Cotton Candy is Red Hot!

Posted by borgar on 09. December 2011 in Blog with 2 comments

Thank you to everyone who has contacted us in the past few weeks about the Cotton Candy prototype we demonstrated in New York City. We knew we had something hot on our hands, but the response has been overwhelming. Potential applications for the product have been voluminous, ranging from fitness and nutrition, video gaming, streaming media, low cost computing, legal systems, in-store display management and many, many more.

Our story took the servers down of a prominent mobile news website and was the best ranking story of all time. And developers, potential partners and retailers have reached out from around the globe, including South America, Europe, Asia, the United States and more. Many of the questions we have received have been the same. So we’ve compiled them here for you with a few simple answers.

Q 1. I want Cotton Candy now.

A 1. Cotton Candy will be available in Q1 2012 in limited quantities for developers. Consumer devices are anticipated to hit the market in Q3 2012. Join our mailing list for notification – iwantcandy@fxitech.com; and visit www.fxitech.com for updates.

Q 2. How much will Cotton Candy cost?

A 2. First run products will sell for well under $200

Q 3. How do I control a Cotton Candy device connected to a screen?

A 3. Cotton Candy supports USB, Bluetooth and wireless, so a variety of peripheral devices, mice, keyboards, remote controls and more. Additionally, a SmartPhone with an appropriate app can be used as a remote control.

Q 4. How can I become a developer? How can I get a development unit?

A 4. Join our email list (on the FXI home page) for product updates and to be notified of our development program.

Q 5. I am interested in a technology partnership with FXI.

A 5. Email fxilabs@fxitech.com.

Q 6. I am a reviewer, and would l like to review Cotton Candy. Do you have any media photos or information?

A 6. Email kim.stowe@fxitech.com to be added to the reviewer list and to get more details about Cotton Candy.

Q 7. Will you be at CES?

A 7. FXI will be at CES taking private meetings with select partners and customers.

Q 8. I am interested selling or distributing Cotton Candy.

A 8. Email sales@fxitech.com.

We are doing our best to handle the volume of messages in a timely and considerate fashion. However, be sure to check back regularly for updates, or follow FXI on Twitter @FXITech, Google+ and on Facebook.

Warm regards,

Kim Stowe

Director of Marketing

Start spreading the news

Posted by borgar on 17. November 2011 in Blog with 7 comments

As Kim and I stand here in New York demonstrating our sweet little Cotton Candy to the world, I realize that we do need to offer an explanation of the name. The reason is that it was the most similar existing object that describes somewhat what it is doing: a stick connecting a cloud to your hand!

Today there are as many screens as there are people on the planet, however, while population growth is declining the number of screens are increasing. With this growth of screens the complexity of the various systems driving them, semi conductors, cables, eco-systems, operating systems, service channels, payment models, etc. also increase.

At the same time we see that we want to use these screens the same way. We want to check our Facebook, post our Tweats, read our e-mail, find the closest restaurant, watch movies, play games and check stock quotes. There is certainly an app for everything, and we want these apps to be everywhere.

But for an App developer to be able to support all these “screens” one need to port to iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, bunch of proprietary Smart TV and Set-Top-Box OSes and whatnot. And all of these have different APIs, graphics accelerators, memory configurations, CPU performance, media accelerators etc. which makes it impossible to create an App with the same experience on every screen. This fragmentation has plagued developers and consumers alike for as long as there has been computing, and now that computing is going into absolutely everything so does the fragmentation.

So what do we do about this. In order to have a consistent user experience on all of your screens you need to acquire a multitude of expensive devices each year ( or the same rate as you buy your Smartphones) in order to be “up to date” and be able to access the latest and greatest Apps. Or, you can spend a little on a smart, connected companion device that works on all of your existing screens, or most other screens that you encounter. We are working hard to make this choice real.