04/2012 – A Hörbert for Everyone – Article in the Stuttgarter Zeitung

Fabian is two years old and loves his Hörbert. “When he wakes up early in the morning, we often listen to something together until the others wake up,” says his mother Sandra Brang. The others are four-and-a-half-year-old Martin and father Rainer Brang. They also have Hörberts. Hörbert is a portable mp3 player made of wood with a built-in speaker. In short: an audio player. Behind nine colorful buttons are audio plays and music. The data comes from a rewritable memory card.

Rainer Brang invented Hörbert two years ago. Essentially out of necessity. “Whenever we turned on our hi-fi system, Martin would enthusiastically play with the controls,” Rainer Brang recounts about his then two-year-old son. But the search for a suitable device was unsuccessful. “The devices for children were mostly made of plastic, the mp3 players were either equipped only with headphones or with small speakers that only emitted a squeak,” Brang recalls. The idea was born to build a device for his son. One that should be of high quality, robust, and especially child-friendly.

The trained software technician got to work and tried out all the circuits – until the electronics finally worked. Brang’s father built a housing out of wood.

“I then installed the electronics and integrated a speaker,” says Brang.

Two years ago at Easter, Martin received his Hörbert as a gift. To this day, he lovingly calls it his chip. “Because I showed him the chip at the time where the music and audiobooks are stored,” says Brang. Gradually, more and more acquaintances and friends wanted a wooden audio player as well. “The first Hörberts we still built by hand,” says Brang – until eventually the idea arose to set it up professionally. Rainer Brang founded the small company Winzki at the beginning of 2011. And again began the search. This time for suppliers. The family man worked for 14 months on CAD drawings to serve as a basis for the companies, designing circuits, writing emails, and making phone calls.

More than 20 companies are now involved in series production. A carpenter, for example, produces the wooden housing, one company makes the buttons, another manufactures the handles, one supplies the speakers, and another produces the carrier plates. In his workshop, Rainer Brang assembles the individual parts, solders and screws together the audio players. In shelves and boxes, there is material for 1000 Hörberts. “While I work, I listen to audiobooks on my Hörbert,” says Brang, adding: “In the evenings, it can sometimes happen that my wife and I attach the colorful buttons to the circuit boards in front of the TV.”

However, anyone who wants to buy a Hörbert will have to dig a little deeper into their pockets. A unit costs 239 euros. An engraving costs extra. The audio player is available on the internet and in two stores. “There are certainly people who think the price is too high and not realistic,” says Brang. “But it is the realistic price.” Brang emphasizes that it was important to him not to source the cheapest parts but those from Germany and Europe, which he considered the safest and which comply with applicable standards.

“Moreover, it was essential to us that the memory card already has music and audio plays on it, so parents don’t have to spend three hours on the computer,” says Brang. And how did Hörbert get its name? “We considered several names, but Hörbert just fit,” says Brang. Hörbert is Hörbert. “Everyone speaks of their Hörbert,” Brang knows from his friends and relatives as well as numerous customers. And Hörbert travels occasionally. “The Hörbert that has traveled the farthest resides in Siberia,” says Brang.

Hörbert is available on the internet at www.hoerbert.com.

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