Versatile Visions has received quite a few emails from old customers and new potential clients, an email came in recently from someone who purchased at Walt DisneyWorld in 1999, (CAN YOU BELIEVE IT'S BEEN THAT LONG?), wondering when the NEW Skyliner will be available for purchase. At this moment we are looking into ways of reducing our overall manufacturing costs without effecting the Skyliner design, quality or functionality. We are attempting to eliminate the blister packaging and metallic art card. We do love the art card designed by Razor Creative's Rich Gould, it's magnificent and has served us well. However, currently we need to get more units into a case and reduce the case-pack weight and dimensions. The "protective" cardboard required to line the units up almost doubles the case weight.
Skyliner in Razor Creative designed Blister
We haven't raised our Skyliner prices in over 12 years. The suggested retail has been US $20.00 for the unit + shipping and handling. The next batch of Skyliners will cost a bit more to manufacture as the cost of raw materials and labor has gone up, however, our goal is to keep the single and wholesale unit cost down as low as possible. A lot of people say this, we try to implement what we say.
One of our biggest hurdles is shipping and handling. The cost to ship Skyliners in their current packaging has gone up three fold. We prefer to ship US Postal priority within the US because it allows us to track the package, print the labels on our computer and supports the US postal service.
Well, there you have it, we're sorry for the delay, but by spending time planning for the future we will be able to provide the Skyliner Virtual Message Writer at a decent cost.
Hal
p.s. an exciting NEW product is coming from Versatile Visions very soon!!!!!!
Versatile Visions was just mentioned in the Bangor Daily News for Hal Meyers mentoring Charles Earley with his new invention the EKLIPSE.
LINK to Article:
http://bangordailynews.com/2011/11/24/living/conversations-with-maine-lifestyle/‘archi-technical-artist’-invents-a-new-clothespin/
Quote from article: " “I’ve never been an entrepreneur,” Charley said, but he has become one for the first time, inspired by his revolutionary invention and some wonderful mentors … Hal Meyers of Versatile Visions in Bangor helped with imaging and packaging."
Here are some 3D images of the patent pending EKLIPSE Hal created for Charles using FormZ and Electric Image. Hal also created a few animations showing the evolution of the "clothes pin - through the EKLIPSE and a possible packaging option.
The Skyliner is a handheld, battery operated (batteries included), virtual texting novelty device that allows the end user to put a short message into the air in a 360 degree circumference (when twirled in the air). The messages can be up to 18 characters long, including spaces. Three user programmed messages can be stored in the Skyliner which also has 11 preset messages that include: AWESOME, COOL, LOVE YOU!, HAPPY NEW YEAR, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, IT'S MAGIC!, etc.
The Skyliner (version 3) will be in production, again, soon, available for purchase exclusively/directly from Versatile Visions, llc., the creator, manufacturer, designer and patent holder of the device. If you search on line and someone claims to have the SKYLINER for sale, be very careful. We're pretty sure they #1 - do not have the Skyliner - version 3 with 12 color changing LED's, #2 - will try to sell you a very old version (black unit with 8 LED's). If the Skyliner they are offering has 8 LED's, it will work (we put out a quality product), but it's at least six years old and the messages are 1/2 the size of the new version.
Therefore, please check back with us, often or you can send us an e-mail message and we will send you an alert when the Skyliners are available for purchase. Write to: skylinerguys@gmail.com
Holy Moses! I opened the door to my house and there were twenty of my friends twirling Skyliners with HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I was blown away because I couldn't turn the lights on in the house, that made me a little nervous, and it was very dark and late since I was coming home from what I thought was my birthday dinner with my" significant other."
Here it is 10pm and my friends had cut the electricity so no lights would go on. For a moment I thought maybe I had intruders. Anyway what a sight to see all those rotating lights! It was terrific see such a cool new gadget. Didn't realize it had been out there for distribution.
Thanks, Jeff
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
We have been inundated with emails sending us to sites where we see the development of unusual lighting designs on bicycle wheels using Skyliner technology. One design actually is used just to light up a bicycles path ahead at night. Very clever. This highlights our SKYLINER product as being the only item that sends a message at dusk, hand held, mobile, unique. No competition. The ones that did compete fell by the way side because of inferior tooling and unreliability. "Byline with a Skyline!"
