On the pre-production status

[ddark-il 100]

I wonder if the 29th shipping date applies to pre-orders or general availability.

[Tim6263 134]

I wonder if the 29th shipping date applies to pre-orders or general availability.

The give-away comment in Adrian's video is "ramping up production". By that, I'd understand that they haven't even really got started make the Pro1 yet. We can therefore infer that, they don't know the actual production rate. And therefore they can't know either shipping time(s) or quantities! We don't even know for sure whether Adrian's date is for product to leave the factory; or for individual orders to leave the distribution centres. So it's a pretty good bet: Virtually no end customer is likely to get their phone this month. What's more, I reckon it is more than likely a lot of pre-orders will only be received in December, earliest.... Just being realistic.

[Hook 2,821]

ddark-il wrote:

I wonder if the 29th shipping date applies to pre-orders or general availability.

The give-away comment in Adrian’s video is “ramping up production”. By that, I’d understand that they haven’t even really got started make the Pro1 yet. We can therefore infer that, they don’t know the actual production rate. And therefore they can’t know either shipping time(s) or quantities! We don’t even know for sure whether Adrian’s date is for product to leave the factory; or for individual orders to leave the distribution centres. So it’s a pretty good bet: Virtually no end customer is likely to get their phone this month. What’s more, I reckon it is more than likely a lot of pre-orders will only be received in December, earliest…. Just being realistic.

 

Just a few disagreements.

 

First, I interpret "shipping to you" to mean October 29th is when orders beginning shipping from the distribution centers. "Rampimg up" is defined as "increasing volume" whereas you seem to be taking it as a synonym for "preparing." We, of course , don't know what the throughput rate will be, but assuming (and this is purely a guess from inferences I readily admit) they air using air cargo to get from factory to hubs, they should be able to get a pretty steady stream even if the phones are manufactured in batches. If they hit the October 29th date to start shipping, I would expect all preorders to go out in November, maybe even some orders, again, depending on batch size/throughput rate.

 

We're both just guessing, so there is no being realistic. ;-)

 

 

 

[SirBaconIII 66]

The give-away comment in Adrian’s video is “ramping up production”. By that, I’d understand that they haven’t even really got started make the Pro1 yet. We can therefore infer that, they don’t know the actual production rate. And therefore they can’t know either shipping time(s) or quantities!

 

This is the original statement. (Thanks for the transcription, netman!)

So, what’s the latest? [*clack*, casually opens Pro1] The hardware is ready. We started production last month, and whilst we are currently on a break due to the Chinese national holiday we’re ramping up again from the 8th of October.

 

I feel like the key word there is "again".

They've been in production for a month now, so I'm guessing they're using the term "ramping up again" simply to say they're going to start production back up after the holiday. Of course, it's hard to know without hearing the numbers, but I'd still say they probably have enough data by now to make a call on when shipping will happen, hence why they gave an exact date this time. We still don't know whether that date is referring to shipping from the factory to the distribution hubs, or from the hubs to the customers, but it's nothing a statement from Erik can't clear up. :D

[Craig 1,435]

I don't think there are many orders anyway. Look at the number of views on Adrian's video and imagine from there.

 

[Krzysieq 55]

Indeed, 700+ views is fairly disappointing considering how many times the launch has been postponed. I'm just hoping that the device gets finished and starts shipping - it would be a huge letdown to see this project flop.

[helder_alemao 45]

For those like me, who have pre-ordered and paid on time i would like to ask Chen and all the team what will be the real benefits (besides the case and heasphones) that we will have. After all the price is still the same and we have been defending this team since the first day.

[Joakim 32]

For those like me, who have pre-ordered and paid on time i would like to ask Chen and all the team what will be the real benefits (besides the case and heasphones) that we will have. After all the price is still the same and we have been defending this team since the first day.

 

Hopefully the real benefit is having the product in the first place. Without pre-orders this product would not exist. As I have said many times, delays are extremely bad for small companies like this. Every delay piles up costs, without giving you anything in return. I would not be surprised, if they are already in net negative with Pro1, but hopefully not.

