4 ms·

It reminds me of Juicero. The mechanism was total overkill -- it was actually very well engineered and machined as though cost was no object. They would have ta

It reminds me of Juicero. The mechanism was total overkill -- it was actually very well engineered and machined as though cost was no object. They would have taken a loss selling them even at $699. The mechanism of a deadbolt is pretty simple. Other smart lock companies do fine with simple mechanisms. The way to differentiate a product in that space is ease of use and battery life, not by needlessly over-complicating a part that the users won't see.

retreatguru 9y ago
From their website: “Freed of keys, you might just have more time and opportunity to explore life’s possibilities.” C’mon really? Similar to Juicero they could have gone to market with a simpler and less over engineered product and have a viable company but leadership had their heads in the clouds. He even starts the article with how amazing the Swiss watch engineer respected their work - as if that matters in the door lock market. From the article: “... our customers would fall in love with the way they engaged the product and actually experience joy as they used it.” I’m having a hard time visualizing myself experiencing joy unlocking a door.
- username223 9y ago
  > From the article: “... our customers would fall in love with the way they engaged the product and actually experience joy as they used it.” He doesn't seem to have literally copy-and-pasted that palaver from somewhere else, but the first page of these search results suggests a malfunctioning robot stringing together memorized phrases at random: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=our+customers+would+fall+in+love+with+the+way+they+engaged+the+product+and+actually+experience+joy+as+they+used+it https://duckduckgo.com/?q=our+customers+would+fall+in+love+w...
Nullabillity 9y ago
Besides, a lock seems like the last place I would possibly want to power something by battery...
EpicEng 9y ago
>it was actually very well engineered and machined as though cost was no object I would argue that it wasn't really engineered at all. Almost anyone can build something with a practically unlimited budget; engineering is a game of trade-offs. That juice press was ridiculously over-designed and didn't need to cost anywhere near that much.

retreatguru 9y ago

From their website: “Freed of keys, you might just have more time and opportunity to explore life’s possibilities.” C’mon really? Similar to Juicero they could have gone to market with a simpler and less over engineered product and have a viable company but leadership had their heads in the clouds. He even starts the article with how amazing the Swiss watch engineer respected their work - as if that matters in the door lock market. From the article: “... our customers would fall in love with the way they engaged the product and actually experience joy as they used it.” I’m having a hard time visualizing myself experiencing joy unlocking a door.

username223 9y ago
> From the article: “... our customers would fall in love with the way they engaged the product and actually experience joy as they used it.” He doesn't seem to have literally copy-and-pasted that palaver from somewhere else, but the first page of these search results suggests a malfunctioning robot stringing together memorized phrases at random: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=our+customers+would+fall+in+love+with+the+way+they+engaged+the+product+and+actually+experience+joy+as+they+used+it https://duckduckgo.com/?q=our+customers+would+fall+in+love+w...

Nullabillity 9y ago

Besides, a lock seems like the last place I would possibly want to power something by battery...

EpicEng 9y ago

>it was actually very well engineered and machined as though cost was no object I would argue that it wasn't really engineered at all. Almost anyone can build something with a practically unlimited budget; engineering is a game of trade-offs. That juice press was ridiculously over-designed and didn't need to cost anywhere near that much.