Nubs: 100% Success! (2010 - 11 - 21)

[mmielke]

Have to agree with all of this.


I think that they believe by throwing us scraps of info that it will keep us hanging on in there, well it does to some extent but it also adds to the frustration.


Starting to think that I made a big mistake paying out nearly £300 for something that does not exist, well to the public anyway, well hardly, was a BIG mistake.


Going to give it until maybe next February then pull out.

The Pandora exists to the 900 people that already received theirs. At least someone has responded to inquiries, is that not worth anything? Now that you mention vaporware, does anyone remember the Gizmondo? It existed briefly, but Tiger Telematics was plagued by mob ties and various scandals. It was also absurdly expensive, and I doubt many were sold, at least not as many as the Pandora.

 

[Bosbeetle]

Sorry for my absence the last week, internet failed, anyway, we're waiting with units for these new boards, as soon as they arrive we can build the next consoles surprisingly quickly as we have eliminated so many steps and test procedures now (ie nubs etc.).


Will post more again once I catch up with everything.

Welcome back!

 

[mmielke]

Sorry for my absence the last week, internet failed, anyway, we're waiting with units for these new boards, as soon as they arrive we can build the next consoles surprisingly quickly as we have eliminated so many steps and test procedures now (ie nubs etc.).


Will post more again once I catch up with everything.

Craigix, have you and ED found a backup board and nub manufacturer/assembler? It will definitely benefit OP in the long run, as satisfied customers equals an increased amount of exposure. Look at the Wired article on the Pandora being vaporware, for instance. How long has it taken to fix most of the problems? The board and nub manufacturers have given OP the runaround time and time again, and that is clearly unacceptable. Will the administration at Circuit CO issue a hefty discount on the finished product? Manufacturers that give schedules and end up WAAAAAAAAAAAAY off the mark seem to be shady to me. At least if a backup company is used in unison, then we will receive our Pandoras in half the time.

 

[ledow]

Now that you mention vaporware, does anyone remember the Gizmondo? It existed briefly, but Tiger Telematics was plagued by mob ties and various scandals. It was also absurdly expensive, and I doubt many were sold, at least not as many as the Pandora.

*Sales* income of £1.4m within the first nine months (just for the UK arm) - assuming £229 per unit, that's approximately 6000 units (but they were also sold more cheaply). But any idiot can sell something at a loss. However, that was also a phone, and had a Geforce chip, and they had software developers, and lots of launch titles (nowhere near as many as they said, though), and were selling in Argos, Dixons, Currys, John Lewis, and their own shop in Regent Street.


Compared to OP, they were positively big-time.

 

[mmielke]

*Sales* income of £1.4m within the first nine months (just for the UK arm) - assuming £229 per unit, that's approximately 6000 units (but they were also sold more cheaply). But any idiot can sell something at a loss. However, that was also a phone, and had a Geforce chip, and they had software developers, and lots of launch titles (nowhere near as many as they said, though), and were selling in Argos, Dixons, Currys, John Lewis, and their own shop in Regent Street.


Compared to OP, they were positively big-time.

They also threw lavish parties which they spent many, many millions on. The owners of the company were shady individuals as well, regardless of the system specs. There was an article on the Gizmondo in a magazine, although trying to find it in MY collection would be a fruitless venture. It is like a certain magazine publisher here in the States :-( if anyone knows who I am talking about, feel free to take a guess, as I'm not discussing it.


Has OP considered using FoxConn? I realize that they may be frowned upon for working conditions, but they manufacture boards and assemble electronics ALL of the time, it is their business.

 

[Link]

Any word on the case front?


How about that Electrosparkle finish those folks were testing on the case vs. paint?


Thanks!

 

[Gerix]

I am also interested in news of the cases. I believe one thousand still have to be delivered before the first batch can be completed, correct?

 

[WizardStan]

If they waited for them all to be made they might have missed how many nubs were broken as it was only after some use that alot of them went bad,

I would like to disagree with this statement: while it was fortunate that things were delayed so they could discover the flaw with the nubs, it should not be used as hindsight justification for the delays.

