May 15 2013
From the inventors of Bop It!™ and Perplexus, two of the most popular children’s toys on the market, comes tim-E (pronounced “Timmy”), a next generation alarm clock and bedside companion for iPhone and iPod.
tim-E launched its Kickstarter campaign today (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1222749235/tim-e-the-alarm-clock-with-attitude) with a goal of raising $150,000 to finalize hardware and software development, obtain safety certifications and to cover initial distribution costs. tim-E is currently a working prototype and funds raised will take it through the next stage of development and production.
tim-E is a personal robot assistant that automates your morning in a reliable and entertaining way. The interactive alarm clock and docking station is customizable to wake you up to music, brain teasers, daily voice reminders, weather forecasts, traffic reports and more. tim-E is especially useful for military families and business travelers. Record their voice to wake up the kids each morning or add a photo of that special someone so their face will accompany the custom message for each day they are away.
Why the world needs more “tim-E”
Toy industry veteran Rich Mazel, a partner at Nuts and Voltz along with consumer electronics expert Jeff Wilcox, first discovered tim-E in 2010 while working in the corporate toy world.
“We know what it takes to bring a successful product to market, and we’ve developed tim-E to meet consumer demands. Behavior studies have shown that most smartphone owners charge their device bedside at night1, and many also use their smartphone as an alarm clock. tim-E performs this same function plus a whole lot more and in a fun new way,” said Mazel.
“No other alarm clock has emotion and personality combined with custom voice messages and movement that will wake you up happy,” added Wilcox. “tim-E occupies important real estate that consumers touch twice every day, and is the ideal companion for anyone who loves toys, has a hard time waking up or just needs some humor to kickstart their day.”
Combination toy, alarm clock and charging station for your iPhone or iPod, tim-E will be priced affordably at $89.99 when released next year.
Meet Team tim-E
tim-E was invented by KID Group, a toy invention and licensing group that has invented some of today’s most successful electronic games and interactive toys that have sold over $1B worldwide, including Bop It!™ and Perplexus. tim-E was optioned by Rich Mazel, co-founder of Nuts and Voltz, an inventor relations consultancy that brings innovative products to market. Co-founder Jeff Wilcox brings over a decade of consumer electronics experience with billion dollar companies including Epson and Belkin. Nuts and Voltz is working together with KID Group to add new features to tim-E and make it the benchmark for next generation interactive alarm clocks.
1 In 2010, a Pew Research poll found that 90 percent of those between 18 and 29 slept with their cellphones next to the bed. http://bit.ly/UMDCWD