Many people who spend a significant amount of time on the phone at work use headphones or a headset so they can go hands-free during calls and type as they talk.
While they have yet to enter the mainstream, there are also devices that fit over the mouth and allow phone talkers to muffle their voices. The idea is to let you discuss sensitive matters when there are people within earshot, preventing them from eavesdropping on—or feeling annoyed by overhearing—your phone conversation.
One of the newest voice-dampening devices is Bloxvox, which is developed by a Milwaukee-based startup of the same name. Bloxvox is seeking to rack up $25,000 in pre-orders of its voice privacy tool as part of a Kickstarter campaign launched on Tuesday.
Greg Umhoefer, the inventor of Bloxvox, says he believes the device has the potential to turn into an everyday consumer product. He says the device is practical for workers in offices with open floor plans and people who take calls while communing by train or bus.
Bloxvox has at least one competitor, Umhoefer says. Ukraine-based Hushme, which markets its device as “the world’s first voice mask for smartphones,” launched its own crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in May 2017. It’s raised more than $71,000 so far, according to the campaign website.
Other voice-dampening devices worn over the mouth that are available for purchase today include Beltbox (for singers) and several different stenomask models (for courtroom stenographers).
“It’s not a brand new idea to speak and have others not hear you,” Umhoefer says. But he says most of the other rival devices “aren’t really going after mainstream office folks or commuters.”
Bloxvox is made of rigid plastic and thermoplastic elastomer, which is the soft, rubber-like material on the part of the device that touches the user’s face, Umhoefer says. The product is shaped like a cup and doesn’t contain any electronic components, he says. Bloxvox is instead designed to be used in conjunction with microphone-equipped headphones, and has a slit along the side where the user can insert the mic. There’s also a small hole on the convex end of the device, with an attached tube that extends toward the user’s mouth and nose, to allow breathing.
If Bloxvox’s Kickstarter campaign turns out to be successful, Umhoefer says the next step will likely be to manufacture the device in large quantities. He says he made the initial product prototypes using his own 3D printers, but that large-scale production of Bloxvox will require working with an established injection molding company. Umhoefer says he’s currently in discussions with several such businesses.
Bloxvox plans to include a head strap with each device it ships so customers can go hands-free, Umhoefer says. However, headphones must be supplied by the user.
Bloxvox is not compatible with some wireless headphone models, such as Apple’s (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AAPL]]) AirPods, Umhoefer says. Bloxvox may add Bluetooth technology and a built-in microphone to future versions of its device—or even add wired or wireless headphones, which would make the product a closed system.
A user who wants to order a single Bloxvox device must pledge $50. As one orders more devices, the per-unit cost comes down; for example, you can pre-order 10 units for $400, or 100 of the devices for $3,000. Pre-order customers will only get their devices (and have their credit cards charged) if Bloxvox eclipses its $25,000 goal, Umhoefer says. Competing devices tend to start at around $130, and he claims they’re more bulky and weigh more than