 

[Abaddon666]

Sorry for my absence the last week, internet failed, anyway, we're waiting with units for these new boards, as soon as they arrive we can build the next consoles surprisingly quickly as we have eliminated so many steps and test procedures now (ie nubs etc.).


Will post more again once I catch up with everything.

Hi Craig,


I take it with "these new boards" you mean the ones that the 150 Nubs were tested with lately, correct? Are they already on their way to UK? Can you estimate how many of them will go to Germany round about? Thanks in advance.

 

[meandu229]

I would like to disagree with this statement: while it was fortunate that things were delayed so they could discover the flaw with the nubs, it should not be used as hindsight justification for the delays.

true but hindesight is such a wonderful thing, I just think it worked out better this way because when the new consoles ship hopefully LCD cable issues, shoulder button issues and nubs will all be behind us not to mention the impressive catalogue of apps/games,


end of the day they chose to do what they thought at the time with the knowledge they had, at that point they thought the next shipment would be a matter of weeks away (as usual) turns out it was wrong.

 

[andmaz]

Completely agree!!!


The nub company should not have produced crap nubs - find it unacceptable that they have no confidence in what they are producing!!!


Either the nubs are good quality or not - they should not require the customer to verify!!!


More delays - this is getting silly!!!


As customers we need an accurate picture of what is gong on - ever 2 months it's another 2 months and after 26 months that's waring very thin ever for us die hard fans.


It's not vapourware but cannot defend against the vapourware guys!


All first batch units should either have been released at the same time or at least within a reasonable period (6 weeks at most) - this certainly was the original idea.


What we have now is individuals selling pandoras on eBay for hyper inflated prices and the rest of us batch 1 pre orders have to wait!!!!!


Not happy but hope 2 months is now realistic


Find this all very bizarre

 

[levi]

Two months will never be realistic, or never accurate at least - it is a trademark after all I'm pretty sure the prospective time till production restart jump from never in a month of sundays, to, oh - next week, to, oh hell - where did those 2000 boards come from?


Anyway, it shouldn't be hard to defend the project from criticisms of vapourware if people are selling them on ebay. And besides, see my sig


But I have sympathy for anyone considering whether to stay in the queue or not. Initial estimates struck me as wildly optimistic, which is why I didn't order until the team had proved, to my satisfaction, that they could deliver (eventually) and had the sticking power to stay it out, despite all the setbacks. But for those who believed the claims (and why not) and ordered in the first batch, I think it's fair enough that they set a date by which point they plan to pull out. Of course, I hope not many do since it would take money away from the project and I can't imagine OPT is on a very sound financial footing just yet.

 

[Mr_Loon]

Sorry for my absence the last week....

Good to see you back on the boards Craig & best of luck with all things Pandora in the next month or so.


Here's hoping for a Christmas themed video special of you stuffing Pandoras into a sack, to be delivered to all the good boys & girls who've waited patiently for their dream machines.

 

[djaychela]

Still can't see getting mine before Christmas, there will always be another reason for a delay - it's been 2 years of delays (originally we were promised them by Christmas 2008), mostly ones which should be dealt with much quicker; as said above, the nubs shouldn't need to be tested by the end user, a company making them should be making quality in the first place...

 

[mmielke]

I felt that my reply would be more appropriate in this topic.


"Link, on 23 November 2010 - 10:12 AM, said:


I'd say 2 Months is a reality. 1/4 were from EDs shop or go there after assembly."