Just an idea. What do you think about selling a Persistence of Vision program to an airlines flying at night or to any company who wants a light up message on the bottom or wings of a plane cruising over a city airway. Big money in advertising! Contact us if you are interested.
It's been a a couple of weeks since our last post, however, it's not because we have nothing to tell you. We've been busy on a top secret project, very different then the Skyliner Virtual Message Writer, but really cool non-the-less. I'll start to spill details over the next few weeks so check back often.
I keep getting e-mails from folks wondering when the Skyliner will be available. I don't have an exact date yet, simply because we don't want to be rushed into bringing in thousands of units that will sit for more than a few months in our warehouse in Bangor Maine. The idea is to bring them in and get them out to the masses with out a long time on the shelf. Even though we have had units last for 5 + years on the original batteries. Nothing beats using quality components from the get-go.
I can tell you this, we are changing a few things, not the unit itself. Presently the Skyliner will remain the same color, a dark blue, with 12 multi-colored LED's and the current list of pre-set messages. The unit will still allow the end user to easily program and save three of their own messages up to 18 characters in length(including spaces). However, we are leaning towards eliminating the current packaging which for several years has made it difficult to pack efficiently into the "master cartons". This will enable us to ship more units per carton and then allow us to send out the the consumer in a slightly smaller package.
If I were lost in the woods I could use my SKYLINER to attract attention of that chopper in the sky. If I were at the night club I could get another drink quicker, stand out. If I wanted to be seen at the auction house I could twirl my call. If I were stuck in the car at night, I could signal for help. If I were on the open sea and needed help, or if I wanted to surrender to my enemy in the early evening I might get special attention with my Magic Machine . . . Bottom line it is not only fun but necessary in this high tech planet.
Let's say you suffered a stroke, couldn't speak, could barely hear, possibly couldn't see, and only your left side worked and you were right handed. No problem with THE SKYLINER there is a button that reverses the message so you can twirl it left handed and deliver your message! If that don't turn you on then buy one of them flashlight things.
Someone I met at the Veteran's Center had me laughing with his message in his SKYLINER; "Hear Me". I didn't snicker when I first saw it but after I realized he was hard of hearing. He told me as best he could that the Skyliner afforded him a tool to introduce himself at the bar to an attractive lady without scaring them with what might appear to be a handicap. Once he could use his charm and his Skyliner the barriers were broken.
If you are looking for a way to advertise inexpensively there is nothing more captivating then a live presentation. However that is not always cost effective. Consider using some handsome, young people to wander amongst the gentry with your message in their hands. I am talking about THE SKYLINER. This is so cost effective in relation to the results acquired it becomes lost in the complicated minds of sophisticated business sorts. It's a poor man's neon sign or a better description would be an intelligent man's opportunity to innovate.
I took my Skyliner, drilled a hole through the bottom of the handle, and jury rigged my electric drill/screwdriver to it so it would stand up and continuously twirl my message to say to the Bible Thumpers who show up at dinner time, ATHEIST.
I would like to propose that all those unhappy with Congress connect in some fashion through Social Media. Let's march on Washington twirling Skyliners in the night. It holds three of your own messages and looks brilliant as an attention-getting, virtual, message writer. It allows you to be bi-partisan in your message yet at the same time lets Washington know that we are an eclectic group only wanting action through bipartisan cooperation. My message is NO REELECTION.
Like most American men I shop and am amazed at persistence of vision technology but I never really appreciated what I recently observed. The other day a friend demonstrated a hand-held device that he almost imperceptibly twirled with a twist of his wrist. Emanating from several, vertical led's were a variety of messages. I responded in amazement, "Wow!" Later in the day I began to contemplate the "Magic" of what I had seen. "How the hell do words come out of lights?"
Skyliner Virtual Message Writer Novelty Gift Item
You might find it interesting to google, Persistence of Vision. It not only blew me away but influenced my purchase of the Skyliner since I thought I could interest my son and daughter into thinking beyond just "seeing something" and "la-di-da" off into space without contemplating the science!
