Nubrella - Shark Tank

I saw this product on Shark Tank this morning and I thought this was doomed to failure. I thought it was a bit wacky and OTT. It was called the Nubrella and is basically an umbrella you can wear over your head like a see through hood. I was surprised that no-one mentioned the good old fashioned waterproof hood as a rival to this product, and indeed perhaps there is a market for a Velcro attachable hood that can stick onto suits and jackets?

It just looked so ridiculous that I was gobsmacked when the product created enough interest that Kevin Harrington and Daymond John both gave the inventor $200,000 for a controlling 51% stake in his company.

Among the markets they could aim for was workers out on tractors and people on bikes. The acid test for me would be if they sell it to a rainy country like Scotland and see if anyone buys them. We Scots are made of stern stuff and perhaps would rather get soaked than to “get a riddy” as we Glaswegians would say, meaning we would be red-faced, embarrassed.

I found it on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Nubrella-Hands-Free-Umbrella/dp/B001Q8RX0K/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

There is no retail price and it is currently out of stock.

And there is a killer review by a Mr Stephen M. Charme

“One of the worst purchases ever made, July 20, 2011

By Stephen M. Charme

This review is from: Nubrella Hands Free Umbrella (Apparel)

If you look at my hundreds of reviews you will see that I rarely write one star reviews. That is because I generally avoid products like this. However, my wife saw this on Shark Tank and ordered not one but two because she was convinced how great this would be. She was dead wrong. Here is why:

1. This product comes with minimalist instructions that do not tell you how to properly position it so you are not being hit in the head while you are wearing it. Amazingly, the company's website has no such information either. Hmmm. That made me suspicious. Eventually I did find a You Tube demo, but even when "properly adjusted" this still grazed my head and was not comfortable to wear. No wonder there is nothing on the website.

2. I tried this in a driving rain storm after I adjusted it. While it did keep my head and shoulders dry, my pants got soaked, which does not happen with a regular umbrella because when you hold it over your head, it does more than just protect your head and shoulders. In addition, visibility was nonexistent. It was like driving your car in a rainstorm with no windshield wipers on. In addition, while this is hands free, the trade off is that the handle is pressed into your stomach for support. Not very comfortable when walking.

3. If you open this in the house before you go outside, good luck fitting through the doorway. I barely made it.

4. My wife was led to believe that this would be great for bicycle riding and running in the rain. No way. I tried each, and it was virtually impossible to do either because with such vigorous movement this kept bumping into my head, and the handle kept pressing into my stomach. And of course I also could not see where I was going.

5. This is not something that you can easily stow on a crowded train or bus, and I seriously doubt that airport security would let you bring this on a plane. This is also not something that I would want to bring into a business meeting.

Bottom line: This product is expensive, cumbersome, and does not work as well as a regular umbrella to provide maximum protection. Hands free is nice--but not when I am getting soaked from the waist down, can't see where I am going, and have a handle being driven into my stomach. There is no way I would recommend it. I have read the positive review, and can say only that I vigorously disagree.”

Strong words, but to be honest it does echo what I felt. It looked cumbersome and outrageous. I have never seen one in the flesh and you would think they would make a beeline over to the UK to try and sell it here since we do get a lot of rain.

I really do have to question the Sharks judgement on this product.

Qubits - A new rival for Lego?

While watching the US version of Dragons Den, Shark Tank, there came on an inventor who had a bendable construction toy called Qubits. It looked pretty good, however there was a caveat: they would go to the 4 big toy makers and see if they would take some orders.

Sadly, after they left the Tank, the big toy firms weren’t too keen on the project and the deal was off. Having such a large competitor as Lego may have been crucial in this decision.

However, the inventor has been mentored by John and he has won a contract from Discovery Toys and in addition he won a British Airways invention award which had prize money. This has been used to help drum up business outside the USA.

You can see for yourself and visit the toy construction maker here: http://www.qubits.com/

I wonder if he has moved into the educational arena and/or computer games? I would be interested to find out what is currently happening, as the information I found was a bit out of date. Can David beat Goliath?

