Kickstarter Project Seeks to Fund Swoop the Owl Plush for iPhone and iPod touch

June 22, 2011 - PRLog -- Santa Barbara, CA - A new Kickstarter project launched yesterday, looking to fund a plush owl that holds an iPhone or an iPod touch in a pocket on the front. The new mobile plush provides a place to keep your phone while sleeping. The phone can also be used while in the pocket; a great way to allow your kids to play with the device without fear.

The project was started by Jim McGaw and Tara Armbruster, two Santa Barbara residents that had an idea for new accessory for people who sleep with their iPhones.  In late 2010 Jim read a Stanford study that said 75% of iPhone users sleep with their phone in the bed with them. (source: http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/iphone-addictions) In the study, iPhone users admitted that using their iPhones was often the last thing they did before they went to sleep and the first thing they did after waking up in the morning.

“There are a lot of iPhone cases for use during the day, but Swoop is the first mobile plush case that is specifically designed to hold your phone while you sleep,” said Jim McGaw, product co-founder.

After several months designing a plush toy that could hold an iPhone or iPod touch, Swoop emerged. Swoop is a blue and brown plush owl with big eyes and a nice soft pocket to hold your iPhone. At about 12” tall, he is the perfect size and shape to hold, use, toss, cuddle and rest your head. Although Swoop was designed with college students in mind. However, while getting feedback on the prototype, the creators realized it was teen/tween girls that really loved Swoop.  Swoop is also great for parents that have young children that borrow their phone. Swoop helps protect the phone, keeping it safe from sticky fingers and the risk of being dropped.

The project founders also think Swoop could have practical applications in education. “Right now, Swoop is just a simple prototype of an iPhone-holding plush owl that we want to produce,” say Jim, “but I don’t think the idea has to stop there. We are developing a very simple iPhone app for Swoop that will make him interactive. Somewhere down the line, it would be great if there were iPhone apps being developed for Swoop for educational purposes, like teaching children math or how to read, with Swoop as their tutor. It’s too soon for us to go that direction, but we hope to get there eventually.”

Kickstarter, founded in 2009, is an crowdfunding website that allows individuals to raise money for creative projects from individual contributors. The Swoop owl project is looking to raise $7,500, to pay to get the first run of Swoop mobile plush cases produced. The project will only be successful if the goal is reached, otherwise the project will not receive any of the contributions.

Swoop the Owl was created by Jim McGaw, a software programmer and Tara Armbruster, an online marketer. This is their first endeavor in product design. Their Kickstarter project is hoping to raise $7,500 to pay for the manufacturing costs of getting Swoop produced. The project runs through July 10th and offers several pledge levels. Pledges as low as $5 will get supporters a sticker “I backed Swoop the Owl on Kickerstarter.com”. $25 will act as a pre-order for a Swoop mobile plush case and will also get users a sticker. For $45 a supporter will receive two owls and 2 stickers. For $100 a supporter can get a personalized embroidered owl as well a t-shirt, and sticker. For stores interested in stocking Swoop, there is also a box of 10 available for $150. More information and photos can be found at http://www.swoopowl.com/ or http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jimmcgaw/swoop-the-ow...