ShareBuds is creating world’s first headphones designed for sharing music through crowd-funding
Ever sat next to your friend who wanted to hear the same song you were listening to on your iOs, Android, Windows enabled device? Have you ever wanted to enjoy in-flight entertainment together with a loved one but you only had one set of
headphones? Here comes Washington-based ShareBuds, world’s first headphones designed specifically for sharing music.It offers a simple yet fun way to listen to your favourite music together with a friend or a loved one anywhere, anytime, and on any device without the inconvenience of having to share a single set of headphones or buying an extra headphones splitter.
How did the idea click?
“Some time ago, we watched Oprah and Bono share a single set of headphones to listen to music together during the launch of
Red iPod Nano in Chicago. We thought there ought to be a better way as they both listened together with just one ear, each not hearing the full left and right stereo sound,” says Sanya Ojikutu, founder, ShareBuds. This got Sanya thinking of a better way to share music, which led to the development of ShareBuds.Specifications of ShareBuds
ShareBuds music sharing headphones offer four ear buds and a 3.5 mm connection jack integrated into one product allowing users to share audio from iPod, iPad, iPhone, Kindle, Nook, portable DVD Player, Android and other digital devices.
Moving ahead from idea stage was very challenging
One of the primary challenges ShareBuds faced was the ability to move ahead of the idea stage. “We’re motivated by the sustained passion to create a product that is easy to use and satisfies an unmet need that people are actually willing to pay for. We’ve successfully figured out how to build ShareBuds by developing and testing prototypes to ensure we end up with the most desirable headphones possible,” adds Sanya.
Early adopters can pre-order ShareBuds headphones starting at $49 via the crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo. After the campaign, ShareBuds will be available for $79. The startup is expected to start shipping the pre-orders in May 2014. It had already met crowd funding goal a few weeks ago. However, the startup added a stretch goal so that more people can contribute to it.
Road ahead
ShareBuds believes that there's a big opportunity for them to change the way people share music. “So, in order to go big, we’re
actually going after something small — make music sharing simple,” says Sanya . It plans to maintain a strong focus on a niche market within the mobile device music ecosystem. “We are not trying to be another Beats, Skullcandy or Bose headphones. Our strategy is to focus on building headphones for sharing music (wired and wireless),” he adds.ShareBuds is developing the next generation MX2 headphones along with world's first wireless music-sharing headphones.