 

You should not expect any compensation before fxtec can reliably move units all the time, atleast not anything of monetary value. Maybe they can offer for example a free keyboard replacement (for example for different language) later on, but now we have to get to that point.

[vlycop 38]

I honestly no-longer trust the pro1 to be successfully enough anymore to bet a LTS phone.

I wanted that phone to be a very long lasting phone, but with how many view there is on the video, the hype going down and people giving up because of delay... i'm not sur fxtec will win enough money on the product to justify LTS.

So i am thinking about cancelling to. I love that phone, but i no longer trust it's future, and i already have a samsung Q1 ultra on my shelf. I don't need another awesome but dead piece of tech.

[Raksura 270]

For those like me, who have pre-ordered and paid on time i would like to ask Chen and all the team what will be the real benefits (besides the case and heasphones) that we will have. After all the price is still the same and we have been defending this team since the first day.

I fail to see how pre-ordering would entitle anyone to more than what they bought. I may have come late to the party, but I am fairly certain that when I did pre-order, the only specified rewards were the case and the headphones. Was it at any point indicated that the price would see an increase at release? Are you actually upset that the phone is not pricier for other people?

[Erik 1,487]

Tim6263 wrote:

The give-away comment in Adrian’s video is “ramping up production”. By that, I’d understand that they haven’t even really got started make the Pro1 yet. We can therefore infer that, they don’t know the actual production rate. And therefore they can’t know either shipping time(s) or quantities!

This is the original statement. (Thanks for the transcription, netman!)

 

netman wrote:

So, what’s the latest? [*clack*, casually opens Pro1] The hardware is ready. We started production last month, and whilst we are currently on a break due to the Chinese national holiday we’re ramping up again from the 8th of October.

I feel like the key word there is “again”.

 

They’ve been in production for a month now, so I’m guessing they’re using the term “ramping up again” simply to say they’re going to start production back up after the holiday. Of course, it’s hard to know without hearing the numbers, but I’d still say they probably have enough data by now to make a call on when shipping will happen, hence why they gave an exact date this time. We still don’t know whether that date is referring to shipping from the factory to the distribution hubs, or from the hubs to the customers, but it’s nothing a statement from Erik can’t clear up. :D

 

The 29th is when we expect the first batch to leave the fulfilment warehouses on it's way to our pre-orders. Potentially earlier, but definitely not later. The consecutive batches will follow with just a few days of difference. They come in batches to allow shipping as soon devices are manufactured, instead of delaying all pre-orders to ship at the same time.

[Erik 1,487]

Well to me its another disappointment. i know some people want to be positive but its not the matter of positive or negative. its about the facts. by now we all should have it but instead its no where to be seen.

 

just two days ago Erik said they will start shipping in mid october and all of pre orders will be shipped by end of october. but now they say its not gonna start until 29th october.

 

so basically they have bought another month now until they announce the next delay.

 

unfortunately and sadly i am not seeing this device shipped in this year.

 

We don't need to be optimistic, but we can be realistic, and all pre-orders will ship by the end of this year. With consecutive batches arriving within just days after another, I don't want to overpromise, but we should complete most, if not all, by mid-November - leaving you with 1.5 months before the end of this year :).

[EskeRahn 5,350]

The 29th is when we expect the first batch to leave the fulfilment warehouses on it’s way to our pre-orders. Potentially earlier, but definitely not later. The consecutive batches will follow with just a few days of difference. They come in batches to allow shipping as soon devices are manufactured, instead of delaying all pre-orders to ship at the same time.

 

Thanks for the details. Just curious, is the first batch(es) a mixture of shifted QWERTY and unshifted QWERTZ, or should we expect the QWERTZ slightly after the QWERTY?

Some of us are a little concerned about the whereabouts of the fulfilment centre and the date IF it ends with a hard Brexit on Oct 31.

