Dear Backers,

Just a quick update today on shipping:

As mentioned in the last update, we are making good progress going through the large volume of orders in this last wave of shipping. US and CA orders did not make it out last Friday as we hoped, but they are still being prepared as one giant bundle to enter North America together this week.

Yesterday and today are observed holidays in China for the QingMing Festival which is a common time for Chinese people to visit burial grounds to pray for ancestors.

Now that the holiday has concluded, work will resume today (its currently almost 5am in China). We are on track to get every package out by the end of the week.

You will receive a tracking email from our shipping partner, Expert Xpress, and this tracking number may take several days to update after it is issued. The tracking service on Expert Xpress' website that we linked to before will not give any result until you receive this email from Expert Xpress first.

In other news:

We are in the final stages of getting a support section set up on our website. For now, provided here is the "Getting Connected" and "Troubleshooting" sections for anyone having difficulties getting started with their Podos. Of course, please email support@podolabs.com as always if you need additional assistance.

Best,

The Podo Labs Team

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Getting Connected

Podo arrives in a "deep sleep" mode. Before first use, it must be plugged into a power source. Charge at least 1 hour before use.

Step 1: Download the Podo App:

Android: www.podolabs.com/android 

iPhone: www.podolabs.com/ios

Step 2: Launch the app and you will see a connection screen. Please ensure you have granted all permissions to the app and your Bluetooth is ON!

If your Podo is charged and in Bluetooth range, it will show up under "New Podos". It will be named Podo****, the last four characters being random numbers or letters.

Step 3: Tap your Podo name to begin connecting. After a few seconds, a prompt will instruct you to hold Podo close to your phone.

Once your phone detects Podo it will finish the connection process.

For iOS: iPhones require one last step before completing the connection. A "Select An Accessory" menu will pop up and list Bluetooth devices nearby. 

Step 4 (iOS only):Wait for your Podo name to appear then tap it one final time. This step can take a while as iOS runs through its own connection procedure.

After this first time, your Podo will now be found under "My Podos"

You will not need to go through this authentication process again. Just tap your Podo when it shows up under "My Podos" (it is no longer a "New Podo") and the camera will launch right away.

To remove a Podo from your list of "My Podos", go to your phone's Bluetooth menu and "Forget" Podo from your phone.

Troubleshooting

If you cannot establish a connection with Podo, try these tips to get your Podo acquainted with your phone:

• Ensure Podo is fully charged and your phone is updated to the latest OS (requires iPhone 5 or Android 4.1.1 or higher) 
• Ensure you have the correct App installed (see above) 
• Toggle Bluetooth off and on from your phone 
• Make sure Podo is "forgotten" from your phone's Bluetooth list 
• If the above fails, try deleting and re-installing the app 
• Try connecting with a different phone to verify if the Podo is functional 
• If you try the above and you still cannot connect, contact support

If your Podo suddenly stops connecting or working after working before, try plugging your Podo into your computer. If it does not show up as an external drive, contact Support with a description of the problem.

If it does show up as a drive, try the above trouble shooting steps to get Podo working again and let us know if you cannot.

Dear Backers,

For those who have already received their Podos, we recently released a large Android app update, and an iOS update is scheduled for next week! We will keep getting rid of bugs, and will do more layout and user interface updates next based on feedback we have been receiving.

We are also targeting a revamp of the support site with more detailed tutorials that explain the modes and assist in troubleshooting.

Update on current shipping wave:

Reports from our shipping partner, Expert Xpress, show that 2,431 units have shipped out so far. Tracking emails will be sent to these customers from an @expert-xpress.com email address. 

About the tracking website mentioned in the last update: this is for use in the event that you delete or otherwise lose your tracking email. It will not show any information if your package has not shipped yet. Please hold tight as they will all get out soon!

We have a bit over 8,000 Podos that are still shipping! I know we are all excited for them to be on their way (I know we are!) but the reality is it will still take up to 10 business days from today to get them all out the door. Since we're small, every order is collected one at a time into shipping boxes and affixed with a printed shipping label by hand; our daily handling rate is about 800 units (this is an approximation). This is based on the 2400 units we got out so far in 4 days, and the fact that we'll get a little faster as operators get comfortable with the process.

Packages to North America are a distinct case and will ship out the last day of March, a Friday, or more likely that following week. This region has a high volume so we will pack and gather them all first, then ship and go through customs as one big group (Canada orders will split and go to Canada of course). Once they go through customs, they should arrive in 5 business days or less to you via local post, like USPS for example.

For those who get your tracking numbers and Podos to your doorstep, let us know! We'll be glad to hear that things went well. For any support needs please email support@podolabs.com as usual.

And now, more behind the scenes videos!

