Sony has announced a personal crowdfunding platform called First Flight. The platform has some semblance with Kickstarter; the concept is different in some aspects and the company would use the platform to test the reception of customers to new products.
The Sony First Flight crowdfunding platform is only open to Sony (and its employees) but not to the general public. The company would list its latest inventions and products ideas on there to gauge interest and people would be able to fund them.
This would save the company the initial cost of producing the first batch(es) if the listed up product doesn’t gain any traction and it it does, the reverse would be the case. Three projects are confirmed to launch on First Flight – the first is the DIY Inventor kit – MESH, the second is a smartwatch which uses e-ink display on the circular face and strap – FES and a universal remote control adaptable to your need – HUIS.
First Flight is currently only available in Japan and only the Japanese customers would be able to contribute for now. Unless, you understand Japanese the website wouldn’t appeal to you much unless the images of course.
This is a very smart move from Sony as they look to cut their losses and test run new products without taking much risks. The Japanese company is no longer what it used to be, first it sold off its PC division – VAIO and its smartphone business is threatening to go down the same path too. The company is however still making money from the Sony Playstation 4 and it’s widely used camera sensor.
Source: Slashgear
