Bug Blogger

Happy Anniversary Lego!

I've been inspired by Legos for as long as I can remember.   Having kids has just reinforced my attachment to them.  And just like I did, they construct the most elaborate, wacky and frankly irreproducible assemblages you can imagine.  And that, I believe, is their magic.  There is no end to what you can build and, no matter your age, we all love that.  This article does a great job of capturing the fun. 

Congratulations Lego for 50 years of reminding us all of the power of our imagination.

Announcing the Bug Labs Store Grand Opening!

If this were 1997, this post would be chock full of blinking content as we announced our store's opening with pride.  Instead, we'll be only slightly more subtle as we open the padlocks, and welcome you in to browse around.  I want to take a moment to (and boy is this going to sound odd) potentially discourage certain shoppers:

For those of you who have ZERO programming experience, this isn't a great time to buy a BUG.  It'd be like having a Web browser on your computer in 1988 (which would've been quite a feat, by the way): the platform works, but it doesn't have much going on.  Right now, and for the next few months, our focus is building a developer community.  This is part of why we made the SDK available back in December, as we anticipate working hand-in-hand with programmers to build a huge suite of cool applications for the BUG.  So if the promise of the "Lego of Gadgets" is appealing to you, but you don't have any direct programming skills, we recommend you hold off for a few months.  Stay tuned for updates here as we'll be sure to talk about how the community is evolving the BUG!

We're also announcing the BUGbundle today, which is the BUGbase and the first four shipping modules (gps, LCD, motion detector/accelerometer, 2MP digital camera).  It's being sold for $705, but the Early Adopter Discount brings it down to $549 (22% savings!).

Also, we're in such a limited supply right now that we are limiting orders to one per customer.  If you are interested in a bulk order, please send us an email.  Also, we have not yet started the BUG+EDU promotions, which we'll unveil in March.

Lastly, just in case you missed it last week, the BUGbase going on sale now is the "Hiro P" edition, and it has a slightly different interface than you've seen on our site before.  Also, it doesn't have WiFi built-in.  For those of you who don't need WiFi for your gadget dreams, jump on in, we'll also be sending you a free vonHippel module!  Further, if you do want WiFi, but can't stand the wait, we're making a BUGmodule with 802.11b/g and it'll be available to you at our production cost.

This is an extremely exciting moment in the history of Bug Labs.  Thanks for being a part of it, and once you've placed your order, please join us in the discussion forums to get your feedback our way!

UPDATES: A few emails already came in, so I wanted to add a few points (I will do this throughout the day as new topics arise).

International shipping: we are working on a solution, but we don't have it ready yet.  We will have an early adopter program available to international customers.

Future products: we will also have an early adopter program for future products, as they come to market.

What About WiFi?

I wanted to take a moment to explain a couple changes that you no doubt will notice.  One, the image of the BUGbase on the homepage and product pages is about to change (here's a preview).   We are starting our shipments with a special, limited production, version of the BUGbase. We're calling it the "Hiro P Edition".  This version is slightly different from the final production version we will ship later this year.  What makes it special?  Two things (otherwise they are functionally equivalent).  First, the Hiro P user interface is based on a joystick navigation system while on the full production version it is replaced with a panel-based button system.  Second, the Hiro P BUGbases do not have built-in wifi capability.  This is the main reason we have two different BUGbase versions.  Let me explain.

In a pure, GPL, open source world, getting Wifi working is tricky.  In fact, it's almost impossible.  Not because the hardware isn't available, though getting a vendor to even talk to you as a small company is difficult, it's the software drivers.  Until recently, they simply haven't existed in a form we could use.   I won't go into all the technical reasons why (I'll leave that to the forums) but suffice to say, we couldn't get it ready in time for our first committed ship date while remaining true to our commitment to stay 100% open source.

