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Vikaura’s E-ink Picture Frame Hits Its Crowd-Funding Goals, And You Can Still Buy One

When I first saw Vikaura's E-ink picture frames at CES 2015 I didn’t think there was much of a chance that it would be funded, but this project quickly proved to be the little crowd-funding campaign that could.

Late last week I got a ping from Kickstarter that the campaign met its goal of raising $125,000. The sparse coverage from this blogger and other midrank blogs was enough to push Vikaura over the top, exceeding its campaign goal by $5,000.

I backed the campaign for a t-shirt, which is expected to ship in April, and the picture frames themselves are expected to ship in June 2015.

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Vikaura is a line of connected devices which more or less can be described as E-ink picture frames. They’re designed to pair with your smartphone or other BT-equipped device so you can push content to the Vikaura screen.

The screens vary in size from 4″ to 9.7″, so they’re good for a wide variety of uses ranging from displaying a shopping list to acting as an actual picture frame (which can be hung on the wall). Users can either push content to their Vikaura screen, or they can subscribe to a feed which will automatically push updates to the device (news feeds, weather for the day, daily calendar, etc).

To be honest, there isn’t much software available yet, but the developers have announced that they’re releasing the API for free so that any developer can add support to their app or develop one from scratch.

The developers have also opened up the Vikaura screen for pre-orders, so if you missed out on this campaign you still have a chance to pick up a screen at the same price as what the backers' paid.

The 4″ screen costs $99, while the 6″ screen costs $129 and the 9.7″ screen costs $199. That’s pretty expensive compared to what you would pay for an ereader, but these aren’t ereaders.

In order to get these prices, you’ll need to enter the following codes when you check out (limit 1 code per purchase):

  • 4″ Vikaura Screen promo code:  ks4in2015
  • 6″ Vikaura Screen promo code:  ks6in2015
  • 9.7″ Vikaura Screen promo code:  ks9.7in2015

I initially backed the campaign for a t-shirt, but I’ve since gone back and bought a 4″ screen and a 9.7″ screen. My initial investment was more of a gesture of support, and now that I know the screen will very likely ship I’m willing to put my money down and acquire a couple new toys.

Vikaura

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Comments


jtyu February 8, 2015 um 3:14 pm

According to their Kickstarter FAQ, te API will only be available to Kickstarter backers. I guess, that is what they’re referring to when they speak on their product page of an "Available App library and open API for qualified customers". Their overall presentation makes their project very unattractive to me. And these not-much-more-than-bare-screens are expensive to boot.

Nate Hoffelder February 8, 2015 um 3:17 pm

You could be right that the API is only available to KS backers, but I doubt that anyone who bought a screen and asked for a copy of the API would be turned down.


John February 8, 2015 um 11:58 pm

I wonder how they reached their goal, totaling all the backer amounts on the kickstarter page brings the funding total to only 53433$ !

Nate Hoffelder February 10, 2015 um 7:58 am

I don’t know; that’s something KS is tracking. Maybe there are additional contributions on top of the listed support levels.


Wifi Connected E-ink Display ⋆ Ink, Bits, & Pixels February 16, 2015 um 12:35 pm

[…] a handful of products in the signage industry). Rather than wait for commercial solutions like Vikuara's BT-enabled screens, one industrious hacker built his own 6" E-ink sign which can be refreshed over […]


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