More on 3D Printers

A follow up to the amazing 3D printing which is another of the game changers it seems.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100338112

ICT in Business - 3D Printers

New product development - Flexibe or Bendable Mobile Phones

New product development - China straddling bus

A great inventive idea by Chinese engineers in order to solve traffic congestion.

The World's Most Revolutionary Car?

F1 designer Professor Gordon Murray has designed a new car called the T.25 which may well revolutionise the future of urban transport.

The car is made from glass fibre, recycled plastic bottles and steel tubes. It uses just a fifth of materials to construct regular cars.

The T.25 is a 3 seater, can hit a top speed of 100mph and will retail at around £6,000.

The space saving car has doors that open from the engine and windscreen out as opposed to doors opening at the side - a tremendous space saver. Also the driver sits in the middle at the front, with two passengers at the rear.

The Professor intends to use his new technological lightweight advances to apply it to larger vehicles such as buses!

The method of production is called iStream which uses complex software to allow the makers to modify the size or shape or colour of the frames or body panels. This offers tremendous flexibility for manufacturers including the ability to change oroduction of the engine from petrol or diesel or even electric cells.

Because because fewer parts are being used (and cheaper, lightweight ones at that), massive production savings will come into play and hopefully be passed on to the consumer - just like Henry Ford did with his legendary Model T-Ford.

Professor Murray also says that due to less capital being invested at the start-up of the i-Stream production process, more entrepreneurs and investors are likely to get on board as there is less risk.

The result is a car which for once - unlike the much heralded Electric Car or the Hybrids - may actually change the world we live in for the better.

Think of the impact such lightweight, tiny cars can have on congested megacities or China and India who are becoming more industrialised and urbanised every day.

Could this car be the ultimate in saving the world?

For the full article go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11301831

Apple Launch the i-Pad

Apple founder Steve Jobs launched the i-Pad, the latest attempt to make a success of the Tablet computer market.

During the iPad launch, Apple said that it had recently sold its 250 millionth iPod.
One analyst predicted future sales of the iPod will be cannibalised by those of the iPad.

Apple's rivals Microsoft had a rare product failure in this category with a Tablet Computer that didn't catch on in 2001.

Apple said its aim was to try to create a third category of product that sits between a laptop and a smartphone, which is the traditional interpretation of a tablet computer.

There are some issues with the iPad. It does not support multi-tasking, the ability to have more than one application open at any one time. It doesn't have a camera nor support Flash, the ubiquitous software that handles video and animation on the web.

Some believe the lack of a camera is to keep the price low and afordable to less of a nice market and more of a mass market.

A 32GB iPad will cost $599 (£376) and a 64GB will cost $699 (£439).

However, Apple has given no hint about exact UK prices and final costs may be higher.

Polymath Stephen Fry is raving about the new gadget . He was at the launch and had a trial of the iPad. He said he would like to run away with it!

So will we be talking about the iPad in the same way the iPod and to a lesser extent the iPhone have fired our imaginations?

Remember, for a brilliant example of how to pitch your product, look up Steve Jobs iPod launch for his incredible presentation. I show this to classes every year as he not only introduces the product but he explains how and why they found and satisfied the gap in the market. It is truly brilliant!

You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kN0SVBCJqLs. It is on You Tube so you may not be able to access it in school, but it is worth the wait when you get home!

Famous Products - 3M Post-it Note

The Post-it note came about by a bit of chance and being aimed at the wrong target market!

In 1968, the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3M) developed a sticky, re-usable adhesive. A scientist called Spencer Silver was the inventor and he tried to gain recognition and support for the product within 3M.

Six years later, with success eluding Silver, a co-worker called Art Fry ised the sticky adhesive as a hymnbook bookmark! Fry - who was not the inventor but was certainly an innovator - developed the product and helped lead the commercialization process. After an unsuccessful launch in 1977 due to poor customer trials, a better trial resulted in a full product launch within 12 months to North America and Europe.

The Post-it then became a must have for every office stationery supply!

Think of such a simple idea and product and how it has totally transformed the way we operate in our daily lives.

Students no longer highlight their textbooks; they use post-its to mark important sections, meaning they get more money back when they sell on their pricey textbooks.

Office staff can disseminate work to colleagues via a handy post-it on top of a circular or memo.

The list is endless and another example of a great product that found it's market by serendipity.