Hi there Backers,

Lots going on right now as we wrap up the final stages leading up to shipment, here’s a quick update to keep you in the loop…

KUBI App
We have officially submitted the KUBI application to the app store! Thanks to all our Hacker Edition backers who have patiently worked with us while we were in developing stages. We anticipate KUBI to be accepted and available in the next couple weeks and will notify you all once it’s up.

Production Update
Injection Molding
We’re working diligently towards submitting our parts for injection molding. This is a crucial stage in production and we want to spend the time upfront to optimize the process to hopefully avoid problems and delays once injection molding begins. We are really close to the finish line! Thanks for your patience as we approach this major landmark in the process.

Projected Timeline
Design for Manufacturing complete and submitted for quote: 1 week
Tooling: 3-4 weeks
Final Assembly: 2 weeks
Test & Ship: 1 week

Our original ship date was based upon working with an offshore contract manufacturer who would have helped with many of the design for manufacturing challenges. We made the decision to keep this initial soft tooled production run here in the United States because of minimum order quantities and the costs of manufacturing overseas, and the cost of travel. This means the burden of manufacturing design is on our shoulders and the devil is in the details, so we want to avoid the relatively high potential for error during the injection molding process.

The upside to completing this initial build in-house, and in the USA, is that we are able to fully document the manufacturing process and therefore will be better equipped to succeed in the future when we do enlist a contract manufacturer a bit further down the road. It’s much more time consuming for us up front, but it makes a lot of sense for a small, growing company such as ours.

You, our early adopters, are still our first priority and we’re dedicated to bringing you the highest quality product and user experience as soon as possible.

Thanks as always for your support!

Helloooo Backers!
Spring is here, the sun is shining, and there’s a ton of good stuff going on in the Revolve laboratories. We want to get you all up to speed with progress on the production front, software updates, KUBI loaner programs and more. First on deck…
Production!
At the moment, we’re finishing up manufacturing design and are almost ready to kick off a soft tool build for the production of your KUBIs. To ensure quality control and a quick turn, we’ve decided to source parts globally but keep assembly in-house. Yep, that means that your KUBI will be assembled, tested and shipped right here in San Francisco.

Software Updates
For those of you who have Hacker Edition KUBIs in hand, there’s a shiny new software release coming your way REALLY, REALLY soon. So keep an eye out for an email with details, go check it out, and then send us your thoughts at feedback@revolverobotics.com!

KUBI Hacker Updates
So far, we’ve gotten over 40 Hacker Edition KUBIs into creative hands and are excited to announce that we’ve begun testing integrated KUBI controls on a third party video client!
Spoiler Alert: IT’S AWESOME.
We’d love to hear about, help test and spread the word about YOUR hacker projects. Let us know what you’re working on! Talk to us on http://www.twitter.com/revolverobotics and http://www.facebook.com/revolverobotics.

KUBI4HIRE Program
We know there’s a lot going on between now and the day you get to send us your KUBI unboxing videos and we would hate to leave you in a telepresence lurch. So, we’ve created a borrowing program called KUBI4HIRE. If you have a corporate event, conference, wedding, batmitzvah or other special event that KUBI simply MUST make an appearance for, fill out an application (http://bit.ly/YkLtPY) and we’ll ship out a loaner for the affordable price of FREE*!
*With guaranteed Twitter and Facebook video and photo fodder documenting the event. Without social media documentation, cost for renting KUBI is $1,000,000.00.

Thanks as always for being part of the process.

The Revolve Team

PS. We’ve discovered that KUBI is great for many, many, many things. Like THIS: http://bit.ly/11Wlod5

Happy Valentine’s Day! We <3 our supporters, and we’ve shipped all remaining KUBI:The Hacker Editions to you, our backers, on this special day! Can’t wait to see what you’ll create with them:)

We’re focused on getting production KUBIs out in the spring, stay tuned for updates!

Dear KUBI family,

Thank you so much for your support and participation over the past 44 days! This crowd funding campaign was a journey and we have made so many friends, fans, and partnerships along the way. We so appreciate your enthusiasm about this product that has been a year in the making, and your faith in our team’s ability to bring it to fruition. THANK YOU for putting your money where your mouth is, as they say, and pledging for KUBI!

Now, let’s talk about our fundraising goal. As you can see, we raised just under $30k via Indiegogo, and that plus our $50k contribution puts us $20k shy of our original goal.

The GOOD news is that we’ve met with several manufacturers since launching this crowd funding project, and it looks like our initial production costs are going to be lower than initially expected. We’ve also made some amazing headway with prospective distributors that should take us the rest of the way to our goal. That’s right, KUBI is still coming to you, and we’re still on track for an April ship date!

You are all awesome for coming on board the KUBI train, and we’re going to keep you fully informed on our progress getting your KUBI to you. Please keep an open conversation with us, we’re here to answer questions and address concerns!

A couple announcements…

1. We may be launching a pre-order program with an online partner in the near future, so please let anyone who may have missed out on Indiegogo that there will be another opportunity to get a first production line KUBI, although not at the low Indiegogo cost.

2. We want to announce the WINNER of our Share KUBI Contest: Craig Rispin did an amazing job promoting the KUBI to his friends, family, and colleagues and is being awarded with another KUBI for his home or office or $200! Thanks to everyone for helping is spread the word and raise funds to get KUBI into production.

Onwards!

Ilya, Marcus and the Revolve Team

We have 16 hours left on KUBI campaign! A BIG THANK YOU to all our supporters! With our external contribution we are now at almost 79% of our goal with 16 hours to go. We’re doing great, but PLEASE HELP US WITH ONE LAST PUSH! Here’s what you can do:

1. PLEDGE FOR ANOTHER KUBI – Video calls will be more fun when you have more KUBIs to call into and control. If you pledged for one for your home, add one or two for your office or your grandparents house. Or pledge to add one to another room in your home or office.
2. TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO GET A KUBI – Your friends are going to enjoy the freedom of controlling the KUBI at your home or office, but if you would like to enjoy the same freedom, encourage them to get one too.
3. SHARE KUBI ON YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKS – We made it easy to share KUBI on all your social networks. Follow this link and you can share with 3 CLICKS: http://bit.ly/TUFVc

And, if you share, you might get a FREE KUBI. Get the share link via the “Share this campaign” on the project page http://bit.ly/UaOb8l to give to your family and friends. Each link allows us to track how many supporters you personally drove to the campaign, and we’re going to thank whoever generates the most support with a free KUBI or a $200 CASH gift card! Your choice!

Yesterday, we got covered by Mashable with a great new video describing KUBI. Check it out here: http://on.mash.to/10eYwnE