A short interview with Dave Skinner about the pogo connect
I wrote a post about the pogo connect earlier this month. Now Dave Skinner of tenonedesign was so kind to answer some questions I had about the device.
The pressure response on the connect is great: can you tell us a little more about the underlying technology? How does the crescendo sensor work?
The Crescendo Sensor is a solid-state technology used for sensing pen pressure. Although the details are a tightly-held trade secret, we can tell you there are more surprises to come related to this sensor.
So far there’s only one button on the connect, but stylus on eg. wacom tablets use many buttons, and also direction sensors. is that a way to go?
In our testing, multiple buttons provided some benefits, but also caused mistakes for some users. We think our customers will appreciate the simplicity of a single button. Accelerometers, gyroscopes, secondary buttons, laser pointers, bottle openers, and secret compartments are all possible in the future!
What happens when the tip wears off/ gets punctured, will it break the functionality?
The tip is engineered to be as bulletproof as possible. If you are somehow able to puncture it, the pressure performance will not be reduced at all.
Can you tell us anything about your future plans?
We think accurate pressure sensitivity is a great first step for iPad artists. It has been a long time coming. We’re planning to show off what other things our Crescendo Sensor is capable of early next year. Beyond that, we will be closely listening to what our digital artist friends are telling us. If we can better the experience of digital art in any way, you can bet we will do it.
What are the main obstacles with implementations/SDK?
Our Pogo Connect has been graciously received by app developers. As of now integration is completed or nearly so for most of the top-tier artistic apps.
The largest challenge was making enough samples to send developers. The very first pens we sent out were made from plastic on our 3D printer. There was a comically large strip of copper tape running down the outside. They were quite possibly the ugliest thing you have ever seen.
What role played the community in developing the product?
We always enjoy hearing thoughts over email or on Twitter. In fact, the Locator Beacon feature of Pogo Connect was inspired by a Twitter comment. Ten One Design is a very small company. Every tweet is read by the designers. It is a opportunity to get inside their heads and inspire the next great feature.
Thx Dave for the interview! The pogo connect is now available for pre-ordering, expected to ship on October 31st.