2 Months..... umm, weeks to go (2012-02-06)


EvilDragon

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It's been a while since the last newspost, so I guess it's time to give you some updates about what's happened


1. Cases, LCDs, Batteries


The parts from Craig have all safely arrived. Enough cases for 1300 Pandoras and enough batteries for 3500 :)


Only about 500 LCDs were left, but Fatih already got 600 new ones for me, so we're safe with these as well.


Craig forgot to include the small parts (buttons, DPads, Light pipes, etc.) and sent them to me last Wednesday, so these should arrive here as werll soon.


Fatih also organized 1100 more AC Adaptors for me.


We hope the next 4000 cases will be finished mid March (just in time for the next 1000 Pandoras). We made some tweaks to prevent the most common cracks, and I should get a sample within the next week. Once I can confirm these changes (nothing major), production will start immediately.


2. Parts for the Pandora PCBs


We've got all the parts for the first 1000 PCBs and I already placed the order for the parts for the next 1000 (since there's a leadtime of 4 - 6 weeks for some parts).


So we're safe here as well.


We already got enough of other parts like WiFi antennas, volume wheels, EXT connectors, etc. for the next 4000 or more units.


3. Pandora production


As soon as I get the remaining small parts from Craig, we're starting to pre-assemble as many cases as possible, so we only need to put in the PCB.


The bare PCBs are expected to be finished about February 10th and production will happen shortly after.


So, yes, it's about 2-3 months weeks before the production starts!


Please don't expect that we'll ship units right away - while I'm getting some help here, these still need to be tested, assembled, etc.


I think we should see the units shipping from around February 22nd on.


I hope we can keep up with the production - GC should be able to produce 250 units per week, and as we're building these units ourselves at home (AND shipping them!) at the beginning, we might be flooded with work.


So don't be too angry if we're a bit slow at the beginning - in worst case I'll hire more people to help and after the first 1000 units have been finished, full assembly will also take place at GC.


4. Information for all new preorders


As production is nearing, I'll send out eMails to everyone who preordered a Pandora since September 2011. These eMails will include a confirmation for the payment as well as the adress and you will still have the chance to add any items you want from my shop (Retrodes, Everdrives, SD Cards, etc.)


Of course I'll also let you what payment remains.


5. Information for all old preorders


I'd really love to send out all the remaining preorders out first - but unfortunately, this is not possible.


The reason is simple: I need about 250,000 EUR to produce 1000 Pandoras and that money needs to come from somewhere.


So I need to sell new units first (the new preorders) to get enough money to have the next 1000 units safe and then the remaining ones will all go out to the classic preorders.


I'm aware that that's pretty annoying for all of you who have been waiting so long - but I can't do much about it (unless someone donates me about 300,000 EUR ;) )


However, I know some of you would like to pay more money to get the unit earlier (basically the same as the Premium unit).


So I'd like to offer such possibility as well. As every upgrade gives the project some more money, I can actually deliver MORE units per batch to old customers as well, so it's a win-win situation.


I also know though that there are users in the community who safed their money for months to afford the preorder, while there are some who've got enough money to easily pay for the upgrade.


So my idea is this:


Anyone CAN upgrade to move up the queue, but I want to let the user decide how much this is worth for him.


I need to set a minimum amount (maybe 75 - 100 EUR?), but if someone really wants to support what we're doing and likes the Pandora, he can pay more and therefore help deliver the units faster to old preorders as well.


I don't want to make this decision right away, I always want to get your opinions first, so please let me know what you think about it and if you have any improvement ideas, let me know as well.


6. Upgrade your Pandora to the new PCB


As mentioned before, I want to offer the possibility for any owner of a classic Pandora to upgrade to the current PCB, which offers 512MB RAM.


For 150 EUR you can send in your Pandora and get the PCB replaced replaced with a new one.


The old PCBs will be fully tested, put into new cases and sold as refurbished versions for a lower price to new customers.


Therefore, if there's anyone who really needs more RAM (mostly for desktop usage) has the chance to upgrade it and any new users who want to get it mainly for gaming can get these units for a lower price.


The money made from these upgrades will also be used to ship out more of the old preorders.


I'll setup a website for that upgrade when the production has started and will let you know.


7. The kernel and the OS


Both notaz and DJWillis as well as more devs from the community are working on getting a new OS as well as kernel to work.


ArchLinux for the Pandora already uses the current version of the new kernel (3.2) where notaz fixed a lot of issues already, but there are still some issues left. For example, Bluetooth is not working yet, audio is causing issues and the NAND access is a lot slower. Stuff like SGX, WiFi, keyboard, both SD Card Slots, etc. are already working fine.


