When Am I Getting My Pandora?

[kmob]

It's getting harder to maintain a positive tone when production has all but stalled. While we do sort of know the reasons (mainly from ED - thanks ED!), but the harsh truth is that Pandora units are not shipping and people are losing interest. This is very bad news. I'll be hanging on as the machine is still of interest to me but I can also understand other people loosing patience and interest - sadly!

 

[kuru]

/me joins in with a sigh

 

[torpor]

It bothers me, and I already have my Pandora. I'm really afraid that there won't be any active users out there if I release something .. I mean, I know there's no chance of having a laaaaarge number of users, but still .. the niche isn't so fun when you're the only one with the gear ..

 

[Pushwall]

I'm to the point where I'm not going to come to this site any more. Why get my hopes up? Hopefully I'll be surprised with a package before the new year. No rants from me since I'm going into silent mode......

 

[Gerix]

didn't they say they'd have 400 boards about a week after the last production run?
and didn't they say they'd start production up last week?
and didn't they say they'd start production up this week?


I'm starting an LLC to start iPhone devving in a few weeks, and then you guys might never see me again. It's a sad state of affairs. I had so many cool ideas, many of which are half-implemented already.

In the thread about winning a Pandora, some were discussing just giving it to a dev who could demonstrate their ability to create value for the community. Maybe you could convince someone to trade queue positions? Then you would get your Pandora and begin development and they would have a little more time to figure out what they want to do with a spare Pandora. Supposedly, it will be one of the next units shipped.

 

[ahahah]

and didn't they say they'd start production up last week?
and didn't they say they'd start production up this week?

maybe craig could ask the factory about these questions?
maybe it is in urging them, that things can speed up?
we have paid them, they have to urge themselve.

rabidpoobear, i remember we talked about the "colors" application (for iphone and nintendo ds http://colors.collectingsmiles.com/ ) for the pandora.
don't abandon it please

 

[rabidpoobear]

didn't they say they'd have 400 boards about a week after the last production run?
and didn't they say they'd start production up last week?
and didn't they say they'd start production up this week?


I'm starting an LLC to start iPhone devving in a few weeks, and then you guys might never see me again. It's a sad state of affairs. I had so many cool ideas, many of which are half-implemented already.

In the thread about winning a Pandora, some were discussing just giving it to a dev who could demonstrate their ability to create value for the community. Maybe you could convince someone to trade queue positions? Then you would get your Pandora and begin development and they would have a little more time to figure out what they want to do with a spare Pandora. Supposedly, it will be one of the next units shipped.

I'm only 800 in the queue, I should be getting it out of the next shipment anyway, or the one right after that.


I feel like I've already shown my dedication to the project many times. I've got 800+ posts on here, I used to hang out on IRC all day w/ JayFox and some other guys, and I've written a couple apps already even though I've never even seen the hardware in real life.

But it's just getting ridiculous.

The last production run feels like yet another smoke & mirrors game. I've learned not to tell people release dates because they always slip, but when production was starting and pandoras were going out and it seemed like they MIGHT have actually started production for reals, I told people that I'd probably get mine by the end of July. And that was when they were saying that I should have had mine by june. So I already gave them some leeway even though I was SURE they weren't bullshitting me yet again.

And now people are throwing around August / September before more units even ship? I guess that October deadline for all units shipped is out the window. Is it still even realistic to think they might ship them all by December? I doubt it.


See, I used to be the guy who always stood up for OP. Go through some of my back posts, where I patiently explained to all the frustrated people how they were doing everything in their power to get this stuff done. But I just can't do it anymore.

I'm not going to cancel, I still think the hardware's cool. But I am starting to question whether the threshold has been passed where anybody cares about it anymore. I just don't forsee them being able to produce enough units to even break even at this point. And that is very sad, because their design is fantastic. They just really mishandled the production. I feel more like my development efforts are for an audience of one (that means mainly for myself, in case you haven't heard that expression before) than for a community anymore.

