Technologies / Pressy - the Almighty Android Button!

Pressy brings back simplicity to your phone. Perform your favorite and most common actions with a simple, intuitive physical button.

Touchscreens are amazing, but when you just want to turn on your flashlight, take a quick photo or send your location, simple actions can become a bit of a hassle.

Without Pressy, if you just want to turn your flashlight ON you need to:

Wake your screen -> Unlock it -> Exit your current running app -> Search for the app you want to use ->  Launch it  ->  And finally, perform your desired Action. 

This “simple” process requires 5-7 different Actions and takes more than 8 seconds! Additionally, you must maintain eye contact with your screen throughout the entire process.

But what if you want to perform an action quickly and without having to deal with or look at the device?

Pressy lets you perform any Action on your smartphone by using the most intuitive input – clicking a button – Saving you time and effort!

Pressy is a tiny physical button that connects to your phone through the headphone jack.

Connecting the Pressy Button with the free Pressy app lets you easily customize and use your favorite, everyday actions. For example, if you use your flashlight on regular basis, set a Click-combination the app for turning on your flashlight and start clicking the Button!

Getting started using Pressy couldn’t be any easier. Plug the Pressy Button to the headphone jack, download the free app, and you’re good to go. Click the Pressy button and see your phone’s flashlight turn on. Click it again and it turns off. As simple as that.

Pressy comes with 3 pre-set Actions, but once you get the hang of things you can customize clicking behavior and trigger dozens of different actions.

For Beginners

Pressy comes with three awesome, out-of-the box default actions so you can immediately start having fun with it, even if you aren't a tech-geek like us!

• One short Click to toggle your flashlight

• One long Click to toggle your phone in and out of silent mode

• Double-Click to snap a photo

 Just plug in Pressy, download the free app and start clicking!

Got the hang of it? Let’s start having even more fun!

Pressy is not just a one-trick-pony. The Pressy app allows you to select your favorite Actions and set different Click-combinations for each Action:

Pressy also allows you to customize the settings of each Action.

For example, you can set Pressy to take a regular photo or to take a discreet photo (with your screen off and without sound or flash).

How to Set an Action:

If you are a developer, Pressy has 3 ways to create your very own Action:

1. Develop an app or a service and utilize the Pressy button to launch it with your desired parameters.

2. Initiate 3rd Party apps, like a specific task in TASKER.

3. Embed Pressy in your own app to perform your specific in-app actions (using Pressy’s API – free for Kickstarter Backers!). For example, use the Pressy button as a game controller, PTT button or any other usage.

Further tips, instructions, Q&A, and social sharing of Actions will be available on www.PressyButton.com.

How Does it Work?

Once you launch the Pressy app, you activate a background service. The service monitors the headset-jack into which the Pressy Button is plugged. The application is then activated only when the Pressy Button is clicked, therefore, it does not drain your battery. The application recognizes the specific input and preforms the desired Action. The Pressy app works on all Android devices, versions 2.3 and up.

At the moment Pressy developers have many working models and prototypes of the Pressy Button. All prototypes were made using 3D printing and CNC, and manually assembled by us. In order to take production to the next level, they have already contacted all the suppliers and manufacturers they need. They got the best price offers in order to make Pressy affordable for everyone. Production costs per item are relatively reasonable, but the molds and minimum order quantity make it really difficult to carry out with our own funds.

Here is where potencial customers can truly help. All the money developers raise will help us manufacture mass quantity of Pressy buttons and bring the application to the next level. Any help will bring Pressy to life within 4 months!

The final prototype!

The 3D printed parts

some prototypes...

The Pressy Story

As it is said in the video, smartphones are really awesome! But, if you need to spend about 10 seconds and perform 5-7 actions in order to “simply” do something on your phone …. Well, in the words of Seth Godin, “It’s broken!”

This is exactly how the Pressy project was born. Developers want to give you a new, simple and intuitive way to preform everyday actions on your smartphone with a quick and simple click of a button.

The rewards

If you want to help developers to complete this project asap, you can pledge some money to get later:

What’s next?

During the last 4 months, developers were working around the clock designing and building the prototypes, during this time they also contacted dozens of manufacturers, got pricing offers and more importantly, production plans. After choosing some of them each manufacturer was examined carefully by them, and they started discussing specific details including the molds and tooling costs, specifying materials, manufacturing schedules, assembly and packaging options... Now, developers have everything we need to make Pressy a perfected product. 

Quality assurance is very important. Boaz is going to accompany the production process right from the start and we are going to test each button on several devices. developers designed a device that tests the button mechanically and electronically to make sure each and every product is intact. developers plan to begin production as soon as they reach their goal so they can deliver as soon as possible. With your help it can be in less than 4 months!

Risks and challenges

Fortunately the Pressy button is relatively simple.

Developers had two big challenges:

The first was to make the button small and fun to use. Developers've spent tons of hours in Boaz’s workshop testing dozens of different prototypes, some were made by them and some were ordered from other manufacturers. Finally, developers found the best one and started working on the manufacturing plan.

The second challenge was connecting the button inputs to the app. The protocol used is very simple but some of the actions developers wanted to preform were hard to program. They didn’t give up and after a few months of programing and QA, all the features presented work prefect!

With your help Pressy can see light in 4 months or less!