Dearest backers,

First of all, thank you for being with Spark since the very beginning - it's been an amazing road from the Socket to the Core, and one we couldn't have continued on without the support of the Spark community.

We just wanted to let you know that there are only 31 hours left to go in the Spark Core Kickstarter campaign http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-core-wi-fi-for-everything-arduino-compatible/ Our team has been blown away by the reaction to the Core this past month - we just hit 5000 backers - and are so excited for the future of Spark.

As a little refresher on the Core: it's an Arduino-compatible, Wi-Fi enabled, cloud-powered development platform that makes creating internet-connected hardware a breeze. And it packs a punch - this little board's got a 72MHz ARM Cortex M3, the best Wi-Fi module on the market, wireless programming, and lots of pin outs and peripherals. There's nothing you can't build with the Core.

Through the campaign you can get Cores, shields, some awesome kits (Wi-Fi RC Car anyone?) or even a super soft Spark t-shirt.

Thanks again for the support. If you're already a Core backer thanks so much and if you haven't checked it out yet please take a look at our Kickstarter campaign and consider pledging!

Take care -

Zach and the Spark Team

Dearest backers,

It's been a little while. We've been on a long journey since we last connected, and we're excited to announce that we've launched a new product today on Kickstarter - the Spark Core!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-core-wi-fi-for-everything-arduino-compatible

The Spark Core is, in essence, the brains of the Spark Socket. It's a Wi-Fi development board designed to let engineers, designers, hackers and Makers create incredible Wi-Fi-connected products quickly and easily.

Shortly after the end of the Kickstarter campaign for the Socket, we traveled to China to join HAXLR8R, an incubator for hardware start-ups. We've been here for the last few months working hard to take the best parts of the Socket and make them available in a new form to help other people make great internet-connected things.

The Core just launched on Kickstarter, and you're the first to know! If you're interested in backing our new campaign and getting your own Spark Core, follow the link above and we'll see you there!

All the best,

Zach

Pre-order your Spark Socket now for $49 at sparkdevices.com

Dearest Backers,

Today, our Kickstarter campaign comes to a close. Unfortunately we did not reach our funding goal, so your credit cards won’t be charged for the pledges you offered. However, we have great news – we are continuing the development and manufacturing of the Spark Socket, and we’re now taking pre-orders on our website for a new, lower price of $49, with discounts for larger orders!

To pre-order your Spark Sockets, visit our website at http://www.sparkdevices.com/. We still plan to deliver the product in Q3 2013, and one more benefit for you – we won’t be charging credit cards until we’re ready to ship the product.

Our team approached Kickstarter as both a crowd funding platform and a learning experience. Although we weren't able to hit our funding goal, we learned a lot of valuable information for our business and for our product, the Spark Socket. Perhaps most importantly, we learned that people are really excited about this product; more than 1,600 people put down their credit cards to get their hands on a Spark Socket, and offered to provide more than $125,000 of consumer funding. However, we set a high funding threshold because we didn't want to risk having insufficient funding to deliver the product.

Based on the great feedback we've received, we're moving forward with our business in the following ways:

1) We're continuing to crowdfund the Spark Socket, but this time on our own terms. We are now accepting pre-orders on our website at sparkdevices.com, where we have more flexibility in terms of how we collect orders; in particular, we can offer multiple units, which many of you have requested. We are also seeking private investors to help us cover some of the fixed costs of development, and as soon as we have collected enough funding through pre-orders and private investment, we will begin manufacturing. It’s easy to reserve your Spark Socket and make sure you’re one of the first to receive yours in Q3 of 2013. We won’t be charging credit cards until Spark is ready for delivery.

2) We've lowered the price to reach an even larger audience and help people buy multiple Sockets. Based on feedback from you, we have made finding cost reductions in the design of the product a priority. We’ve been busy this month and have baked our findings into our new budget. We’re happy to now be able to provide the Spark Socket at a lower cost of $49, with further discounts for people who order four or more.

