CrowdSpirit wants the masses to design, build and buy new gadgets

By Cyrus Farivar | December 15, 2006

Crowdsourcing is one of those internet buzzwords that many of you have heard floating these days, and it was only a matter of time before someone took that idea and merged it with consumer electronics. Enter CrowdSprit, a new online community that aims to improve upon the consumer electronics market by tapping the wisdom of the masses. Some of the proposed devices include an MP3 player, GPS device, and radar detector (huh?), all for under €150 or $190. The idea is that a group of online consumers discuss ideas for a new gadget, then investors will throw some money down and build a prototype. Once that’s done, the community comes back to test the device, and then will ostensibly buy that product. (No word on what happens if the product is a flop, or if it needs to go back to the drawing board.) We’ve got loads of suggestions on some of our favorite gadgets, and while we’re not entirely convinced that this whole idealistic plan will work, we’re definitely intrigued. Once CrowdSpirit actually makes its first prototype, we’ll let you know.

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