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This video shows the waterproof case being injection molded into a large steel tool. "Tool" is the term used in the production of plastic and rubber parts that means the custom "negative" of the part being produced, sort of like a cake pan. Though every tool is custom and the molding machines vary, the basic principle is the same:

Two halves of the tool come together and melted thermoplastics (in this case, a high quality and optically-clear polycarbonate) is injected into the cavity at high temperature and high pressure. The plastic is allowed to cool and harden, then the piece is ejected automatically or in our case, as it is very important the lens area isn't damaged, removed by hand. The time it takes per piece is called the "cycle time", and it can range from seconds to very simple and usually small, fast-setting parts, to minutes. Ours is about 5 minutes, which is very long and lowers the daily output capacity of our tool, hence raising costs. But quality first. 

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This video was sent to us by the factory showing us how Podo fits into the case. In our past update we showed how we achieved the level of polish we wanted on the case. however, we ran into an unexpected problem; Podo fit so securely that it was hard to take it out! We adjusted the tool and this video is the evidence that all is well on that front now.

That concludes this update! We will update you again next week when the new support site is up and if there is any different news for the shipping schedule. Until then, thank you for waiting patiently and we can't wait for you to get your Podos!

Best,

The Podo Labs Team

Dear Backers,

Some good news before heading into the weekend. Podos are gathering at the fulfillment center over the weekend and we will commence shipment on March 20th.

In this shipment are:

-All remaining Podos and accessories

-All accessories that did not ship out for those in Wave 1

-Replacements for those who sent in defective Wave 1 units

At this point all shipping addresses are finalized. You will receive tracking numbers once your package has left the facility. As a place to double check, you can input your Kickstarter email and password "podo" here: https://www.expert-xpress.com/trackings

Please note, you will only be able to look up your tracking number if a package has shipped. If you did not answer your BackerKit survey from last winter (which you should have received multiple notices about), we do not have your address on file and thus cannot ship you package with Wave 2. Please make sure you submitted your BackerKit surveys, and that you do in fact have a shipment coming this wave, before inquiring about your tracking number. Also, we will begin shipping on March 20th but not every package can be sent out on the same day; it will take up to a week to ship out nearly 10,000 packages. You can expect all tracking numbers to be out before the end of March. Thank you for your continued patience!

To note, these new units have a slight cosmetic difference in the light ring, as they are less "milky". They are not better or worse, just a little different, and we cannot accommodate returns for the sake of switching one for the other. Thank you!

Thank you for your patience with us during this whole journey. It was quite a hectic and whirlwind month making sure all the many pieces came together this time. We will answer your messages as fast as we can, and we can't wait for Monday to come for the first packages to start going out. We truly appreciate your support and hope you love Podo as much as we do. 

You can download the apps in advance here:

www.podolabs.com/ios

www.podolabs.com/android

And we have big updates planned for both of these apps within two weeks, as most of you receive your Podos.

Thank you so much, and have a great weekend!

Best,

The Podo Labs Team

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Dear Backers,

We hope you all had a great weekend. As a reminder from this update: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/podolabs/podo-the-first-stick-and-shoot-camera-the-sequel/posts/1813338, the Podos will finish production March 13th, and will ship out from the fulfillment company on March 20th. We are aiming for most if not all to arrive to you before the end of the month.

Also as a reminder, the iOS app is now available on the App Store, as is the Android app.

Download iOS app here

Download Android app here

The iOS app is scheduled for an update we will submit to Apple by the end of the week. An Android update will go out shortly, and again a week after the iOS one. We hear your feedback and will keep working at it. As always, if you need technical support or any other support, please email support@podolabs.com

Waterproof Case Finished

The final waterproof case samples have arrived to the office and we are pleased to say that they are approved as final.  

Check out the pictures:

This first picture was taken through the waterproof case. The lines on Chuntze's shirt are sharp and the colors are great. Now let's test it underwater!

It's waterproof! It also floats. Official certification to be carrying out by a lab next. 

Through the surface of the water. The rippling of the surface made the photo blurrier; wish I could take this into the ocean and shoot underwater there instead.

1/4" threaded screw in the back for use with any standard mount, including ours.

We will be placing the order for these waterproof cases and they will be ready in plenty of time to ship along with the suction cup, bike mount, and strap to go along with them. For those in wave 1 who haven't received them yet, we are shipping them to you at no extra shipping charge.

We are excited to ship the final wave of Podos to you all this coming month. Thank you everybody!

Best,

The Podo Labs Team

Dear Backers,

Woohoo! As the title says, you can visit this link to download the iOS app:

www.podolabs.com/ios

(It redirects to this iTunes listing for our app:

https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1192413936)

Note:

The app just released an hour or so ago, so it seems it is not yet searchable with keywords on the app store. So please use either of the above links to bring you directly to the correct app. The app is called: Podo Camera (5MP, 2016+) 

Do not download "Podo: World's First Stick and Shoot Camera", as that is the name of last year's app for V1 of Podo. It will not work with your new Podos!

As mentioned in the last update, we have an Android update coming tomorrow, and another iOS update the week after that. We appreciate your feedback as we continuously improve and solidify the apps.

Thank you everyone for your kind patience! We hope you will enjoy using the app and watching it grow.

Best,

The Podo Labs Team