business cards have been around for ages and even in this digital age, the design remains largely unchallenged. it is still a piece of paper with your name and contact info. sure, it may have additional stuff like web URL, or even a QR code for quick access to your company’s website, but that’s that. so, does it warrant a change to keep up with times? perhaps, if you eager to stand out from your peers and competitions, and in which the case, you can look to swivelCard Smart Business Cards. as the name suggests, each card kind of swivel and folds into a USB drive.
it uses a special patented technique to embed USB technology into paper, turning them into USB storage for you to store your company profile, product images and videos, presentations and even launch a website. but that’s just an appetizer; the real trick is, each card can be assigned with an unique ID, allowing you to change the destination it is pointing to. such as, for example, giving potential client a card that points to a video presentation and after a few days on, you change it to point to the product URL. so, in this way, your name card speaks more than just your name. it is dynamic. you can even serve up unique content to suit individual client’s needs and wants.
what’s more, the backend interface can also track when and where each card is being viewed. all you need to do is to look up the card’s unique ID. the card is also printed with a QR code, just in case your client does not have access to a computer or for those who choose to access the information right there and then. additionally, there is an option to include NFC or Near Field Communication, which does what inserting the USB into a computer does, by hovering or touching the card to a NFC-enabled smart mobile device.
swivelCard Smart Business Card is available in a set of 200 which bears one of the eight pre-made designs for $319 on Kickstarter (sorry folks, early bird specials are all gone). NFC-enabled card goes for $379 for a set of 200. if you want to get all fancy and have a little more dough to spare, $419 will secure yourself a set of 200 with full custom print on the front and back, while 60 bucks more will land you with custom print and NFC-enabled smart business cards, also in a set of 200.
in case you aren’t ready to dive into the high-tech business cards, the company is also offering swivelCard mini, which has all the functionality of the larger cards, but only smaller and with sticky back for adhering it to anywhere like sticky notes. the mini goes for $29 for a pack of 10 or $79 for 40 pieces, but because of the size, it has no option for NFC. swivelCard Smart Business Cards has 31 days to go on Kickstarter, but it has since pass its initial funding goal, so by backing the project, you are essentially pre-ordering the product which is expected to ship sometime in October 2014.
submitted via TIP US page.
