RedPost’s Kit grows up…meet the Signbeta
This is from the “un-press release” I sent out just now to the blogosphere. That’s right, the entire blogosphere. All of it. Every. Last. Blog.
Here she is. The star of the show:      |
The Story
On June 18, 2007, we launched the RedPost/Kit, a do-it-yourself, linux-based digital photo frame, described by one blogger as a “modder’s wet dream.” It was unlike anything else available for $549. It encouraged hacking. It was clunky. It was heavy. It ran slow. It looked hot in its plasma-cut, robotically-welded, powder-coated steel case.
Today, we’re launching the Kit’s kid brother, the Signbeta. It’s much lighter. It’s a lot faster, with 4x the memory. It looks hot in its custom-designed, carefully polished, extruded aluminum case. It’s no longer do-it-yourself — just plug it in, go through the 5 minute config process, and you’re up and running.
Here’s a little secret: RedPost is actually a software company, NOT a hardware company. Why are we building hardware, you ask? Because we’re impatient. Nothing we’ve found (and we looked everywhere) looks as good and is as low-cost and simple as the Signbeta. We’re working to find a company we like who can build the hardware, it’s really not what we want to do. But until we find the perfect company to build us what we want, we’re selling the Sign and calling it “beta.”
It’s still essentially a digital photo frame…but it’s really more like a digital bulletin board. You can:
- load images from the local flash drive
- load a URL
- connect to Corktop (that’s our software) and have Corktop tell your Signbeta what to do
The Signbeta is $599. Yes, it did go up $50. But hey, you get so much more than you did with the Kit and it doesn’t cost that much more. Volume discounts and custom colors are available, too.
We sold 50 Kits in 6 months. They shipped around the globe, from Germany, Australia, Cyprus, South Africa, the UK, and Canada to all over the U.S., about half to individuals and about half to companies that I can’t say who they shipped to. We already have over 50 pre-orders for the new Signbeta… Beta installations include Purdue University, the Dept. of Energy Argonne Laboratory, Google Headquarters, and several more to be announced in the coming weeks.
The Specs (full specs here):
- 19″, 1280×1024 LCD
- integrated VIA motherboard (VIA C7 1.5 GHz processor, 1 GB memory)
- built-in wifi
- boots from included flash drive with Wicker, our customized version of Ubuntu, pre-installed
- standard VESA mounting holes on back
- built-to-order in Goshen, Indiana
- 17.5″ wide x 14.5″ high x 3″ deep
- optional flush-mount kit available
Ship date: April 30, 2008
Company info:
- Founded February 2007
- Launched software platform (beta) February 25, 2008 at Digital Signage Expo in Las Vegas
- Launched RedPost/Goshen, first installation of 10 Signs to promote arts activities in May 2007
- Committed to Best Design principles, environmental stewardship, competing through innovation