To help address the need for Wifi in the short term we are currently designing a BUGmodule that will provide 802.11g support for the Hiro P.  We expect to have it available in the next few months and we'll be offering it to you at our production cost (plus shipping and handling).  Hopefully this will be a good way to provide wireless connectivity to your BUGbase without having to waiting for the next version.   The full production version of the BUGbase is also in development and we'll be announcing its availability in the coming weeks.  We completely understand the value of wireless connectivity and are committed to providing it and not only Wifi but many other flavors as well!

We can't wait to begin this next phase of our growth - actually getting hardware into the hands of our users and seeing what develops.  We will be active participants ourselves and look forward to discussing everything we're up to here at Bug Labs both in our forums and on this blog.  Stay tuned and please let us know what you think!  Thanks.

CES 2008 : A Week to Remember

We went to Las Vegas last week with high hopes and modest expectations.  We had some good momentum coming from the CBNC coverage (The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch - thanks guys!) that had aired the prior week, and were in the NY Times as well.  While we had scheduled numerous blogger/press briefings, our basic goal was to have some great conversations and generate a little more buzz and exposure.   What actually happened was something else entirely.   

In a nutshell, we hit a nerve at the show, fired up the imaginations of a good number of people and ended up winning CNET's Best of CES award for Emerging Technologies. Just re-reading that sentence gives me the shivers.  "We won what??" It's a little surreal.  I had always pictured that as something reserved for huge companies.  On top of that, we had a lot of coverage, from individual bloggers to large outlets, well exceeding our expectations. For a glimpse of the coverage we received click here.

When I started Bug Labs it was based on a vision where everyone had the opportunity and ability to easily build whatever gadget they could imagine.  I felt that if Home Depot could turn us all into home improvement gurus we could do the same for technology.   I expected that message to resonate with a core group of technologists and early adopters.  What I wasn't expecting was the more mainstream response we received at CES.  I was (and still am) a bit flabbergasted.  The possibility that my original vision might not be quite as geeky as I thought is disorienting - but awesome!

So why did this all happen?  I don't have a precise answer, but our superb marketing team (Jeremy Toeman and Mehrshad Mansouri) laid the foundation by making sure we were well prepared and busy talking to influential bloggers, press and others.   Our product itself was ready to go with some great applications and demos thanks to our crack hardware/software development and QA folks.  But those two things weren't what tipped the scales in our favor.   To be honest I don't know what did.  The best word I can think of to describe the result is combustion.  I think people were just ready to hear what we had to say and were excited to spread the word.  We came out of that event more excited than ever and a bit surer of our mission.  At the end of the day, people like stories (and products) that put them in the driver's seat and that's what BUG is all about.

I want to sincerely thank everyone who came by our booth and took the time to speak with us.  We value your thoughts and feedback, took a ton of notes and will hopefully count you among our customers in a few weeks when we start shipping.  I very much look forward to keeping you all informed as we head towards that moment.  Please do not refrain from jumping into the conversation.  We want to hear what you have to say!

Best of CES finalist - PLEASE VOTE!

We are uber-thrilled (which is like "really really really" thrilled) to announce that CNET has selected us as a Best of CES finalist in the "emerging technologies" category!  Thank you CNET editors & judges, we are honored, especially considering the quantity of huge companies we were up against.

Now friends and fans of Bug Labs, there is a "People's Voice Award" from CNET, and we'd love to make a decent showing of it.  You can vote online here, or you can text in your vote (text PV14 to 26381).  Thanks for your support (we're up against humongous companies who spend more on CES than we spend on marketing in a year, so we need the help)!

UPDATE: I just noticed that CNBC/Donny Deutsch show is also polling for their favorite, and we'd love a little help there too!

Announcing Pricing, Availability, a New Module, and More!

It's the day before CES and all through the Labs not a creature was stirring, except for the marketing guys who are going crazy preparing for the show. 

The company has a lot to announce today, and I'll start with the topic that gets the most questions: pricing.  But, before I get there, I want to take a moment to introduce a new concept in pricing for consumer electronics devices: the Early Adopter Discount.

