Kickstarter backers are crazy for Lunecase, a smart line of iPhone cases for for iPhone 5/5S or 5c that light up with an illuminated phone icon or message icon to notify you of an incoming call or text. Seventeen hours is all it took for the case — designed by Ukraine based startup Concepter — to reach its $50,000 goal, and now the total stands at $135,000 and counting before the campaign ends on June 5.
Buoyed by this wave of cash, Concepter is floating a new variation on the Lunecase called the Lunecase Eclipse. The Eclipse functions just like the original Lunecase, except that instead of icons illuminating, you’ll see a ring around your phone’s Apple logo that lights up when you get a text or a call.
Lunacase (top) and Lunacase Eclipse
The cool thing about the Lunecase is that its LEDs don’t use batteries or any connection with your phone. Instead, it’s powered by electromagnetic energy, which all phones emit at different levels. The jury is still out on whether or not prolonged exposure to electromagnetic energy can contribute to brain damage. But if you’re the cautious type, use your phone’s speaker or a headset.
Lunecase Eclipse pledges start at $35 on Kickstarter, which gets you a Lunecase Eclipse in your choice of black or white. If you prefer the original Lunecase with the phone or message icons, you’ll need to pledge at least $39, or you can get both cases for $69. If you plan to upgrade to an iPhone 6 when it’s out this fall, Concepter has you covered with a Lunecase for your current iPhone, plus $20 off on a future Lunacase for the iPhone 6.
Concepter hopes to ship the first Lunacase iPhone cases to its Kickstarter backers in August, and after that it plans to sell the cases at a retail price of around $50 each.
Concepter first showed off Lunecase at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show last January, but it isn’t the company’s first go at a smartphone LED product. Last year it used Kickstarter to fund and produce iBlazr, a plug-in LED camera flash for the iPhone or iPad.
