Hi all

In my last update I was waiting for the T1 samples and the color samples to be shipped to Hawaii. I am happy to inform you that I have received both of them in good condition.

First of all let me say that I really did feel some form of relief, as the quality of the samples is now very close to what I originally had in mind. Most of the colors are now spot-on when compared to the Pantone colors that are being used for the iPad Smart Covers and the iPhone Bumpers. The colors of the cable itself, the Dock Connector housing and the Stress Relief part are also matching nicely.

All T1 samples that I got are working properly with numerous devices including ALL iPhones, ALL iPod Touches, many older iPods, the iPad and iPad 2 and of course “The New iPad”. I have tested them many times and I have also done a lot of stress testing such as plugging them in and out over a thousand times (seriously, I counted! :-). In addition, all outer measurements of the Dock Connector housing and of the male USB housing are as specified. This is very important because it means that it is possible to use Juicies in combination with the original iPhone 4 Bumper Cases. This is also good since a lot of 3rd party audio accessories require you to fit your existing Dock Connector through a very tight opening.

BUT… there are still a few details, which have to be corrected:

1. The colors of all the cables itself are perfect. However, the orange, green and yellow Dock Connector housings seem a little translucent. It’s not something you notice immediately, but when paying close attention to it you will see it. It doesn't look that good, especially when held against the light. Sounds minor, but it is a rather big deal to me since these things are all about the color. And who wants to see the PCB (printed circuit board) shining through?

2. The USB logo and the Dock Connector logo have still not been printed on the housings. I called the manufacturer immediately after having received the T1 samples. They said they would take care of it right away. Basically, there is a top side and a bottom side to the housings (see the picture below). From all the research I have done, there seems to be no official standard for what to print on which side. It seems that most USB related cables have the specifying logo (i.e. the USB logo, the Dock Connector logo or the Thunderbolt logo, etc.) on the top side of the housing, so that when holding the cable you can see which way to plug it in. Any other logos or labels should therefore be on the bottom-side. With this in mind, we have decided to place the ever so slightly recessed Juicies Drop logo on the bottom-side. The specifying logo will be on the top side.

3. The cable imprint saying “Designed by Juicies in Hawaii   Assembled in China” has to be on the cable for import reasons. However, it should only be on each cable ONCE! There is no need to continuously print it all over the cable, which is unfortunately exactly what the cable supplier did for the T1 samples. I'm glad that this issue has already been corrected and the next batch of T1s will hopefully not need any further corrections.

Have a look at the pictures below with my comments. Once the above-mentioned issues have been resolved, we should be ready to deliver the high-quality product that I have been promising to all of you from the very beginning. Sending out sub-standard, low-quality cables is just not an option after all this time.

I hope this update was helpful to you. As always, I highly welcome all comments and suggestions. I want to thank everybody again for sending me messages and leaving comments. It means a lot to me to receive your words of encouragement.

With much Aloha from Honolulu!

Laurens

info@juicies.com

808.351.2891

Hey

In my last update I had stated that the T1 samples are on the way to Honolulu and the cable color samples are in progress. Here is another update, which refers to the latter.

The small corrections that I shared with you in the last update did all get taken care of. The manufacturing of the whole product actually consists of several components, most of which are being produced in the one factory we are working with. However, the cable sleeve (the colorful rubber-like material) that we usually would refer to as “the cable itself” comes from another larger factory that makes only cables, and nothing but cables. Since this part is made from a different type of material than the housing parts of the Dock Connector, the male USB and the female USB, the colors have to be perfectly matched first. Check out the pictures below, I feel that the manufacturer has done a good job regarding this matter.

Nevertheless it is still challenging to work with a manufacturer abroad. Another small thing that came up is the following: the imprint on the cable should say “Designed by Juicies in Hawaii   Assembled in China". Even though this was already called for on the spec sheet back in August 2011, they still sent me samples that say: “Designed by JUICIES in Hawaii   Assembled in china". Here you can note the improper capitalization and on the picture below you can see that there are huge gaps in between each word. Doesn't seem like to big of a deal, I guess, but then again I don't want to print another piece of paper or make a sticker and attach that to the cables because of this. Each newly manufactured item that gets imported to the US from overseas needs to be labeled with the place of origin. A proper imprint on the cable itself would take care of this requirement. These are only some of the small obstacles, which I am talking about. The communication can take a lot of effort at times

The next steps for the color samples are as follows:

• The correction on the imprint on the cables has to be made

• The connector housing parts have to be manufactured according to the T1 samples

• The cables and connector housing parts have to be assembled

It would have been much easier and faster if I had opted for a non-MFI licensed cable, but then again I wanted a certain standard for the product right from the beginning. It took me about a month to produce the colorful non-MFI licensed samples back in 2011 before I launched this Kickstarter campaign. However, while those looked great, the quality was basically junk. They stopped charging intermittently and sometimes even damaged the devices I was trying them out with. The MFI program is great. Also, if there will be any updates in the future to connectors on the OEM side (i.e. Apple, etc), then it should be rather easy and much and faster for us to just update as well. (Thunderbolt to Dock Connector rumors anyone :-) Anyways, some of you have asked what MFI actually stands for, so let me describe the MFI Program very briefly:

“The Made for iPod, Made for iPhone, and Made for iPad logos mean that an electronic accessory has been designed to connect specifically to iPod, iPhone, or iPad and has been certified by the developer to meet Apple performance standards.

