Competition

Congratulations to the winner of both our Reader's Choice and Grand Prize awards in the inaugural Insert Coin: New Challengers competition: Ziphius! They will take home a total of $25,000 to take their project to the next level.

Thank you to everyone who voted and please join us for the next Insert Coin competition at Expand 2 in New York this Fall!

Co-host:

• Mark Frauenfelder: Editor-in-Chief of MAKE Magazine

Judges:

• Jim Newton: Chairman and Founder, TechShop
• Danae Ringelmann, Co-Founder, Indiegogo
• Ryan Block: Co-founder, gdgt
• Gerard Furbershaw: Co-founder and COO, LUNAR

About Insert Coin

Having a brilliant idea isn't always enough. Bringing a product to market requires support, marketing and above all, funding. Lots and lots of funding - but don't worry, we might be able to help you get there.

Engadget is proud to announce the launch of Insert Coin: New Challengers, a new competition aimed at helping to make those dream gadgets a reality. If you've seen our long-running series about the most promising crowd funded hardware, you can imagine that concept taken to the stage for a live competition between the best of the best new inventions.

The contest will bring together Engadget editors, readers, and a panel of expert judges to help choose tech's next great gadget. The winner will be crowned at Expand, taking home a cash prize and a guaranteed Engadget review - not to mention all the exposure that comes with debuting your product in front of a some of tech's top influencers.

Rules:

• Existing products / updates to existing products will not be accepted.
• Product should not be announced, though those with limited coverage will be assessed on an individual basis.
• Product must not have an existing Kickstarter, Indiegogo or other crowdfunding effort already underway.
• Companies must be ready to launch crowdfunding campaigns around the event.
• Products must fall within Engadget's coverage scope.
• Products must have a hardware component and not be purely software or web services in origin.
• Inventors will need a working prototype or other presentation for a team of Engadget editors ahead of the event.
• Simulations or product renderings will not suffice to enter Insert Coin; what you have to show to us must be functional.
• No products from major manufacturers will be accepted.
• Rules are subject to change and qualified submissions are not guaranteed for inclusion.

Full official rules: For the full legalese please be sure to read the Official Rules. Most notably in addition to the above, you must be 13 years of age or older and reside in the U.S. or Canada (excluding Quebec).

Prizes

• 10 semifinalists will receive tickets to Expand and a $1000 travel stipend to defray associated costs of appearing at the event.
• 1 Reader's Choice Winner will receive $5,000 and a product review on Engadget.
• 1 Grand Prize Winner will receive $20,000 and a product review on Engadget.

How the process works

Submissions accepted: 12/28/12 to 11:59pm EST on 2/8/13

Follow the instructions on how to enter below during this time period. The Engadget editors will review all submissions and select 10 semi-finalists to appear at Expand and receive a $1000 travel stipend. We will be judging according to the following criteria: innovativeness, design, functionality, overall quality, market fitness. After submissions close we will begin contacting prospective semi-finalists the following week to confirm eligibility requirements, so be sure to pay extra special close attention to your email and voicemail!

We will announce the slate of 10 semi-finalists on February 15, 2013.

Audience voting: 2/18/13 to 2/27/13

We will open the 10 semi-finalist projects for audience voting during this period. The top 5 projects as selected by you, dear readers, will be named as finalists. Finalists will receive stage time at the event to demo their product to the live Expand audience.

We will announce the 5 finalists on March 1, 2013.

Selecting winners: 3/16/13 to 3/17/13

After finalists and semi-finalists have had a chance to show off their projects at Expand, we will crown two winners according to the following criteria:

• Grand Prize Winner: Selected by a combination of the judges' panel vote, the in-person audience vote, and the livestream audience vote (all three weighted equally). Winner will receive $20,000 to help fund the project, as well as a review on Engadget.
• Reader's Choice Winner: The project with the greatest number of votes from the total pool of Expand audience (excluding judges) and Engadget online audience will receive $5,000 to help fund the product, as well as a review on Engadget.

Here's how to enter

Submit all of the details about your project and your contact information using this form - remember, you must not have an existing crowdfunding effort underway for this project! Your product must also not be launched or in production currently; we would prefer your project not have received widespread media coverage to date as well, but will take individual projects on a case by case basis if you have managed to attract attention already.

If you have questions about the contest, its rules, or whether your project meets the submission criteria, please contact expand[at]engadget.com.

Good luck, and may the best project(s) win!