2 months.......... Don't we all wish it was 2 months? One would think that with the 60 or so Pandoras that will be assembled soon, that the rest of the nubs would be completed as well. It was mentioned that 1 or 2 thousand nubs could be produced per day, so what are we waiting on? I thought that someone was keeping close watch on Mr.Carsalesman over at the board company. Any news on that front? So 1000 nubs per day,and a thousand boards per month are estimated? :-( That is quite the glacial pace. How many Pandoras has Craig and/or ED assembled per day? What I don't understand is why the nubs cannot be affixed to the boards in a single location. If a backup company was agreed upon to produce boards and nubs in unison, Pandora's would be assembled in half the time. Doesn't Foxconn do this? I know that working conditions may not be that great there, but they get the job done on time, every time. They manufacture and assemble electronic devices all of the time.

 

[TrashyMG]

I felt that my reply would be more appropriate in this topic.


"Link, on 23 November 2010 - 10:12 AM, said:


I'd say 2 Months is a reality. 1/4 were from EDs shop or go there after assembly."


2 months.......... Don't we all wish it was 2 months? One would think that with the 60 or so Pandoras that will be assembled soon, that the rest of the nubs would be completed as well. It was mentioned that 1 or 2 thousand nubs could be produced per day, so what are we waiting on? I thought that someone was keeping close watch on Mr.Carsalesman over at the board company. Any news on that front? So 1000 nubs per day,and a thousand boards per month are estimated? :-( That is quite the glacial pace. How many Pandoras has Craig and/or ED assembled per day? What I don't understand is why the nubs cannot be affixed to the boards in a single location. If a backup company was agreed upon to produce boards and nubs in unison, Pandora's would be assembled in half the time. Doesn't Foxconn do this? I know that working conditions may not be that great there, but they get the job done on time, every time. They manufacture and assemble electronic devices all of the time.

Seriously Foxconn?, for one OPT would of had to order an extremely large amount of boards for them to consider the OPT as serious customer. Since the Pandora was funded buy us the customers, the OPT wouldn't of had enough money to get Foxconn to agree to manufacture the Pandora.


Now I do agree the current board provider has been less than par. But seriously there is no doubt why the team chose a smaller outfit.

 

[Link]

2 months.......... Don't we all wish it was 2 months? One would think that with the 60 or so Pandoras that will be assembled soon, that the rest of the nubs would be completed as well. It was mentioned that 1 or 2 thousand nubs could be produced per day, so what are we waiting on? I thought that someone was keeping close watch on Mr.Carsalesman over at the board company. Any news on that front? So 1000 nubs per day,and a thousand boards per month are estimated? :-( That is quite the glacial pace. How many Pandoras has Craig and/or ED assembled per day? What I don't understand is why the nubs cannot be affixed to the boards in a single location. If a backup company was agreed upon to produce boards and nubs in unison, Pandora's would be assembled in half the time. Doesn't Foxconn do this? I know that working conditions may not be that great there, but they get the job done on time, every time. They manufacture and assemble electronic devices all of the time.

No really, I think that Batch 1 should be finished by New Year or around it due to holiday leave. Batch 2 should be mid-late January.


Don't know what happened with the carsalesmen and our fellow Pandoraite who was checking, but how can the board company really do much besides have a few thousand boards ready to be nubbed. This topic has become a huge winefest that I haven't brought enough cheese for at the moment. I'm waiting for someone to chime in that the current board manufacturer has to stay after school and write 3000 times on the chalkboard "I will make boards faster so they can sit and wait to be paid for"


They can bust out 200 a Day at Village hall in the UK, maybe more now the process is more streamlined. Foxconn isn't doing this as far as I recall. Nubs are made by people who aren't making the boards, its easier for the board manufacturer to put the nubs on than it is for the people at Village Hall, it can be done there, but not as fast. The boards could just as easily be sent to the nub company, but do you really want those folks soldering your board after the first downfall of nubs? I hope this time around they are beyond rock solid.


I find it difficult for OP to find a new company to make nubs, boards I can see but nubs might be a bit more difficult and hopefully won't be an issue here on out.


End of rant.


Peace & Pandora,


Link


Also can someone please stop blowing me off on this question, it is valid and relevant regarding production:


Any word on the case front?


How about that Electrosparkle finish those folks were testing on the case vs. paint?