 

[jasay]

...

You know, your name and profile pic seem very appropriate for this whole Pandora experience. Stand in one place for a long time pushing a wall and then finally "look it budged", but then it goes right where it used to be.

I'll add a *sigh*.

 

[bzar]

Rabidpoobear, I hear you.

Are we there yet?

 

[DaMummy]

this journey truly is painful, and ive only been part of it for 10 months, i cant even imagine what ed, craig and the other 3 year olds are going through

 

[WizardStan]

I could have done a huge amount of development work if I'd gotten it earlier, but now I'm working 40hrs a week and I can't even hardly keep up with the current news. There's no way I can read every thread like I used to.

When I first heard about the Pandora, I had great ideas and wanted to do dev work. But I didn't think I was good enough for a prototype, besides which it was scheduled to be released "soon". 6 months later, I realized if I had asked for a prototype, I could have done a lot of work with it, but now they were taking preorders with delivery scheduled for 2 months, so no real point in asking for a prototype.
8 months later, I realized that things were way behind schedule, and if I'd asked for a prototype I could have gotten a lot of work done on it. But the plastics company had finally finished the mould and would be shipping them out soon, so no point in asking for a prototype then.
6 months later I realized if I had asked for a prototype, I could have gotten a lot of work done on it, but now some actual stuff looked like it was ready to move, so no point in asking for a prototype now. Then the volcano happened, but it was ok; as soon as the volcano let up, things would be ready to go!
5 months later, I realized if I had asked for a prototype, I could have gotten a lot of work done on it, but now they're finally FINALLY shipping the first really real Pandora out to customers! With expected turnover in hundreds per week going forward. No point in asking for a prototype now.
3 months later...

 

[tristan.clark]

@Rabidpoobear

I'm around about the same place in the queue as you. I know how you feel. I'm frustrated by the amount of progress and how things don't seem to quite add up with what we've been told. I'm, also, not about to cancel any
time soon. BUT I think the deadline I've set myself this time is one I'll stick to if it passes.

 

[mray]

I ordered nearly two years ago, thought it would stylish to have in grad school, unfortunately I’m questioning whether I’ll have it before graduation.

I’m a patient understanding person who appreciates the entrepreneurial sprit and I am impressed with the progress of the OP team. I’m pleased to have contributed my $330.00, I’m not a squeaky wheel. However, I have a complaint. My time is valuable but in order to find out how production is going I have to spend half an hour weeding through threads and sorting miss information from truth.

I just feel like for my trust, respect and patience, I deserve quick accurate information of production issues. I don’t care if they’re saving their lunch money to buy the next batch of cases, I could see how this could happen (thinking of how android with prepackaged software could increase funding).

I’ve forgotten about the $330.00, I’ll be tickled to get my Pandora when it comes. However, I think it would be swell to not have to bend over backwards to find out how production is going.

 

[sebt3]

My time is valuable but in order to find out how production is going I have to spend half an hour weeding through threads and sorting miss information from truth.

pandorapress.net is your friend

 

[Eniko]

It bothers me, and I already have my Pandora. I'm really afraid that there won't be any active users out there if I release something .. I mean, I know there's no chance of having a laaaaarge number of users, but still .. the niche isn't so fun when you're the only one with the gear ..

Kinda have to echo this sentiment. Production still hasn't started up again? What's the hold up? I haven't been keeping up on production news.

 

[Gerix]

The Pandora isn't really a tech product but rather an experiment to see community patience as well as coping mechanisms. First, patience was measured when no Pandoras were shipped or a few were shipped to developers. Then, after sufficient data had been collected, a few Pandoras were released to calm the "vaporware" fears. The hypothesis here is that the amount of patience is inversely proportionate to the amount of fear. Therefore, order cancellations should go down. The next step, of course, will be a trickle of Pandoras to allow people to determine their shipping date, far in the future. The question is this: How many will cancel when they know their approximate shipping date, even if it is very inconvenient?