Developers receive technical specifications describing the iPod Accessory protocol, the communication protocol used to interact with iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Developers also gain access to the hardware connectors and components that are required to manufacture iPod, iPhone, and iPad accessories.”

You can read more about it here: https://developer.apple.com/programs/mfi/

As you can see, some delays in production just can't be helped, yet I want to state once more that I take full responsibility for completing the project. It is not my intent to blame the manufacturer or any other person. The only reason I am sharing these problems and obstacles of my JUICIES product venture with you, is because I feel that you, the backers deserve more transparency and I want to show you what I am currently working on.

Thanks for all the useful comments, which I have received as a response to the last update. I hope this update was helpful too. Aloha.

Laurens

808.351.2891

…one last thing, yes JUICIES will work just fine with “The New iPad” (3rd Gen).

Hey there

First of all let me thank you for all the comments, which I have received since the last update. It really means a lot to me to receive some encouraging words in this rather difficult situation.

Let me give you a brief update regarding the current project status. The T1 (approval) samples are finally manufactured, you can see some pictures of them below. From what I can tell by looking at the pictures, the quality is now finally what I have been asking for. There are still a few small corrections that have to be made regarding the USB extension, but that shouldn't stop us from finalizing the Dock Connector cables.

Here is an overview for the next steps:

-        waiting for the white T1 sample to arrive

-        colorful versions are being manufactured in the meantime

After the color samples are received in Honolulu, I will have to sign them all off once more and express mail them back to the manufacture. I also have to adjust some of the print artwork on the packaging. Being part of the MFI program means that we have to stick to Apple’s packaging guidelines. Our packaging got approved except for one minor change, which I am working on right now.

I know that all of this may sound like a very easy procedure, but there are always small details, which seem to cause further delays and difficulties. That being said, it looks like right now things are back on track. As I had mentioned in my last update I just can’t be posting a timeline for now until I am 100% sure about it.

I hope this update was helpful and if you have any suggestions please let me know.

Aloha

Laurens

808.351.2891

Hey there…

First of all I have to apologize for the delay in communication. I can understand some of the comments that were made and I completely understand if some of you are frustrated. I have to admit that I did my fair share of mistakes during the past month of working on my project and especially in the communication here on Kickstarter. I have completely underestimated the obstacles and challenges which are lying between an idea and a high quality retail ready licensed mobile accessory product.

Nevertheless I have to thank you for the constructive comments and feedback, I found some of them very helpful and motivating i.E. @Bert JW Regeer, @greezer, @jvsapp, @Jason L Chapman, @Yong-Soo Chung and many more. In this regard I have to make it clear that I WILL NOT stop working on the Juicies project until ALL of you get your rewards.

The reason for my sparsity in the updates is that I always wanted to present you with some "real" news where you can actually see the progress of the project. As far as the delay of the project, most of it was simply put the much(!) higher amount of cash needed to get things going from idea to final retail product. The initially somewhat small project became rather more complex and challenging at a certain point. It took me quite some time to get the remaining amount needed. Then came some hurdles regarding the required MFI license progress, which I still see as absolutely mandatory as it really does stand for high quality and compatible accessory products when it comes to iPod, iPhone and iPad.

Then unfortunately the first samples were really not that good at all, so I had to renegotiate small details a couple of times. More delays arrived due to the fact that I refused the idea of changing the core values of the product. Good quality and the recyclable content are basically the main reasons the project was started long with the idea of introducing colors.

The second and third set of samples were slightly better, but still not all that good. So I went back and forth with the manufacture. At some point during this progress they actually tried to convince me to use toxic PVC material instead of recycled PET and that even though the spec sheets were sent to the manufacture in July 2011...

As fas as the current status of the project:

• We made a down payment on the final retail packaging which will include the recycled box, a small paper bag for the cable so it does not get scratched and a little warranty card.
• We made some adjustment to the packaging so it complies with the 2012 MFI guidelines.
• We have built out a online store that will launch after the ALL Kickstarter backers received their rewards.
• We adjusted the molds for the longer stress relief on the cables.
• We are continuously working on the project and WILL NOT STOP working on it until all of you will have your "Juicies USB to Dock Connector" cables.
• We have made the down payment for the first production and we are STILL anxiously awaiting the T1 samples, which are the final version of the product right before it goes into mass production.

At this point I have to apologize again as I really have to refrain from giving an exact delivery date. I had tried to give an approximate time-frame early on in the project, but I do feel that this only caused more confusion then it was a benefit. I will give an exact date once I can. Of course I can totally understand your frustration. Believe me, I am so frustrated myself that I was not able to make it happen yet.

But once again I WILL NOT forget that all of you are my investors AND voices of encouragement. I don't want to make you guys feel upset or feel let down. I want to make you feel good and happy about having supported an idea that would have never made it to fruition if it wasn't for all of you.

Please let me know if this update was more helpful to you and also suggest how I can give you more transparency up until the day that your reward will ship.

Again thank you very much for your patience. Aloha.

Laurens

808.351.2891

info@juicies.com