As Spring warmed our lunchtime planning expeditions, we sat in a yellow wood to discuss that which had always been understood without the need for such trivial things as words; The initial DigiCase would be for an iPhone.
As the planning stage continued we begun to dig deeper into the marketplace to search out potential competitors. It wasn’t long before we found the product we would view as our first nemesis- The PopSlate.
They had undertaken 2 breathtaking Crowdfunding campaigns, storming past the $1,100,000 mark as they basked in the plaudits of online blogs, tech journals, gadget gurus and a host of excited backers. It did not give us pause though, as their product was a mere ink screen that ran widgets. As such they did not appear to have actualised the potential we saw.
Many days, and an equal number of nights passed as we continued to delve into the patents and certification requirements abounding in the DigiCase domain. It was then we came across three letters that did give us pause...
At first we pondered what part a defunct British furniture retailer could have in the scheme of things, but we soon realised that it was not MFI, but MFi.
With a minimum requirement of being a well versed Philadelphian lawyer to understand the Apple FAQ’s page on the MFi topic, combined with our previous experience developing an App game on the Apple online store, it became clear that the fickle nature of Apple would be a bridge too far.
It would be costlier to tread a track with so many hurdles. We would need to change tack. We would take the path, just as fair, and having perhaps the better claim of being the most advanced phone, to the Galaxy S8 series.
In early 2017 PopSlate would implode leaving its 12,000 backers with no product and no refund, due to being unable to comply with Apple’s OTA Requirements - whatever these may be.
We knew then that our decision to take the path less travelled would make all the difference.