Over the course of the experiment, polarizing comments have been posted to these boards in an attempt to see how the community reacts. Does board activity go up when the "troll" posts? Does the OP need to contribute to the discussion after the initial post for the discussion to continue? How do these comments affect order cancellations? These discussions allow researchers to gain a quick emote from participants: "I've basically given up, but I won't cancel, just in case." "This isn't OPT's fault, I'm in this for the long haul." "You're right, I'm canceling."

Another interesting analysis of the data would be whether the amount spent on Pandora related accessories (like tv cable, carry case, or even sd cards) affects patience. Also, do people who prefer faster shipping methods react to news of delays differently than those who pick the slower option?

 

[mali]

^ I like this idea

 

[Sphinxter]

Laalaa, leeelooolaaa doooddaaaahhh deeeee flowers and rainbows and little fluffy clouds. Whooo, Wheeeeeeeee!
swizzle me a fizzledeedee and whop de woop wop!

cheers.

and who the F.... are you?

How terribly rude.

I was thinking the same of your post.

 

[relapse808]

In the same boat as most people with a "sigh" in this thread. I have ordered day 1 and I am still waiting. I am a 32 year old person and I feel I have a lot of patience and would never cancel or trash the team. I do hate this production slowdown and even wonder if I will have my pandora at the 2 year mark of when I acutally ordered the thing.

 

[EvilDragon]

They are real entrepreneurs. They're ones who want as much control over their project as possible, though. I know you haven't been around long, but you ought to know that a lot of delays have been the result of outside companies taking a while to mass-produce particular parts.

Small-run items don't get high on the priority lists of the sorts of companies you're imagining.

Yes, that's so annoying. Those companies do tell you "Yes, we will do that until xx". Then we add another week to be sure - and they still need to be pushed to do it.

See, I used to be the guy who always stood up for OP. Go through some of my back posts, where I patiently explained to all the frustrated people how they were doing everything in their power to get this stuff done. But I just can't do it anymore.
I'm not going to cancel, I still think the hardware's cool. But I am starting to question whether the threshold has been passed where anybody cares about it anymore. I just don't forsee them being able to produce enough units to even break even at this point. And that is very sad, because their design is fantastic. They just really mishandled the production. I feel more like my development efforts are for an audience of one (that means mainly for myself, in case you haven't heard that expression before) than for a community anymore.

Well, I'm pretty sure once it really starts, interest will be there. Everyone I show it to loves the device.
And the hardware isn't really outdated - for a gaming console, it's still the best thing out there.
And trying to keep up with a smartphone will never workout, since they get new CPUs every few months.

There's so much more possible - I just remember how many cool stuff the GP2X got... and now add the horsepower of the Pandora and you get so much more.

I wonder - is it really us who mishandled the production?
The current delay was caused by those broken nubs. The new ones are tested. Old ones need to be desoldered. That's the only hardware issue left.
Testing and replacing takes a while, after that, hopefully everything should go smooth.

The prototypes were working and we did pay a big company (with 19 branches) to create the nubs. They create such things for laptops and mobile phones. It should work.
Now quite a few ones fail. But that's not really something we could've known in advance...

this journey truly is painful, and ive only been part of it for 10 months, i cant even imagine what ed, craig and the other 3 year olds are going through

You don't wanna know.
There are so many times where I just wanted to get out of everything. Which is sad, as I really love the device and the community.
But it's so hard to take it sometimes.
There were some days where I thought "Heh, if anyone would like to kill me today... please do..."

Thank god I'm not the kind of guy to commit suicide, otherwise I'd be dead a few times already.

Now I'm sitting here hoping everything will REALLY speed up.

I'm going on holiday tomorrow for four days. The first one since three years. Really need it, I'm totally exhausted.
But with all those delays at the moment, I doubt I will really have fun in those few days.