3) We're beginning development of the Spark Switch, a light switch replacement that will complement the Spark Socket. Many Kickstarter backers requested a light switch replacement for areas in their home where they have lots of lights connected through one switch, and a light switch makes more sense economically. We aren’t releasing details just yet, but we’re excited to confirm that we've started work on the Spark Switch. While our primary focus is still to deliver the Socket as quickly as possible, we are looking forward to delivering the Spark Switch later next year.

Thank you for the incredible outpouring of support, feedback, and ideas. We wouldn’t be able to continue developing the Spark Socket without the support you’ve given us. Be sure to head over to our newly designed site and reserve your Spark Sockets. We can't wait to deliver our product and vision next year!

Hope to hear from you soon,

Zach and the Spark Team

P.S. With the Kickstarter campaign closing, you can now email us with questions and comments at hello@sparkdevices.com.

Dearest backers,

The last week has been a whirlwind! We were on a local morning show in Minneapolis last week (FOX 9 BUZZ), and we just got back from New York, where we filmed a spot with CNN. Tonight we're demoing Spark at MinneDemo, so if you're one of our local backers, be sure to come check us out. And finally, our christmas lights demo that we announced last Monday generated a ton of buzz, although it unfortunately fell victim to heavy snow in Minneapolis; the car that was housing the webcam could no longer be parked on the street in front of our house!

The last 48 hours

Right now there are are less than 48 hours until our campaign closes. We have a long way to go, but don't fret! We have a Plan B. We'll be making an announcement on our future plans before our campaign closes on Thursday, but the important thing to know is that the incredible visibility and support we've received on Kickstarter has opened a lot of doors.

So what does that mean for the next two days? Continue to tell your friends about us; although we have a long way to reach our goal, many projects see enormous boosts in the last few days as the deadline approaches and the stakes increase. So stay with us and help us finish out our campaign strong!

Our latest collaboration: Ubi, the ubiquitous computer!

Earlier this year, Ubi launched a Kickstarter campaign for their "Ubiquitous Computer", a voice-activated and always-on computer that gives you voice controls in your home. We're partnering with Ubi to make our systems work together, so you can control your lights using your voice! Here are some of the things you can do with Spark and Ubi:

• Turn on your lights through your voice ("Turn lights on")
• Have your lights flash or turn on if a noise is detected in the home while you're not there
• Dim lights depending on temperature or other sensor data being read off the Ubi 
• Get into party mode just by asking for it ("Party mode please") and have the Ubi turn on the right lighting

If you're a Spark backer (at the EARLY BIRD/GET SPARK level or higher), Ubi has also offered a promo code to get the Ubi for the Kickstarter price of $189 - an $80 savings! If we hit our funding goal, we will send promo codes to all of our backers shortly after the campaign closes. Be sure to check out Ubi at theubi.com!

Why am I showing you a picture of my house? Because we've Spark-ified the Christmas lights. One light just wasn't enough.

Behold, the power of Spark: control our Christmas lights from our website!

sparkdevices.com/demo

We're pretty excited about the Spark Socket because we've created an incredibly simple product that's also extremely powerful. But we have big plans that go far beyond the Socket. And our new demo, the Spark House, shows how flexible our platform is.

This weekend, we threw together a new prototype using the Spark platform that controls a half a dozen different sets of Christmas lights on my front porch. Add one webcam and some Facebook interactivity and you've got our new demo, just in time for the holidays - The Spark House!

sparkdevices.com/demo

Check it out now to take control of the Christmas lights on my house, and see Spark in action!

We're still working hard to get the word out, and this demo is a part of that - we've got a few more tricks up our sleeves over the next week, so help us spread the word and reach our goal!

P.S. While this demo is always fun, it's especially fun at night. Sundown tonight is at 4:32pm CT.

P.P.S. Yes that's right, 4:32pm. Welcome to the frigid tundra of Minnesota.