Just as it sounds, the BUG Early Adopter Discount is going take a shift away from tradition, and actually reward the first wave of customers with a 13% (or greater) discount on products for the first 60 days of sales.  Retail pricing for the first run of products is as follows:

• BUGbase $349 ($299 w/discount)
• LCD module $119 ($99 w/discount)
• GPS module $99 ($79 w/discount)
• Camera module $79 ($69 w/discount)
• Motion detector / Accelerometer $59 ($49 w/discount)

There will be an additional discount to customers who purchase the base plus all four modules, which we'll announce on the 21st.

In addition to the Early Adopter Discount, we are announcing a second pricing program called BUG+EDU.  BUG+EDU is actually a series of programs and promotions aimed at introducing BUG to the education market.  Different programs will be established for primary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions, as well as for individual students. We believe the BUG is a great platform for aspiring engineering students as well as kids who just like to tinker.  BUG+EDU will hopefully get more units into the hands of those who will really use their imagination to drive the next generation of cool gadgets.

Also important, the Bug Labs online store will be open for business starting Monday, January 21st.  At this point we will begin taking pre-orders for the BUGbase and all four BUGmodules.  We will begin fulfilling orders on or before March 17th, and will ship based on the dates the orders were originally received.  Our initial rollout will only include domestic orders, but we aim to fulfill internationally later in the year.

Lastly, because we want to encourage users to make the most of their BUG, we are pleased to announce the Von Hippel module, a new addition to the collection of BUGmodules.  Named after MIT professor and "Democratizing Innovation" author Eric Von Hippel, the Von Hippel BUGmodule adds an interface of inputs and outputs to the BUG, allowing users to "hack" their BUG even further.  Professor Von Hippel's book was a big inspiration for the foundation of Bug Labs, so having his name associated with our products is an exciting accomplishment.  Final pricing and timing for the Von Hippel BUGmodule is not yet set, but we are targeting the first quarter as well.

We are looking forward to a great 2008!

Our CES booth location

We've had emails coming in asking how to find us at CES, so here's the quick info. 

Our booth is #IP256, in the Innovations Pavilion at the Sands Expo Center inside the Venetian Hotel in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, etc... If you are using the official CES planner, here's a link, if not, here's a picture of the map/show floor:

We'll be there from mornin' til' evenin' all next week, so please drop by and say hello (first-time CES attendees might want to read my tips for the show).  Also, for media who are attending CES, we'll be at table #96 during the Showstoppers event Monday night, and we'll be dropping by the BlogHaus (we think on Tuesday) to say hi to the bloggers there. 

If you can't make it, hopefully you'll get to read about it and see pix (we'll take a bunch, as always) while we're there (or you can follow us, 140 characters at a time, from Twitter or Jaiku). We'll also be on the Donny Deutsch show one more time, reviewing our progress on the road to CES.

Oh yeah, expect lots of updates from us tomorrow!

The PopSci Build-a-BUG challenge is on

In the run up to releasing the BUG SDK last week, we've been working with the kind folks at Popular Science to launch our "Build a BUG" challenge. The basic premise is this: if you can wow the Bug Labs and PopSci teams by building an awesome virtual BUG device with Dragonfly, the BUG SDK, you can win the grand prize of a BUGbase and the first batch of BUGmodules (GPS, camera, touchscreen LCD, and motion sensor / accelerometer).

We want everyone to participate in the contest, programmers and non-programmers alike, so we're also opening up a second-prize challenge. Think up a great BUGmodule that we haven't thought of yet and send us a detailed use case. The best entry will receive a special BUG shirt, a PopSci shirt, and a one-year subscription to Popular Science magazine.

The contest ends on February 15, 2008, and winners will be announced on March 30, 2008. For full contest rules and regulations, head over to the official Build-a-BUG challenge website. We're looking forward to seeing what comes in!