Thanks!

 

[Captainbubby]

Has OP considered using FoxConn? I realize that they may be frowned upon for working conditions, but they manufacture boards and assemble electronics ALL of the time, it is their business.

Ahh now this could be my chance to shine! I live in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, where Foxconn is located, is right over the border. I could be the one who checks them out! 


And now, to all those who complain:


I understand you may not have been following the Pandora team from the very beginning, and even more of you may not have been around way back in the GP32 days, but it's rather clear some of you don't realize what you've actually bought into. Something like the Pandora project is unprecedented and the continued success of the Pandora, and indeed, it's initial success is based largely on the goodwill of the community around it.


I wish I had the cojones to get my own product off the ground the way the Pandora team has, and I honestly believe the hurdles they've encountered thus far would make for an epic miniseries, though the general audience would probably pan it for being too over the top. "OHHH VOLCANIC ERUPTION!? AS IF THAT'D EVER HAPPEN. THIS MOVIE SUCKS." "OH AS IF HIS VAN WOULD CATCH ON FIRE DURING A DELIVERY. THIS IS SOOOO FAKE."  But the funny thing is, it's real: it's all real, and we've been along for the ride.


It's been one hell of a ride and I see a very happy ending approaching. 

 

[emcee]

No offense to anyone, but when you take into account just how small time the Pandora project is, the idea of getting Foxconn on board is just kind of silly. There's 900 Pandora in existence. In other words, if you picked anyone in the world at random, they'd be more likely be a billionaire than a Pandora owner. Foxconn made more iPhones than that in the last 15 minutes.


If between now the end of its production life the Pandora sell an amazing 50,000 units, Apple will still have them beat in iPhone sales just between now and some time tomorrow.


As far a Foxconn is concerned, you might as well be asking them to set up machinery, engineer a process, and take on extra administrative work to help you assemble your IKEA furniture.

 

[#1 GameMaster]

No really, I think that Batch 1 should be finished by New Year or around it due to holiday leave. Batch 2 should be mid-late January.


Don't know what happened with the carsalesmen and our fellow Pandoraite who was checking, but how can the board company really do much besides have a few thousand boards ready to be nubbed. This topic has become a huge winefest that I haven't brought enough cheese for at the moment. I'm waiting for someone to chime in that the current board manufacturer has to stay after school and write 3000 times on the chalkboard "I will make boards faster so they can sit and wait to be paid for"


They can bust out 200 a Day at Village hall in the UK, maybe more now the process is more streamlined. Foxconn isn't doing this as far as I recall. Nubs are made by people who aren't making the boards, its easier for the board manufacturer to put the nubs on than it is for the people at Village Hall, it can be done there, but not as fast. The boards could just as easily be sent to the nub company, but do you really want those folks soldering your board after the first downfall of nubs? I hope this time around they are beyond rock solid.


I find it difficult for OP to find a new company to make nubs, boards I can see but nubs might be a bit more difficult and hopefully won't be an issue here on out.


End of rant.


Peace & Pandora,


Link


Also can someone please stop blowing me off on this question, it is valid and relevant regarding production:


Any word on the case front?


How about that Electrosparkle finish those folks were testing on the case vs. paint?


Thanks!

I think you and me must have missed something because it seems everyone else is upset for some reason. :rolleyes:


I have been following this project from the very beginning and I still believe that it is worth waiting for it is something that I have always wanted ever since I found out about the GP2X. I read a little bit about the GP2x and thought that it was lacking in what I was actually looking for when I came across a page talking about the Pandora which is exactly what I have been looking for. A handheld computer that is opensource so anyone can develop for it unlike with Sony and Nintendos handhelds, and has gaming controls so I can play some of my favorite classics on the go.


Personally though I think that batch one at the latest will be taken care of by late December to early January, because they have all the kinks worked out and are just waiting on the boards to be completed and shiped.


As far as the cases go I never heard anything about the new finish (is there a link or a pic of what it would look like?)