The new kernel will be mandatory for the new units - as the old one can't access to more than 256MB RAM :)


So when you get the new Pandora, the system will report 256MB RAM until the new kernel is ready.


DJWillis is still working on moving to the current openembedded version. There are some bootable images, so we're getting there, but there's still a huge amount of work left to do.


Anyone who would like to help out can contact DJWillis on #openpandora (FreeNode).


8. TV Out Cables


It's weird how something simple like cables with a few connectors can cause more issues to be produced than everything else.


Well, you might remember that the old company didn't want to do them anymore.


Then Fatih tried to find some more companies - but they all wanted a minimum order of at least 10,000 cables.


Then suddenly (just before CNY), the old company contacted us and told us they want to produce them again...


We haven't heard anything since then from them, so we're not sure what the actual status is.


Working with Chinese companies can be totally weird sometimes...


Anyways, I'll also ask some German companies now, they might be a lot faster and more reliable... and they will do lower quantities as well.


That's everything for now - quite a huge status update post. In case you have any further questions, let me know.


I'm open and will answer all questions faithfully (if I know the answers ;) )
 
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Cool, thanks for the status update. It's exciting to hear Pandoras will be shipping again soon!


So you're thinking of setting up the Premium order scheme again, I think that's a good idea. It worked last time, everybody gets their units faster and OP stays afloat :)
 
This is, taken as a whole, excellent news. I'm hoping the project continues to chug along and more orders roll in.
 
Hi,


I have pre-ordered today and now just saw this thread. I have already paid more than the 10 euros requested, but can I move up my place in line if I pay significantly more than I have already ?


How long are we talking for delivery if someone just pre-ordered today ?


Thanks
 
It's been a while since the last newspost, so I guess it's time to give you some updates about what's happened


So, yes, it's about 2-3 months weeks before the production starts!


Please don't expect that we'll ship units right away - while I'm getting some help here, these still need to be tested, assembled, etc.


I think we should see the units shipping from around February 22nd on.

That's good news!

As production is nearing, I'll send out eMails to everyone who preordered a Pandora since September 2011. These eMails will include a confirmation for the payment as well as the adress and you will still have the chance to add any items you want from my shop (Retrodes, Everdrives, SD Cards, etc.)


Of course I'll also let you what payment remains.

Shipping costs would also need to be calculated.


I would be interested in removing the TV-out cable from my order, and buying that separately when it is available. Perhaps others too.

However, I know some of you would like to pay more money to get the unit earlier (basically the same as the Premium unit).


So I'd like to offer such possibility as well. As every upgrade gives the project some more money, I can actually deliver MORE units per batch to old customers as well, so it's a win-win situation.


...


I need to set a minimum amount (maybe 75 - 100 EUR?), but if someone really wants to support what we're doing and likes the Pandora, he can pay more and therefore help deliver the units faster to old preorders as well.


I don't want to make this decision right away, I always want to get your opinions first, so please let me know what you think about it and if you have any improvement ideas, let me know as well.

Does the higher cost of the unit

375 EUR (for international customers) or 445 EUR (for EU-Customers, incl. 19% VAT).

http://openpandora.o...emid=34&lang=en

.. already include additional money to help ship one other old preorder?


An idea:


Modify the donations page to say

Sponsor an old order


We have approximately n older preorders who need your help!


For every x EUR, one older preorder can be shipped sooner.

This is a little like world vision =)


I'm interested in donating additional money to help another person, more if I could know the name of the child username of the person I am sponsoring.


More open information gives a strong community feeling.

6. Upgrade your Pandora to the new PCB


As mentioned before, I want to offer the possibility for any owner of a classic Pandora to upgrade to the current PCB, which offers 512MB RAM.


For 150 EUR you can send in your Pandora and get the PCB replaced replaced with a new one.


The old PCBs will be fully tested, put into new cases and sold as refurbished versions for a lower price to new


customers.

Some people would probably also want their palmtop to have one of those new cases too, if they already have some cracks/damage. Perhaps you could give that option for an additional fee.
 
hehe I would like to pay more if it helps others in front of me get theirs quicker and thus I can get mine quicker :D


Everyone needs to help out a little I figure :eek:
 
Soon Brothers and Sister, our wait is over! :)


ED, The estimated prize for pandora is now 445 EUR (For EU Customers, including me), is that prize going to rise or drop and if does, can you guess how much?
 
Any plans for the price of pandoras with the older pcb and less ram planned?
 
So for an old order who upgrades which queue will they move up in. Will they go in front of the new orders or go to the front of old orders?


honestly I think it might be better scrapping the whole premium system with orders to be honest. Wasn't that a disaster last time? Aren't people still waiting for their premium units when they were promised to have them in 7 days?
 
