.com either by submitting their own product idea for $10, or by voting, rating, and influencing other people's product ideas. Cooler still, 30¢ of every dollar generated from the sale of a Quirky product goes back to these influencers.
Every week, users post ideas on Quirky to be rated by the Quirky community. The community surveys the submissions during a seven-day evaluation period and selects one product to move forward into product development. Quirky's community then begins weighing in on everything from naming to logo selection to packaging through to prototype.
The final product becomes available for pre-sale in the Quirky online store (quirky.com/products). Once the product hits its pre-sale threshold, credit cards are charged, and the product goes into production and delivery. At this point, 30¢ of every dollar made from the sale of these products goes back to the community. "Community" in this case covers both the ideator as well as all people who voted, commented, and rated the project idea along the way.
