Here Is What Will Be Happening.

[droneb]

OK, lets just cut to the chase. These cases are worse than the 2nd revision.

I just deleted the next 40 lines of this message before posting it. Nothing I can say is going to help.

im sorry but i can say thats not the full truth at all.
i should call a more clean and assembled unit in order to state that, besides the missing silkscreen and big crack i can say some parts
have some improvements. there are less sinking on the parts (only saw one) and maybe it is all a lighting issue.
you can see different quality between photos.

 

[j.pickens]

why they have to pick up the moulds?

from i saw and suggested its not a mould fault but rather a bad injection parameter/run/operator/damaged machine

So that they can have another factory do further production in the future, that's why they need to take physical possession of the molds.

 

[nightwheel]

Ok I'm going to hold back my full judgement until I see pictures of the other samples sent.

Now I don't have a preorder of a pandora. (Don't have the cash.) But if the other cases are just as screwed up looking as the one seen in the pictures that have been shown. Then I say send them back. And have someone go over and see what the heck is going on.

Maybe even get this this Vance guy from "Brits get rich in China" to help get quality:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neNuyzPe1Rw

 

[droneb]

why they have to pick up the moulds?

from i saw and suggested its not a mould fault but rather a bad injection parameter/run/operator/damaged machine

So that they can have another factory do further production in the future, that's why they need to take physical possession of the molds.

i bet the factory wont be leasing them out so easily, most of the contracts i know are bundled and spliting MP and Mould costs would end up with nearly the same full cost

 

[calc84maniac]

Judging by the length of this thread, I'd say this picture is worth more than 1000 words:

Ignore

 

[javaJake]

So, now the question isn't "will we get a Pandora before March" but "will we get a Pandora". I could be totally overreacting here, but my current emotional response is one of despair. It seems like anything that could go wrong does go wrong. Again, maybe it's all just me.

All I know is I'm going to hope for better news in a few days.

 

[Nintendo]

I reckon it'll be released in April now.

 

[zevdawg]

I think OP have been mugged by the Chinese this time.
It's difficult to tell looking at the rather low-res images which are also not of the correct scale, but it looks to me like the Chinese have made a real mess of mould as they've progressed from Version 1 to this current abomination. The chinese would have known this a while back and have stringed OP along, probably with the final intention of OP getting tired and calling it a day. The hinge is a major concern with what has been wrote. Basically, they've made a mistake which is irreversible.

It might now be an idea to just just send out the case-less Pandoras and let people build their own case/frame.

I would rather have the transparent case.

I don't think they're using the same company for that 'clear' case tho, am I correct? They had to switch companies when the other went down under IIRC (just as the economy took a dive). Also, TI revised the boards, so resulted in revisions being needed to the case itself. I have a feeling that they'd have more issues if they started requesting different colours now, IMHO.

 

[MWeston]

TI has had nothing to do with the case, boards or anything. They gave us some parts to start off with and offered a bit of support.

The clear cases were made by the same company making the molds.

Also, it is still early to start jumping on the panic bandwagon. A day has passed over a weekend when no one can get answers. Let's not start 50 more topics with this kind of talk. Craig's plan hasn't changed one bit yet and we are still seeing what can be made next week and how long it will take.

 

[zevdawg]

TI has had nothing to do with the case, boards or anything. They gave us some parts to start off with and offered a bit of support.

The clear cases were made by the same company making the molds.

Also, it is still early to start jumping on the panic bandwagon. A day has passed over a weekend when no one can get answers. Let's not start 50 more topics with this kind of talk. Craig's plan hasn't changed one bit yet and we are still seeing what can be made next week and how long it will take.

Well, I'm not trying to assume anything or jump on anyone's wagon here... though good to see some insight.
I'm just curious is all, not all uptight about it :rolleyes:

 

[skyeyemachine]

TI has had nothing to do with the case, boards or anything. They gave us some parts to start off with and offered a bit of support.

The clear cases were made by the same company making the molds.

Also, it is still early to start jumping on the panic bandwagon. A day has passed over a weekend when no one can get answers. Let's not start 50 more topics with this kind of talk. Craig's plan hasn't changed one bit yet and we are still seeing what can be made next week and how long it will take.

