With the glut of sleep tracking apps all vying for consumers’ attention, companies have begun to package the sleep tracking experience in a multitude ways to differentiate themselves.
The oddly named Fancy struggles to stand out. It uses ambient lighting to influence a person’s sleep cycle, helping them to get a deeper rest and wake up gently. The system incorporates the Fancy lamp and an iDo Plus — a connected device that uses an accelerometer to track sleep movements and interface with the lamp. Tying everything together is the companion iOS/Android app allowing users to map out their sleep characteristics, download mobile statistics, and “download their dreams” (whatever that means). The $100,000 AUD (~$78,545) campaign is looking to get the $129AUD (~$101) Fancy system out to backers by August 2015.
As different as this product is, it just isn’t that compelling in the wake of competitors. The SafeBand incorporate sleep tracking along with subtle vibrations, and products like Beddit and Luna have focused their efforts on making beds themselves smarter. Other products like the aforementioned Luna do the same job far better than Fancy, making it a tough sell. The extremely vague campaign doesn’t help, either, especially when it seems like there’s more to the product.