Interesting app! It seems like a lot to remember to put your phone under the covers and make sure it doesn't fall off in the middle of the night (at least for me). Additionally, I've always loved having the phone in the dock next to my bed, since it doubles as a clock for me in the middle of the night.
Do you know if the Sleepcycle app is able to differentiate between your movements and someone else's? It seems like this wouldn't be possible?
This is obviously a totally different price point, but it seems like bringing a hardware-based solution here does offer some real and very tangible benefits.
The stand-alone app seems pretty popular, but we really don't like the idea of putting the phone under your pillow or on the corner of your bed every night. The charging cords are never long enough, you may not hear your alarm, and the system may not pick up your movement properly. The iDreamSaver solves all of these problems, and it also provides you with an extra charger and a dock, so you have a place to put your phone every night before bed and you don't have to worry about charging any more.
I downloaded this app and used it for awhile. Although the concept is amazing the execution fell short. I noticed that it frequently woke me up at the wrong time of the sleep cycle. I'm sure that sleeping with my spouse also threw off the sensor since 2 people were moving in the bed. Maybe it's just me, but I believe that a option like this would "catch" the motion much better. Hope this idea makes it to funding.
That's immediately what I thought too. Being able to keep my phone on a dock instead of on my bed and getting the same functionality sounds nice. Having it not pick up my girlfriends' movement is pretty appealing too. For me personally, the price is a bit out of line, but I might just not be in your target demographic.
That said, cool product, best of luck, and I hope you guys get funding!
The IR sensor module should really be a standalone unit (as small and as discreet as possible and running off a battery) and it should hook up to the phone via Bluetooth. I don't have a nightstand and even if I did your dock/sensor base wouldn't fit in. That I would buy in a heartbeat.
(edit) Looking at your stand design - there's something distinctly un-Apple about it. Apple products have rounded feel to them, but they are squarish in their lines whereby your design is not. Try and imagine this [1] being featured on apple.com - you probably won't be able to, because it is off.
We just got the same comment on the Kickstarter page. Here's my response: Thanks for your comment. Yeah we thought of that too, and thought that it might be necessary to solve the problem of how it detects you and not your partner. But, through testing we found that the partner problem is easily solved by almost any nightstand placement. Also, regarding having an extra module, that adds a lot of complexity to the design and adds cost. Plus, I wouldn't want to have to check to make sure the remote module is charged and make sure it "pairs" with the iPhone each night before bed. Also, we really wanted a nightstand charging dock anyway. That way, your phone has a dedicated place to go home to every night and get charged. We are hoping that people will like it enough just for being a charging dock, and the IR sensor with the smart wake-up is an extra feature that we can expand upon in a number of ways. Well anyway, those were our reasons for doing it this way. But we do appreciate your feedback, because we are always trying to think of ways to make it better.
Also, regarding the aesthetics, maybe we can round the corners a bit more on the final design. Do you think that would be enough, or are you suggesting an entirely different shape? We probably don't want to change the whole shape, since our Kickstarter backers are going to want to receive what they saw when they placed their order, but we could probably make a few tweaks here and there. We haven't bought the molds yet. If the "look" of the product ends up being a big concern for everyone (or for Apple), we can easily release multiple styles once we get our funding and get into Production. Thanks again, this is something we didn't expect to hear.
I would say so. Right now it looks like a collection of odd angles. Everything's angled. Also the stand is visually split into the front part and the back part, and it feels like they can be snapped apart like a chocolate bar. I would consider something like [1], whereby the outer shape is perfectly boxy, and there is angled recess for the phone. This is not unlike the original stand, but it's a very natural design choice if one goes for a simple look.
Another options is something like [2], which is also very simple and clean looking and yet has enough interior space to house your stuff. Proportions might be off, but you get the idea.
It does -- this was very important to us as well. By adjusting the location of the dock on your nightstand, you can position the sensor so it will only see your body movements. In addition, the App provides a setup screen, which allows you to look at the raw sensor values so you can do your own testing and adjust the sensitivity if needed.