Imagine being able to wave your iPhone or any phone, which will download the app for Persistence of Vision Technology, and your message would be seen without texting or making a call. Your phone becomes a virtual neon sign. Let us know if you are interested. Presently in development if there is enough interest. Message Ideas: HELP, CALL, DRINK PLEASE, TAXI, SINGLE. Why wait? Pick up a Skyliner.
Got a message of thanks from a nubile, young nurse who claims a most, electrifying, sexual romp with her fiancé was, in part, due to her playful attempt to shock his libido as she was characteristically reticent. When he opened the door to her apartment and called for her there was no answer. He ambled through the abode to discover her lying prone in her room in her birthday suit swinging a Skyliner in the dim light with a message both clever and seductive.
The night was dark, and the sky was blue, not unusual for a summer night in Maine, 1999. I was driving up the coast of Maine to the furthest point, the eastern part of the United States, Eastport, to wake up in the morning and be the first in America to see the sun rise. It would appear close enough to touch.
I was not surprised, not in Maine, but I was stunned to catch a moose in my headlights which caused me to screech to a stop. The moose stared at me or rather the lights from my jeep. I backed up and stepped out, absent of doors, as I regarded the huge mammal with full rack sauntering off into the forest. Suddenly, a wide, red light beamed down from above. The light wasn't bright but filled a space as large as a small home, and then went dark. I looked up to see a circular flying saucer, wider than a football field, with a Skyliner type message spinning around its circumference which read, I COME FROM YOUR IMAGINATION. THANK YOU SKYLINER.
Last night my dog, Stuart, startled me (around 3am) when I saw him twirling my Skyliner with a message he must have programmed. It said, "Need To Poop!" I jumped up and rushed him outside, and then realized I was dreaming . . . about the SKYLINER . . . not about his needs.
Analysis: The Skyliner works when you are dreaming.
I'll tell you why. There's nothing like it so you end up owning a conversation piece that has fun built in plus necessity. It's fun to tell the boss, "I QUIT!" And the SKYLINER is needed if you are stuck for HELP at night, or you need a CAB to stop on a rainy night in the city.
I think it's fun during Spring Vacation from school. I used mine in Palm Springs to let my peers know that I was from Bowdoin College in Maine. Yes, I had thrown in my email to be texted, and I let some ladies at a table across the room know I was AVAILABLE. They laughed, I walked over, broke the barrier, and I'm still corresponding with one of them from Boston University. So, that's why. Hey, and I sell them . . . I ain't rich but it covers the bar bill and dinner once a week.
It took several years before we decided to create a new Skyliner. Why? Well, the first two versions seemed to be selling well, the knock-offs had disappeared from the scene and things were moving along. However, the rip-off units did their damage overseas by under-cutting our price making it difficult for us to sell in European markets. Luckily for us, as is often the case, the knock-offs were inferior in every way. They didn't work consistently, were difficult to program and had lousy packaging. Plus there was no "customer service". We do pride ourselves on the prompt customer service we've provided over the years.
You should know that 99.9% of our customer service responses were usually a simple explanation concerning program or battery replacement. We've sold quite a few Skyliners and had very few defective units over the years. Mostly due to our careful attention to details, using quality parts, batteries and circuitry.
New Skyliner Version 3 - Virtual Message Writer
So, when it came time to design a new Skyliner at the request of DisneyWorld, our largest customer at the time, we thought, why not, and also figured it would knock any of the old copy cats still around. This time, however, when I designed the unit in 3D I also added our Versatile Visions/Skyliner website information to the side of the unit, on each frame. This means that anyone who wanted to steal the animation would be advertising our site, unless they were going to take each frame and paint out the web address.
Once again, this animation was created in form-Z, electric image and composited in After Effects. There were some additional challenges as this new unit had tri-color LED's and I wanted to represent that clearly in the animation.
It only took me a few days to create, animate, composite and tweak this new Skyliner animation, which to my knowledge has only been used by folks who were selling the new unit, with our permission.
Take a close look at the unit as it spins to see the website address.