Thank you for your reassurance, Michael; it is indeed an uncomfortable moment in the Pandora community. I'm really hoping recycled pellets and a lack of extra finish, which will in fact be present on the final units, is all we're dealing with here, but I for one intend to shut up until we've heard from Fatih and the translator on exactly what the factory is thinking; until then further discussion on the subject is useless speculation...

 

[lulzfish]

I don't think they're using the same company for that 'clear' case tho, am I correct? They had to switch companies when the other went down under IIRC (just as the economy took a dive).

The clear cases were made by the same company making the molds.

Yes, you were thinking of the nub company which went under.

 

[VRAndy]

Craig's plan hasn't changed one bit yet and we are still seeing what can be made next week and how long it will take.

So ... uh ... what's Craig's plan?

 

[TrashyMG]

Craig's plan hasn't changed one bit yet and we are still seeing what can be made next week and how long it will take.

So ... uh ... what's Craig's plan?

It's somewhere between page 1 and 28

 

[trix]

Craig's plan hasn't changed one bit yet and we are still seeing what can be made next week and how long it will take.

So ... uh ... what's Craig's plan?

I assume he means trying to get some of them (he said like 500, but I'm hoping more) out to those that don't mind a faulty case, and trying to get the rest done right.

 

[gaterooze]

Well, I'm going to be positive. Here's my prophecy:

1. Come Monday, the Factory will explain that they used recycled plastic, hence the discoloration, and that the full finishing process was not applied as they wanted to get it out the door to make sure everything else was correct. The hinge crack was caused by [insert harmless explanation].
2. 500-1,000 cases are ordered and shipped out. After the first few dozen go through the machine, the process really kicks in and the flaws are ironed out for all remaining cases.
3. ????
4. Profit.

 

[shadow.8]

Michael will make a video and take some photos of a cased Pandora using the latest case.

We will then ask people if they want to go with this or wait for another revision. We know all that some of you care about is that the controls work.

We will probably look at making 500 of these to get some units in to the wild, but we understand that some of you will want to wait until the case is 100%.

Either way is cool.

That's the plan.

Is this not the plan?

EDIT: He even uses the word plan, lol

 

[gruso]

Well, I'm going to be positive. Here's my prophecy:

1. Come Monday, the Factory will explain that they used recycled plastic, hence the discoloration, and that the full finishing process was not applied as they wanted to get it out the door to make sure everything else was correct. The hinge crack was caused by [insert harmless explanation].
2. 500-1,000 cases are ordered and shipped out. After the first few dozen go through the machine, the process really kicks in and the flaws are ironed out for all remaining cases.
3. ????
4. Profit.

I like your prophecy. Seriously, something tells me they should just bash out 1,000 of them and see what happens. Of course, it's easy for me to say that.

 

[TrashyMG]

Well, I'm going to be positive. Here's my prophecy:

1. Come Monday, the Factory will explain that they used recycled plastic, hence the discoloration, and that the full finishing process was not applied as they wanted to get it out the door to make sure everything else was correct. The hinge crack was caused by [insert harmless explanation].
2. 500-1,000 cases are ordered and shipped out. After the first few dozen go through the machine, the process really kicks in and the flaws are ironed out for all remaining cases.
3. ????
4. Profit.

I like your prophecy. Seriously, something tells me they should just bash out 1,000 of them and see what happens. Of course, it's easy for me to say that.

worst that happens is that the stores can email the first group of customers in line if they mind having one with slightly less quality case.. If not they can wait for a the better ones later. Hopefully some policy to get a better case down the road would be available.

 

[wardred]

EDIT: Two more pages were written since typing this. Ah yes, the hinge area. There are clips in that area that hold the two halves tightly together and they screwed up somehow. On this revision, the recessed spots for the clips to sit in got completely evacuated and there are holes right through the case. They didn't do this on rev2. Rev2 just had roughness on the bottom edges of these parts and not the destruction of the clip channels like this time.

Ugly plastic? I can live with it. A couple rough edges, not too worried. But that right there sounds structural to me. Also, outright cracks aren't right. I'll wait for Monday for the clarifications.