what was it? sound samples about us
we were on
Kickstarter

TeleSound has been running a campaign on Kickstarter, the largest crowdfunding platform for creative projects. More about Kickstarter.

Since the launch of Kickstarter in 2009, over $450 million has been pledged by more than 3 million people, funding more than 35,000 creative projects around the world.

Every project creator sets their project's funding goal and deadline. If people like the project, they can pledge money to make it happen. If the project succeeds in reaching its funding goal, all backers' credit cards are charged when time expires. If the project falls short, no one is charged.

The platform is originally from the US, but anyone can back a project.

This means that if you wanted TeleSound to happen, you should have backed the project. If enough of you and your friends did, we would have been able to make it ;)

go to the project page
∧ Close ∧

TeleSound was a cute speaker containing over 1,000 sounds that you and your friends could trigger from a smartphone or tablet over the internet

TeleSound was a new way to communicate with your friends and family in a casual or exclusive way, by simply using sounds.

It was great to send sweet thoughts to your loved one, poke friends, share your feelings, surprise your cat, play with your kids or annoy your colleagues!

You could have backed the project on Kickstarter to get your hands on one of the first TeleSounds to be produced for $34 (shipping included).

How did it work?

TeleSound connected wirelessly to your smartphone or tablet using Bluetooth 4.0 (see specs for compatibility).

When it was connected, anyone that you authorized could trigger sounds on your TeleSound from anywhere in the world, by sending a series of icons from a free iPhone/Android application.

It was like text messaging with Emojis, transformed into sounds.

Step 1:

Pick a friend

Step 2:

Type a series of icons

Step 3:

Hit "send"!

Step 4:

The sounds were played directly on your friend's TeleSound

No friends? You could use your TeleSound as a soundbox with the "play" mode!

Play mode

Your TeleSound knew when you are around

Once it was peered with your smartphone or tablet, your TeleSound connected automatically when it was less than 30 feet away (10 meters).

You’d never miss a sound message: as soon as your TeleSound (re)connected, it got back online and messages received while offline were played automatically. The senders would also receive delivery confirmations.

Simple controls

Fast and easy: you could go offline by turning your TeleSound over. Replayed the last message with a simple “moo box” gesture.

The history of messages received, volume and privacy settings were controlled via the app on your smartphone or tablet.


Simple gestures

Over 1,000 great sounds

TeleSound contained over 1,000 sounds carefully designed to express a wide range of emotions and situations. From fun to poetic, from meaningful to musical.

The sound vocabulary was based on the standardized Emojis - which are an extended set of emoticons originally coming from Japan. Every sound corresponded to one Emoji and was graphically represented by it.

TeleSound was full of surprises: most sounds have variations, so you did not hear exactly the same sounds all the time, and certain sounds combined into composite sounds. For example, when you sent several laughs in a row, they would combine into a gigantic laugh.

listen to sound samples

Four shiny colors

TeleSound came in four colors: orange, red, yellow and blue.

Four colors

Specifications & compatibility

Power

TeleSound was powered by 2 standard AAA batteries that last for months, depending on your usage.

The TeleSound app was running in the background of your smartphone or tablet and had been carefully optimized to save your device's battery life.

Compatibility

To receive sounds, you needed a Bluetooth 4.0 enabled smartphone or tablet running iOS (Apple) or Android, such as (at that time):

  • Apple - iPhone 4S & 5, iPad 3, iPad Mini, iPod Touch (5th generation)
  • Android - Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One X, Nexus 4

To send sounds, you just needed a free app running on any Apple or Android smartphone or tablet.

Technical specs (*)

  • Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity
  • 2W amplifier, 4 Ohm high quality speaker
  • 128MB storage
  • Tilt-sensor
  • 2 AAA batteries
  • Dimensions: 2.4" x 2.4" x 1.5" (62mm x 62mm x 38mm)

(*) some specifications could have changed a bit, but don't worry, you would not have noticed the difference!

Pre-ordering options

On the Kickstarter project page, you could find several options to get your hands on a TeleSound before everybody.

$34

One TeleSound in your choice of color (orange, red, yellow or blue).

The first 500 backers could have gotten a free exclusive soft fabric protection bag. This included worldwide shipping.

Estimated delivery: August 2013

$64

Two TeleSounds in your choice of colors (orange, red, yellow or blue).

This included worldwide shipping.

Estimated delivery: August 2013

$124

Four TeleSounds in your choice of colors (orange, red, yellow or blue).

This included worldwide shipping.

Estimated delivery: August 2013

The Kickstarter project also offered exclusive limited rewards at $500 and $1,000. The happy few would have had the unique possibility to have a personal input on the final product, by selecting a combination of emojis and its corresponding sound, or by choosing the sound of one the 20 emojis that we have reserved for backers.

Too late to pre-order :)

In the press

TeleSound received an honorable lot of press coverage, including: Mashable, Techcrunch, Laughing Squid, Yanko Design, etc.