[Erik 1,487]

I wonder if the 29th shipping date applies to pre-orders or general availability.

 

That'd be for pre-orders. We can't go into general availability until all pre-orders are complete.

[helder_alemao 45]

helder_alemao wrote:

For those like me, who have pre-ordered and paid on time i would like to ask Chen and all the team what will be the real benefits (besides the case and heasphones) that we will have. After all the price is still the same and we have been defending this team since the first day.

I fail to see how pre-ordering would entitle anyone to more than what they bought. I may have come late to the party, but I am fairly certain that when I did pre-order, the only specified rewards were the case and the headphones. Was it at any point indicated that the price would see an increase at release? Are you actually upset that the phone is not pricier for other people?

 

There are many examples of price getting higher before the pre-orders. You can take a look at Cosmo Communicator, for example. I surely don't want half the money back. About people giving up on this i can only feel sorry for them because they are not helping Chen nor his team on doing this. I sold my bike to have money for this and even so i am not upset and will last until the end. Even if my order will be the only one to stay up i will leave it so

[Erik 1,487]

Erik-FX wrote:

The 29th is when we expect the first batch to leave the fulfilment warehouses on it’s way to our pre-orders. Potentially earlier, but definitely not later. The consecutive batches will follow with just a few days of difference. They come in batches to allow shipping as soon devices are manufactured, instead of delaying all pre-orders to ship at the same time.

Thanks for the details. Just curious, is the first batch(es) a mixture of shifted QWERTY and unshifted QWERTZ, or should we expect the QWERTZ slightly after the QWERTY?

 

Some of us are a little concerned about the whereabouts of the fulfilment centre and the date IF it ends with a hard Brexit on Oct 31.

 

As far as I am aware, all batches will be mixed with QWERTY and QWERTZ, although QWERTZ accounts for a relatively small percentage of the full number of pre-orders - so the factory will likely complete those earlier than all of the QWERTY devices.

 

The Brexit VAT concern is currently something I am not entirely sure about. However, even in the worst case, our customers will not have to pay anything additional as they have already paid VAT (which isn't accounted for as the orders are not complete until they're shipped) would be more than enough to cover the customs cost. Assuming, of course, that Brexit even happens.

 

We are also looking to establish a fulfilment location in the Netherlands for future orders, but either way, shipping from the UK for existing pre-orders will not add up any additional expense to our customers.

[Erik 1,487]

I don’t think there are many orders anyway. Look at the number of views on Adrian’s video and imagine from there.

 

 

 

Indeed, 700+ views is fairly disappointing considering how many times the launch has been postponed. I’m just hoping that the device gets finished and starts shipping – it would be a huge letdown to see this project flop.

 

 

 

I honestly no-longer trust the pro1 to be successfully enough anymore to bet a LTS phone.

 

I wanted that phone to be a very long lasting phone, but with how many view there is on the video, the hype going down and people giving up because of delay… i’m not sur fxtec will win enough money on the product to justify LTS.

 

So i am thinking about cancelling to. I love that phone, but i no longer trust it’s future, and i already have a samsung Q1 ultra on my shelf. I don’t need another awesome but dead piece of tech.

 

 

We have achieved a fairly large amount of orders, given the little publicity we've had so far. I'd like to remind we have funded the development of the Pro1 privately, we've never had the large exposure crowdfunding platforms such as Indiegogo provide. And yet, we have very similar order quantities compared to some of the largest campaigns on startup funding platforms. We chose to privately fund the Pro1 due to the message its ads and the customer trust that it builds - despite the several unexpected delays here and there. Neither one of the crowdfunding websites come with any form of refund assurances whatsoever, as they wouldn't fall into the category of consumer purchase or pre-order, hence VAT could never be reclaimed. In our case, the pre-orders are consumer purchases. Meaning you are entitled to a refund/return anytime before shipping and 14 days after delivery, in addition to being able to place VAT-free business orders.

