Читать книгу Gadget Nation - FastPencil Premiere - Страница 8

Excuse Me, Your Wrist Is Ringing

After missing calls and a broken dropped phone, Jim McGrath wondered. Is there any possible way to keep a cell phone handy and still have your hands free?

That’s the question 51-year-old Jim McGrath had been asking himself. Being in sales, Jim needed his cell phone to be accessible—no holds barred. So he studied several types of phone holders on the market. Some models would hold a phone, but had to be taken out of the holder to be used. He thought about bicep armbands, but the phone was too high to see the caller ID or to talk into it in that position.

So Jim decided on the wrist position and focused on the two main styles of cell phones: bar and flip phones. The idea was to be able to talk without taking the phone out of its holder and yet be able to see the caller ID. Choice of material narrowed quickly. He chose neoprene, which is soft and wearable, lends shock absorbency to the phone, and stretches, allowing one design to accommodate several sizes and brands of cell phones. And its pliability allows the user to dial through it.

In just three years, Jim has gone through all of his savings to create his Hold-a-Phone. “Luckily, I only had to make two prototypes. The first company I used was in Taiwan. They almost got it right the first time. I only made a few changes and it was done. I found Korea’s manufacturers more expensive than China’s. Now I get them made in China and save one dollar per holder. But I have to stay on top of the Chinese manufacturer—the quality control can get sloppy. I’m up late every night instant messaging to China, and work-ing on new inventions.”

Thankfully, after investing $100,000, he doesn’t have to spend money on it now. He’s gotten a lot of free publicity. Runner’s World magazine ran two sentences about it, and even without a photograph, he sold more than 200 that month. He’s just starting to buy advertising.

“My customer base is 80 percent women. That percentage was higher, around 95 percent, but now men are coming around. Women buy them for safety and security reasons. When they exercise, they want to bring their phones and need a place to put them. Men are buying them so they can use their phone during a race; that way they can call their wives and relay where to pick them up.”

The Hold-a-Phone has been particularly helpful to the physically challenged. As one buyer said, “My husband is confined to a power wheelchair and only has limited use of his right hand (his left hand and arm are immobile). We strap the Hold-a-Phone to his left wrist above his wristwatch. This enables him to make and receive calls using only his right hand and a Bluetooth wireless earpiece… . We love it!”

Jim’s marketing strategy is to contact everybody—there’s no holding him back. The Hold-a-Phone is sold on his website and in a few catalogs and stores. It’s been a challenge to get it into retail stores. Sporting goods stores say it’s a cell phone item and cell phone stores say it’s a sports item. Without his aggressive marketing, he’d be left holding the bag—or, phone.

To take hold of the market, Jim bought all of the Internet domains related to the phrase “hold a phone,” hyphens or not, and he worked his website to come up number one on Google searches for “arm phone holder” and “wrist phone holder.” Once people have one Hold-a-Phone, they buy more for their friends and running mates. Most just don’t know it’s out there.

By moving the cell phone from the belt to the wrist, Jim McGrath hopes to change the way we communicate. With Hold-a-Phone, this inventor has put a lot on the line, but it’s a “wrist” he’s willing to take.