(Photos | Courtesy of Wingo)
Wingo, a mobile device company that has created a case to make it easier and more comfortable to hold mobile devices, has launched its first product and has additional product rollouts planned in 2020 and beyond. Wingo, a division of Ambulant, Inc has created the first case for mobile devices that not only protects the device in the case but also the person holding the device.
“Holding onto your tablet or phone requires constant grip pressure and can lead to repetitive stress injuries, hand fatigue, wrist and forearm pain,” said Cole McGowan, Founder of Wingo. “We have created an ergonomic solution that makes it easier, more comfortable and less painful to hold on to your mobile device.”
McGowan came up with the idea when his father, an arthritis sufferer, experienced hand fatigue and pain while trying to hold onto his e-reader. Frustrated, McGowan taped a ruler to the back of the e-reader that created a way to hold the device without any grip pressure. The extensions looked like wings and the idea for Wingo was born. McGowan, a health care consultant at the time, spent the next year acquiring patents to protect his design and worked tirelessly with engineers and designers on the final product.
Looking for the best environment to establish and grow the company, McGowan set up corporate headquarters in Bend and hopes to create jobs for Central Oregonians as the Wingo team grows and unveils new products. “There is a lot of talent — from engineers to designers to operations staff — in Central Oregon and we expect to be a household name while we expand our team here in Bend.”
Wingo closed over $1M of funding last year and recruited CEO Steve Elwell and EVP Mark Freeland. The company recently launched another round of funding that will be used to expand the product line and bring more operations staff on board. The first WingoCase, designed specifically for the iPad mini 4, hit the market this week and the company plans to add additional cases for tablets and is also working on a product for phones that has received rave initial reviews. “There are about 1.5 billion phones sold annually and we feel like we have designed a product that is superior to anything on the market,” said Wingo CEO Steve Elwell.
Wingo located their corporate headquarters in the Moda building (360 SW Bond Street) and plans to lease additional warehouse space in Central Oregon as the company grows.
Based in Bend, Wingo is a team of designers, engineers and ergonomists dedicated to creating products focused on comfort, functionality and ergonomics. We love our wireless devices and we saw our friends and peers holding their devices for longer periods of time. We also noticed that a lot of people started to complain about hand, wrist and forearm pain as they were holding their devices. With that in mind, we developed WingoCase, the first truly ergonomic case designed to reduce hand fatigue and prevent repetitive stress injuries for mobile device users. Quite simply, Wingo makes it easier and more comfortable to hold mobile devices.
Founded on scientific principles and advanced ergonomics, the mission at Wingo is to enhance mobile device comfort while bridging the gap between functional and fashionable design.
