A Houston-based manufacturer is trying to make its new data entry device, called the iFrog, turn into a prince for many handheld device users.
FrogPad Inc. has launched a portable one-hand keyboard with Bluetooth technology that is compatible with Mac and PC platforms. The iFrog supports the
Bluetooth Human Interface Device (HID) profile, which describes how a keyboard communicates with another Bluetooth device. Measuring five inches across, the keyboard will include drivers for Bluetooth devices supporting Pocket PC,
Palm OS, Symbian and Windows Mobile SmartPhone operating systems.
Linda Marroquin, CEO of FrogPad, said it has been a 10-year process to get the iFrog to market from when the product was first created.
“”The I is for imagination and with iPaq and iPod we are taking advantage of that. Our first prototype looked like a frog with the eyes. It was very cute. And frogs are lucky in any culture. If you kiss one you become a prince,”” Marroquin said.
Marroquin said that iFrog has the potential to boost revenue for resellers who provide hand-held devices.
Besides the mobile market, the iFrog is also suitable for disabled users and left-handers.
She also noted that margins are high in specialty areas, which include graphics markets. “”PhotoShop and Auto-CAD users draw with one hand and do command controls with the other. Think about the desk space they will have if the keyboard is taken away,”” she said.
Marroquin said resellers can earn on average 35 per cent margins on iFrog.
“”This can be very lucrative for them. We are a keyboard. It is the simplest common denominator for what is out there. Yet, what is the distinction? If they try to sell a keyboard they make pennies. If they sell a one-handed keyboard or ergonomic keyboard we are one of the lowest priced keyboards out there. Keyalt.com sells ergonomic keyboards for between $150, to $999,”” she said.
FrogPad has given away more than 9,000 iFrogs to coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.
However, Marroquin is aiming the product at the mass market. “”We know that the masses will not jump on this today. It caters more to an architect, an engineer or the mobile warrior with a smart phone and PDA and does not want to drop his laptop to a meeting,”” she said.
She added, that iFrog will also have drivers for Java and Unified Messaging devices in the future.
FrogPad initially is selling the iFrog online, but has received offers from Radio Shack and CompUSA to carry the product.
In Canada, Marroquin said it is carried by Clickon Mac Solutions and Digital Prototypes, both of Toronto.
The iFrog will also support Word, Excel and PowerPoint along with games.
The product is priced at US$225, which Marroquin admits may be a tad high.
FrogPad has made fewer than 100,000 units of the iFrog, which is powered by a lithium polymer batter, she said.
