Editor's rating
Meet Chipp’d the new pen pal.
Remember the joy of receiving a card via snail mail? Seeing your name hand written in ink and tearing open a paper envelope is now something that happens only on special occasions. While receiving a thoughtful email or e-card is nice, there is something special about discovering a letter in the mail because it’s understood how much more effort is required.
Chipp’d is a new service that takes that mailing level of effort up a few notches by requiring you to also create a webpage to go with the letter/product.
This put two questions in my mind:
Is all of this worth the extra effort?
And who is their target audience that has the time for all of this?
To better answer these questions, I tried out two Chipp’d products. One is a cute bracelet with a QR code on one side and the picture of a little carrier pigeon on the other (Chipp’d’s logo) and the other is a card with a scratch-off QR code on the inside.
I ended up absolutely adoring the card, and you can’t beat the asking price (just around $6). Here are a few images of the website I created to go with the QR code on the inside.
I thought it was worth the extra effort to create, since the idea is fun and a little bit ‘secretive’ or exclusive in nature. However, this is not something I would do on a regular basis.
These videos will be effective assuming the recipient understands what a QR code is and has the appropriate phone and application installed – if they don’t it would be good idea to provide instructions in the card.
I sent the card to a friend to test it out and see what happened. My friend appreciated the clever art on the cover, however upon scratching off the hidden QR code he did not know what to do next, and answered honestly that he “did not really have the time to go and figure it out”.
My video and webpage that required all of the additional effort then went unnoticed. If a Chipp’d video is made but never watched does it even exist?
The bracelet was a little bit of a different experience. I really enjoyed wearing it because it was kind of cute (see pictures below) however when I went to scan the code using the Chipp’d app, I was rerouted to a web browser with a 5 digit number in the search field and never got to create anything with it! My pages created with the card didn’t even show up in the app’s environment.
Such a good idea, however a poorly executed UX that needs a little bug fixing before it should be released to more people. Something that is meant to be enjoyed the old-fashioned way should be just as easy without any technical barriers.
This is my overall review:
Idea: 5/5 – The idea is fresh and cute. Even though QR codes are almost as outdated as snail mail, the experience as a novelty is entertaining for those creating the message just as much as you’d hope those receiving it.
User Experience: 2/5 – The user experience for the card was fun within the desktop web portal, however it does take a lot of time, require a lot of steps, and when I had to use the app to scan the bracelet I was unable to do anything and felt frustrated. This needs some improvement. I rated this so low because it did not work as promised. The recipient of the card could not see my secret message because he didn’t understand how it worked. Something more automated in the future would be ideal.
Design: 4/5 – The card was absolutely adorable. The minute I saw it I was hooked – even without the QR code surprise in the inside of the card. The bracelet was comfortable and a great conversation-starter, I also really like the crowned pigeon logo – which was very original and played off of a ‘carrier pigeon’ which is even more outdated then snail mail.
Hardware Quality: 5/5 – All of the products are durable and affordable. Without the additional features, these are still great products.
Chipp'd
Idea
User Experience
Design
Hardware Quality
Smart gifts and greeting cards that let you share digital content with the people you choose.
HAPPY SHOPPING!
[For more of Julia’s articles, click here! For more tech reviews, click here!]
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