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I didn't see anything about premium orders, what's this all about exactly ?
 
I didn't see anything about premium orders, what's this all about exactly ?
Last year, before pre-orders for batch 2 opened, people were offered the chance to jump the queue by paying extra for a 'premium' Pandora, to be shipped within a week. (The Pandora itself was no different, hardware wise). It was offered for a limited time to help inject funds to the project. But component supply issues brought all Pandora shipping to a halt, which is why production has moved to Germany.


I see that you're interested in doing a similar thing with your new pre-order; I can't comment on any of that, but ED will answer you next time he is online. :)
 
I didn't see anything about premium orders, what's this all about exactly ?

I remember them offering a premium service which guaranteed you got a Pandora in 7 days as well as a way to upgrade your order so it became a premium. I also remember a lot of angry posts from people who went premium and never received anything. Since no Pandora's have really shipped since then my guess is that they still don't have them.


Don't know why they would invite that kind of trouble a second time. As well as administrative headache they seem to have with the numbers and not being able to tell exactly where people are in the queue or even how many Pandora's are sold and shipped. I am sure that will just add to the issues.


<conspiracy>


It wouldn't surprise me if one day they say that they have no idea who has paid, who they have sent items too etc (Well from Craig's list anyway) and that the premiums were an attempt to save face. Since they seem to have issues working out exactly how many Pandora's have been sent out. </conspiracy>
 
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imho, initial $330 preorders should be pushed to the front of the queue if they pay the addition price to upgrade the the front of the line, and not place them/us after the new pre-orders.
 
I remember them offering a premium service which guaranteed you got a Pandora in 7 days as well as a way to upgrade your order so it became a premium. I also remember a lot of angry posts from people who went premium and never received anything. Since no Pandora's have really shipped since then my guess is that they still don't have them.

Don't know why they would invite that kind of trouble a second time. As well as administrative headache they seem to have with the numbers and not being able to tell exactly where people are in the queue or even how many Pandora's are sold and shipped. I am sure that will just add to the issues.


<conspiracy>


It wouldn't surprise me if one day they say that they have no idea who has paid, who they have sent items too etc (Well from Craig's list anyway) and that the premiums were an attempt to save face. Since they seem to have issues working out exactly how many Pandora's have been sent out. </conspiracy>
Posting guesses as facts isn't productive. My understanding was that there were relatively few premium orders, and all were delivered. But without a verified source, neither of us is correct. ;) In any case, that was when a certain US company was being relied on for PCBs, and they were the reason shipping ground to a halt. The whole point of moving to Germany was to solve that issue.


As for your <conspiracy>, manufacturing a console was new territory for them, but they've been running online stores for years. I'm sure they can track orders just fine.
 
I'll consider paying the balance to "premium" if you can guarantee it being shipped within three days after payment.
 
Great, so after I've send you 300 Euros in 11/2009 I just wait again, while other guys get their Pandoras.


What ever the justification, I really think this is not fair. Sorry, I'm selfish here.


Ah and I'll have to change the delivery address again... I'll stay 2-3 years in the new place, so maybe it will work out this time...
 
I agree with stophle. Wasn't the purpose of finding investors to circumvent the financing issue and produce like mad? Hence delivering every one that had an existing order as quickly as possible?


I'm a bit dissapointed that long waiting customers be asked such a thing.
 
5. Information for all old preorders


I'd really love to send out all the remaining preorders out first - but unfortunately, this is not possible.


The reason is simple: I need about 250,000 EUR to produce 1000 Pandoras and that money needs to come from somewhere.


So I need to sell new units first (the new preorders) to get enough money to have the next 1000 units safe and then the remaining ones will all go out to the classic preorders.


I'm aware that that's pretty annoying for all of you who have been waiting so long - but I can't do much about it (unless someone donates me about 300,000 EUR ;) )

With respect, your utter lack of financial planning on this project is not our problem. I ordered my Pandora in June 2009; that's nearly three years ago. I paid my money at the time and I have been waiting since.


To read that if I'd saved my money and placed an order *now*, I'd get my machine quicker (of which the logical extension is that I (and all the early 'pre-orders') *financed* the newbies getting their machines quicker!), is a kick in the teeth.


Over the past three years there are many occasions were that 250 GBP (or however much it was exactly) could have been very useful; but rather than cancelling the order and getting a refund, I decided to believe that when production resumed, your most loyal customers would get the treatment they deserve. Apparently I was far off the mark.


Not cool. Seriously not cool.
 
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