 

Another thing that could affect the views on our video is simply how easy our mail provider, Mailchimp, allows to unsubscribe :).

[EskeRahn 5,350]

Another thing that could affect the views on our video is simply how easy our mail provider, Mailchimp, allows to unsubscribe :).

 

....And the number of 'empty' tweets could also make a large portion just ignore it, and just patiently wait for the long awaited return of a real landscape keyboard slider to actually arrive at their doorstep...

[netman 1,424]

We have achieved a fairly large amount of order quantities, given the little publicity we’ve had so far. I’d like to remind we have funded the development of the Pro1 privately, we’ve never had the large exposure crowdfunding platforms such as Indiegogo provide. And yet, we have very similar order quantities compared to some of the largest campaigns on startup funding platforms. We chose to privately fund the Pro1 due to the message its ads and the customer trust that it builds – despite the several unexpected delays here and there. Neither one of the crowdfunding websites come with any form of refund assurances whatsoever, as they wouldn’t fall into the category of consumer purchase or pre-order, hence VAT could never be reclaimed. In our case, the pre-orders are consumer purchases. Meaning you are entitled to a refund/return anytime before shipping and 14 days after delivery, in addition to being able to place VAT-free business orders.

 

Another thing that could affect the views on our video is simply how easy our mail provider, Mailchimp, allows to unsubscribe :).

 

And it's nearly impossible to re-subscribe! I've been trying and not sure if I am in there or not now still.. I do get the pre-order related mails.

[Doktor Oswaldo 901]

 

Another thing that could affect the views on our video is simply how easy our mail provider, Mailchimp, allows to unsubscribe :).

 

At least my gmail marks it as advertisement, so a lot of people may not see the mail.

It is really hard to get an estimate of preorders with all these mixed signals, but it seems that you are happy with the number of preorders.

Hopefully there are enough sales for a pro2 or at least LTS.

[Ryan009 0]

Thanks for the update it has been helpful. I hate to be that guy but my old phone maybe has a day or two left as it is 4 years old now and is shot. I ordered in late August and wondering if its worth getting a cheap burner or using my VERY old backup phone. I'm curious if I am included in the preorder or if I should expect to wait a little longer.

 

Thanks and I love the product.

[VaZso 1,988]

Hopefully there are enough sales for a pro2 or at least LTS.

 

I also hope the same.

I don't really mind if Pro2 would come in two or three years if Pro1 is functioning well and has good quality enough to wait for a Pro2. :)

I really hope it will arrive later in time but currently the success of Pro1 is needed to even consider any successor.

 

So I also hope the best.

[michael.bosscha 142]

It's almost as if a lot of people feel they are entitled to "more" than what they paid for. All the "I'm canceling because omg they do a lousy job" messages are from disgruntled people who are expecting a AAA-brand experience. I know I've said it before, but this was to be expected a little bit. They're doing the best they can and I'm sure there will be many more unexpected things that pop ul down the road. When they're the new Nokia, THEN you can whine about your product not being shipped on time. But for now, swallow it, and be glad they're giving us the form factor we all have been waiting for and to which NO OTHER device comes even remotely close to. Because if I wanted a Passport, I would've bought a Passport, right?

[SBurn87 4]

reading these statements was really great. finally we have received many many answers to our questions. thank you very much.

 

to the people which much criticism donated ... from the beginning had to be expected with a delay and that have pre-orders per se.

 

But I am fully convinced that it is worth the wait and we will have a device that will work uniquely and perfectly. only the time investment for the details shows me that the team fxtec stands behind it with full passion. I'm really looking forward to the pro1.

[SchattengestaIt 553]

I think the main problems aren't the unexpected delays, but the missing communication. If something goes wrong, I have to communicate with my customers.

 

I'm seeing the same with the company I work at. We don't get informed about production delays, we hear from our customers that our orders don't get shipped and some orders get changed manually without any communication.

In my view, transparency is one of the key requirements for companies to survive on a long-term basis.