Frickenhausen, 06.10.2021
Hörbert manufacturer Winzki is launching the new Hörbert to mark the company’s 10th anniversary.
The popular wooden music box comes with state-of-the-art technology and many new functions.
A brief review
Parental ingenuity ultimately led to Hörbert, a high-quality MP3 player made of wood. It all started in 2007 with the birth of their son and his musical inclination. “He needed new listening food relatively quickly,” says Rainer Brang, inventor of Hörbert and managing director of manufacturer Winzki in Frickenhausen, at the foot of the Swabian Alb. After his unsuccessful search for a child-friendly and ecologically responsible playback device for two-year-olds, Brang matured the idea of building something himself. The goal was to have a stable, sustainable music player, without a display and with very good sound quality, to promote language development and to let children choose their own music.
The Hörbert product has now matured for 10 years, and has been constantly improved and developed.
The new Hörbert leaves nothing to be desired
It comes with a slightly different appearance and a brand-new electronic interior. The toggle switch for on/off no longer exists. Instead, the volume control can be pressed for electronic on/off. If you order a microphone as an option, you will receive a hörbert with a small opening at the bottom right of the front, behind which the microphone is hidden.
hörbert can now be connected to the home W-LAN and thus offers the possibility to listen to Internet radio. All sources that hörbert knows can also be recorded onto its memory card with the help of a recording function. Whether Bluetooth streams from Youtube, Spotify & Co or Internet radio – hörbert can record all content and also play it back from its colourful buttons. With an optionally available microphone, the user’s own voice can be recorded and played back directly from the colourful buttons. Without any detours via a cloud.
The functions for Bluetooth and sleep timer, which were previously available as additional options for a fee, are now included in the price. Up to two wireless headphones can be connected simultaneously via Bluetooth audio and hörbert can be used as a Bluetooth speaker.
The storage space on the SD card now extends further because hörbert can play native mp3 and m4a files. That’s why more hours fit on the same card. Each memory card then holds up to 5 times the amount of content compared to the previous format.
With the new Hörbert, the frequent customer request for a pause function could also be realised. After being switched on, the wooden MP3 player continues playing exactly where it left off before.
Climate responsibility
In the spirit of climate-responsible handling of electronic devices, the new Hörbert now contains even less plastic. Even the colourful keys are now made of turned wooden parts. Only the circuit board and the components on it are made of plastic. Thus, Hörbert consists of less than 5% plastic. In addition, from spring 2022, Winzki will be offering conversion by electronic exchange for a fee for every Hörbert since 2011. This means that no tried and trusted Hörbert has to be thrown away, but will be sustainably retrofitted. For continuous use in the children’s room and on the road for years to come.
The new Hörbert is now available for pre-order at www.hoerbert.com and currently has a delivery date of 4-6 weeks.
About the manufacturer Winzki GmbH & Co. KG
The SME company has been producing Hörbert since 2011 and will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2021. The Hörbert, made of sustainable wood, is a development of the managing director Rainer Brang. Hörbert is handmade from high-quality materials in Germany and exported from there to several countries in Europe. In 2020, approximately 8,000 Hörberts were built. In the last fiscal year 2019/2020, the turnover of the company, which currently employs 20 full-time and part-time staff, was approximately EUR 1.500.000