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  • The Apprentice
Does it matter if their products would never work?
spkx
15-10-2014
So the Girls have come up with a heated jumper for cold weather... but that is powered by sunlight... and they hope two tiny solar panels would provide enough power? That's even before we consider the safety/fire implications, not to mention also drawing power for a phone charger and lights.

At least the Guys' product was doable and I could see a tiny niche for it, like GoPro type cameras
thefairydandy
15-10-2014
I think that a discreet battery sewn throughout the lining could power a small amount of heat (like an electric blanket), OR a phone charger. There wouldn't need to be much heat to make a difference if the outer lining above the heat pack kept the heat in.

The heat pack could also provide targeted relief if it could be controlled by an app - it could relieve back or period pain if you could select to just target one area.

The lights... nah! Naff in the extreme.
0...0
15-10-2014
It's all bollocks though isn't it? Making people jump through hoops for cash and watching them eat each other alive, dodgy editing so everyone looks humbled by 'Lord' Sugar. I wish someone would call him Alan by mistake.
shanders
15-10-2014
How would you wash the jumper with a camera and an LED logo?!!
rubberduck3y6
15-10-2014
Originally Posted by shanders:
“How would you wash the jumper with a camera and an LED logo?!!”

That's what my mum (ever practical) said! I replied that it probably wouldn't get worn enough for that to be an issue...
spkx
16-10-2014
Originally Posted by shanders:
“How would you wash the jumper with a camera and an LED logo?!!”

Well that of course goes for all wearable tech, surely? There must be ways. There are waterproof cameras so I imagine it's not too hard really. Another option would be to just make the camera removable, although then it does become even more just a jumper with a GoPro stuck on the front.

In any case, I'm only comparing it to the Girls product which wouldn't get close to getting off the ground, even if they got some 'imaginary' orders
allafix
16-10-2014
Originally Posted by thefairydandy:
“I think that a discreet battery sewn throughout the lining could power a small amount of heat (like an electric blanket), OR a phone charger. There wouldn't need to be much heat to make a difference if the outer lining above the heat pack kept the heat in.

The heat pack could also provide targeted relief if it could be controlled by an app - it could relieve back or period pain if you could select to just target one area.

The lights... nah! Naff in the extreme.”

So basically instead of being solar powered it would become a wearable battery pack, but with heating elements all over it too?

The solar panels could provide a small amount of heat as well, but nothing like enough to have any pain relieving qualities. Is period pain normally felt in the upper body? To control it via an app you would need a wireless receiver too.

A solar powered phone charger jacket would work or at least it would extend the battery life somewhat, and that would also give off some heat. But what if you wanted to charge your phone on a hot day? It wasn't thought through. But they did sell some on the basis that it could be redesigned to be practical.

The boys product, thought up at the last minute, did work but putting a camera on a sweatshirt was stupid. The only place for such a thing would be on some kind of hat, so it took video at eye level of what you were looking at and could easily be taken off.
Joel_B
16-10-2014
Originally Posted by spkx:
“So the Girls have come up with a heated jumper for cold weather... but that is powered by sunlight... and they hope two tiny solar panels would provide enough power? That's even before we consider the safety/fire implications, not to mention also drawing power for a phone charger and lights.

At least the Guys' product was doable and I could see a tiny niche for it, like GoPro type cameras”

No, it's not actually that important. The task is mostly about:

* Being able to manage / work as part of a team

* Produce a product that the buyers will like - they could have made the camera-jumper more desirable to JDSports if they made it as part of a t-shirt.

* Being able to pitch a product.

Ending up with a product that has lots of features and is not what the buyers would like is usually an indication of a poorly managed team.

Since the product isn't actually that important, it's actually not important for the PM to have knowledge of either fashion or technology. They just need to find someone who does and manage them and the team well.
keeping_it_real
16-10-2014
Why one earth didn't the girls make their solar panels to be epaulettes that you could clip on or off as you needed them? In particular to charge them to full power when your jacket has been hanging up in the dark of your wardrobe!

As for the sweatshirt, I think it was the 'on air' on the front that let it down. Filipe (Is that his name? Last project manager?) was right, it looked like a Christmas jumper. They should have just researched what an actual on air sign looks like and emulated that.
WinterFire
16-10-2014
The boys should have gone for a cycling reflective top with camera. There would be a market for that.

Edit: Although, thinking about it, the reason for the awful products may be people in the teams deliberately going for an awful product in an attempt to get the team leader fired.
trollface
16-10-2014
Originally Posted by keeping_it_real:
“As for the sweatshirt, I think it was the 'on air' on the front that let it down. Filipe (Is that his name? Last project manager?) was right, it looked like a Christmas jumper. They should have just researched what an actual on air sign looks like and emulated that.”

I don't actually blame either team for how poor the lights looked on the garments. They were shown, by example, that miniskirt. So when they asked for LEDs, I'm sure they were imagining something of that quality. What they got was Christmas lights.

Perhaps they should have asked "will these lights look like that skirt or like you've gone down to B & M and bought a 99p LED strip?", but I can understand why they didn't. At the very least, the company making the products came out of it looking just as bad as the teams themselves.
Annsyre
16-10-2014
Originally Posted by spkx:
“So the Girls have come up with a heated jumper for cold weather... but that is powered by sunlight... and they hope two tiny solar panels would provide enough power? That's even before we consider the safety/fire implications, not to mention also drawing power for a phone charger and lights.

At least the Guys' product was doable and I could see a tiny niche for it, like GoPro type cameras”

Secret cameras near children is a bad idea don't you think?
Joel_B
16-10-2014
Originally Posted by Annsyre:
“Secret cameras near children is a bad idea don't you think?”

Replace the sweat-shirt with a t-shirt / running top and pitch it at people doing activities well away from children. Eg, rock climbing or base jumping. It's not the best product, though.
allafix
16-10-2014
Originally Posted by Annsyre:
“Secret cameras near children is a bad idea don't you think?”

Why are secret cameras near children a bad idea? Assuming it's a public place and everyone is fully clothed.

The only thing "pervy" about the camera was that it was at around cleavage height. Google Glass has a camera built in, that's much more secret than a camera on a sweatshirt surrounded by LEDs.
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