Shop Talk: When Apple makes a “strong recommendation,” don’t ask questions

When Peter Jauss of Berwyn-based computer accessory manufacturer PARAT Solutions approached Apple with his idea to design a Made For iPod multi-unit docking station, the engineers at Cupertino had a very strong recommendation for him.
“They said, ‘if you ever hear us ‘strongly recommend’ something, you do it. You might not understand why. It might add cost. But we’re seeing something that’s forward-looking that you can’t see.”
So when Jauss got the contract from Apple to be able develop PARAT’s solution with the coveted MFi Apple-supported sticker, he didn’t ask questions about some of the changes they made in the design specs.
“It was data communication stuff, something to do with the interference between multiple devices,” he explains. “But it was a great thing. Because we carry that badge, it adds credibility.”
Since, the company has been focused on improving its innovative docking solutions for Apple products. Take its PARASYNC product, which allows for the ability to charge and sync up to 20 iPod and iPhones to a single iTunes library. For institutions and large organizations — like schools, universities, museums and resorts — which manage a large number of the mobile devices, it’s a lifeline.

Jauss heads PARAT, which is the Philadelphia subsidiary of Germany-based PARAT-WERK Schönenbach GmbH & co. KG.
The company landed here when it was expanding to American markets with a line of mobile laptop cases.
The cases, which sold well in Europe and allow customers to carry their laptop, charging supplies and a mobile printer in a protective case, utlimately flopped in the States.
But that wasn’t the end for PARAT. The company evolved its accessory technology offering with laptop charging carts, which allow up to 20 laptops to charge and provides a single access point for updates and software changes. The carts sold like hotcakes, Jauss says, to the primary education market, before the recession hit.
But then it found resiliancy in its line of Apple accessories.
“It sells itself. Show someone a picture who isn’t using our product, but has a ton of devices,” Jauss says. The company shipped 1,000 of its most recent generation of docking units in 2009 at a cost of $980 per device, with a “healthy margin.”
The company also generates revenue from secondary products built around the docking solution, like a case that covers Apple’s Home button to be able to lock users into a specific section or app on the device.
At the end of the day, it’s all about reducing the headache of managing large quantities of devices.
Take the Fairmount Park Arts Association, which unveiled its Museum Without Walls podcast arts initiative this summer, as we reported in June.
The program, which lets users download or call-in to listen to a selection of 35 audio segments, highlights art sculptures throughout the park. A successful venture, the Park has since purchased iPod Touch devices to rent out to tourists.
Using PARAT’s technology, the Association is able to easily charge 20 devices at a time. If there’s updates to the audio segments, all it takes is plugging in one USB connector to a computer and they’re all immediately updated from the same iTunes installation. One GB of content takes 20 minutes to sync to all 20 devices.
The company also works with large clients like Royal Caribbean cruise lines, the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust and the Empire State Building.
“It’s really neat in the museum space. Audio tours have been around for a long, long time, with companies developing their own propreitary [listening device],” Jauss says.
“The iPod offers a visual experience, apps, games and geolocation content. And it’s a lot easier to manage,” he says.