I stumbled across this on Blynk website recently. It is really useful app, but it is limited in so many ways. Plus you got to rewrite your hardware code if you want to move from prototype to product stage.
So I created my own version of Blynk. hackster.io/team-grandeur/in…
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🤔 Not true. Blynk platform is used for commercial products by many companies in 136 countries. Glad you were inspired by our design though!
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For clarity, I was talking about the limitations in free version of the app (which isn't actually free). I feel like by restricting commercial use, Blynk is basically limiting startups. It is injustice with devs who are paying in a way by buying "energy".
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Plus the startup plan ($450/mo + add-ons) is truly an overkill for startups who are already managing hardware manufacturing.
I am saying this because I truly admire Blynk. It is a wonderful service. But I have been there,
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Most of the hardware startups are operating from labs, where managing $450/mo is a big deal. Paying $3000 isn't even an option. That's the money which can be otherwise spent on building an iteration of the hardware.
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Check the costs of iOS and Android app UI design, development, firmware development, cloud infrastructure, and QA. Then account for the time needed to make it a somewhat scalable commercial solution.
Comparing to that, $450/month is a real deal with a low risk 🚀 fast launch.
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You are absolutely right, but not for the stage where I am not even sure about either my hardware gonna work or not. As in, at the very early stage, I just want to prototype my hardware with Blynk and share it with my early users to get instant feedback.
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Blynk is free for prototyping. This allows companies and individuals not only try the platform, but also test it with potential customers (focus group). As long as they don’t sell devices and services they can use Blynk with as many devices as they want. It’s not a commercial use
Feb 24, 2021 · 11:13 PM UTC
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