New IoT developer device in the making

Alright, since no one said "no", i'll go ahead and give you some details.

So basically it's a pocket-sized stand-alone device with the following features:

Sensors: temperature, humidity, gyro, 3D accelerometer, magnetometer, A-GPS and ambient light sensor.

Wireless connectivity: 2G Quadband GPRS, BT 4.1, WLAN

+ Micro USB 2.0, GPIO pins on PCB, JTAG on PCB

So all the sensors are built in, the device itself is shock and water resistant (IP67). Unfortunately I don't have a detailed spec sheet to give you just yet, but if you have any questions, just shoot.

It'd be really interesting to hear what kinds of expectations you have concerning the HW, SW, SDK..all comments are really valuable to us. Like I said, we're trying to make the things as good as we can. Cheers!

Hi Kaisa,

On paper it could be interesting but it is a little vague, so probably this explains the absence of responses.

Is the target market developers of applications, or development of sensor nodes?

It sounds like the latter, since you only mention the hardware. There are lots of products out there, with various sensors

and wireless options, but that's not to say yours won't be compelling. Just not a lot of information.

Maybe questions/expectations would be concerning cost, performance, architecture, power management,

and more detail on wireless (personally GPRS is not interesting to me, but could be to others).

So basically usual specification stuff.

Hey shabaz, thanks for your comment!

You're right, the description was a bit vague. Our idea is that we'll provide the HW so that SW developers (and also non-developers) wouldn't have to worry about it. So one of our main target groups is in fact the SW developers. Until now I haven't had a detailed spec sheet to show you, but we just launched our project on Kickstarter, so if you're interested, there's more information on our project page at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/haltian/thingsee-one-the-smart-developer-device-for-mobile

All comments are really helpful. Even though we've done a lot of work already, it is a work in progress which is why feedback and support is really helpful to us. Thanks!

The price point seem to be too steep.  The Sensor Tag from TI costs about $25 with BLE and integration with iBeacon and it operates on a coin cell battery.  With all the possible hardware hacks that it allows it can truly be considered a device made for making connected things. you can buy 5 of them and build a connected home.

Bluetooth low energy SensorTag - TI.com

As far as Thingsee, with that price point and the form factor, all the usecase examples you have on Kickstarter don't compute for me. Are you going to leave a $200 device in a unguarded places? Or send it up in a ballon? or leave it in a bag? Isn't the car makers are all already getting in to Internet of things? How long before they are going to allow you to track your car on the web and mobile without having to throw in an additional sensor in the trunk?

Get the form factor down and the price cheaper.

I am sorry that i went on a rant here. You asked for feedback.

Hey Mohan,

No need to apologise, like you said, feedback is what i asked for.

We're aware that there are cheaper devices out there, and I have no doubt that they’re good options for certain use cases, like building a connected home. You can't really make a straightforward comparison of these devices though. The connectivity features in Thingsee One are more versatile and there’s quite a difference in the mechanics and durability too. The fact that our device is waterproof and the battery can last up to a year opens up a whole new range of possibilities and use cases which aren’t possible with these $25-30 devices. In the end it comes down to what you need, really. In some cases less is more, but sometimes less just doesn't do it.

Hey Mohan,

No need to apologise, like you said, feedback is what i asked for.

We're aware that there are cheaper devices out there, and I have no doubt that they’re good options for certain use cases, like building a connected home. You can't really make a straightforward comparison of these devices though. The connectivity features in Thingsee One are more versatile and there’s quite a difference in the mechanics and durability too. The fact that our device is waterproof and the battery can last up to a year opens up a whole new range of possibilities and use cases which aren’t possible with these $25-30 devices. In the end it comes down to what you need, really. In some cases less is more, but sometimes less just doesn't do it.

Kaisa T

You are quite right that it suits a particular application and market.

The connectivity and battery life are very good, and its waterproof and can easily be mounted, which are also very good ideas.

Unless you convey these advantages, you're not likely to get the traction you're looking for, and as others have indicated there is a lot of competition, and more just around the corner.

ie your farmer example, you used the mailbox example, rather than how it saved him from people opening the gate and letting his stock out, or stealing them.

It looks like your kickstarter will meet its goal, so good luck.

Mark

I too agree with these comments. It doesn't look like a bad mix of functionality.

I had initially thought it pricey just as Mohan suggests, but trouble is, for a limited production it will cost a lot of money, especially if they want a nice enclosure, water-tight, decent battery and so on. The ballpark is maybe about right (or maybe only slightly higher). However, that makes it expensive for early adopters who want to just experiment, but not necessarily expensive for those who need the functionality. Also, not as bad for the US, but maybe a bit pricey for perhaps much of the rest of the world by the time it arrives and taxes are paid. Still, this is where KS backers can help, by making it a viable business to help make it a more affordable solution for different regions and markets in the future.