218 replies to this topic

[Chip]

Minor status update: There was a bit of a glitch with posting refunds. It has been resolved, and all refunds should be posted by the end of this week (Nov 14). This hold up was, as most have been, beyond the control of Openpandora. I will post a new sticky when all refund emails have been sent. Until then, watch your inbox.

Original post continues below.

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I've had a nice chat with Craig today about the Pandora project status. He's gone off to bed (it's 2AM there, I think), but I'm going to try to give you a condensed state of affairs.

Credit Card Orders
As you know, some (not all) credit card orders will have to be refunded and the orders re-placed with the new bank. This process will begin tomorrow (or today, if it is already Nov. 4 when you red this). The orders are being refunded geographically - UK, then continental Europe, then North America. The whole process should take about a week. If your card is being refunded, you will receive an email with instructions for re-ordering. No, I don't know what those instructions are. The emails will go out when the refunds are processed, but because different banks process things differently, you may not see the money in your account immediately. Personally, if I'm affected, I won't be re-ordering until the money shows up in my account. I suggest you do the same, but it's your call.

I don't know if there is any sort of time limit on re-ordering. I don't know about "places in line". I'll find out.

If you don't get an email in the next week, then your credit card order was processed successfully before the bank went wonky. Your order is secure and you don't need to do anything.


Manufacturing Update
Apparently the last piece of the puzzle, the last item that needs to be finalized before we'll have a complete Pandora, is the wifi antenna. Good antenna design is the main distinguishing factor between good wifi reception and crappy reception. Having an antenna professionally designed would have cost something like $100K, so the design team had to go a different route. The testing has taken longer than expected, but the result will be excellent wifi range.

The good news is that the antenna probably won't have much of an effect on production times. The bad news is that the LCD panels probably will.


Delays
There are definite supply problems with the LCD panels. It is a simple matter of the manufacturer committing to a certain number in a certain time, and not being able to deliver on that time schedule. It is unfortunate, but it is not uncommon either. There is nothing that can be done about it.

They are shipping panels as they become available, and they will fill out the entire order. However, they will probably not fill the entire order by the end of this month. They may not have it filled by the end of next month. Yes, that means some people might not get their Pandoras until next year. It sucks, but like I said, there is nothing that can be done.


Refunds
As has been the policy from the beginning, you may have your pre-order refunded at any time. This is a community project, and I get the impression that some of you who are new to the community didn't understand what that meant when you placed your order. If you don't want to deal with problems like this, there are others who don't mind as much.



OK, not the best news, but we are moving forward. I'm going to do my best to keep everybody up to date with this stuff. I PMed ED to see about getting front page posting access on Openpandora.org so I can put big updates there. Until then, I'll just sticky anything really important for a couple days and then let if fall. And of course, I will add any significant dev update to my list.

[PoisonedV]

I'm not sure if you are planning on locking this, if so, delete my post but, thanks for compiling and posting all this information, usually the stuff is publicly available with a bit of searching, but this info wasn't, and it has cleared up alot of mine and other confusion.

Edited by PoisonedV, 04 November 2008 - 03:14 AM.

[Chip]

I do not intend to lock this thread unless it turns into a bitchfest. I have every confidence that it will not.

[God Ginrai]

Well, here's hoping my credit charge went through. (and that I'm one of the first 600 or so people in line)

-God Ginrai

[quadomatic]

Well, here's hoping my credit charge went through. (and that I'm one of the first 600 or so people in line)

-God Ginrai

I'm going to be paying with debit once I finally get my debit card since PayPal was an absolute fiasco. Hopefully I end up closer to the front of the line.

[Alpha2]

Okay I'm just now learning about this, I'm not completly concerned as I trust that it's just a thing that happens sometimes.

What I am curious about is the exact situation that created the need for some people to have to be refunded their money, and what if anything would determin if you are one of those who will have to reorder?

Mostly just want to know so that if I AM forced to reorder I can turn it around as fast as possible.

[Chip]

What I am curious about is the exact situation that created the need for some people to have to be refunded their money, and what if anything would determin if you are one of those who will have to reorder?

As I understand it, there is no real logic involved in which orders went through, and which didn't. I'm not at liberty to discuss the exact nature of the problem. I can say GBAX did nothing wrong.

In any case, the exact cause of the problem is not relevant. All we can do now is correct the problem in the most expedient manner possible, and that manner is to switch banks. If you do have to re-order, just follow the instructions in the email and all will be well.

[ShyGuy]

This is how we should have gotten the information in the first place. Better late than never, though. I don't mind for my part, it's just been a little crazy on the boards since we started getting the trickle of not so great news.

As much as I'd love to have my Pandora by November, if it takes until January I'll probably live.

80% chance, maybe.

[quadomatic]

I imagine that the delays with LCDs would probably push back the 2nd batch as well.

Might be a stupid question (but I am curious), but is it possible that Craig might decide to use a different LCD for the 2nd batch that the manufacturer would produce more quickly?

I'm just curious, since this doesn't affect me in the least since I already pre-ordered for the 1st batch.

[Kloplop321]

it makes me wonder, how many factories does Nintendo or Sony have that are dedicated to their systems in order to have such a huge mass production?

[Chip]

it makes me wonder, how many factories does Nintendo or Sony have that are dedicated to their systems in order to have such a huge mass production?

Considering Nintendo still has trouble keeping Wiis on the shelf two years after launch, I'd say even Big N is not immune to supply chain problems.

It is not impossible that a different panel could be used in the second batch. However, I doubt it will even be up for consideration until the first batch is completely out the door. That goes for just about all aspects of the second batch. Craig and ED more than have their hands full with this batch for now.

[Kloplop321]

Craig and ED more than have their hands full with this batch for now.

I agree, they need all the room they can get right now...

[hedwards]

They are shipping panels as they become available, and they will fill out the entire order. However, they will probably not fill the entire order by the end of this month. They may not have it filled by the end of next month. Yes, that means some people might not get their Pandoras until next year. It sucks, but like I said, there is nothing that can be done.

Sigh, this is indeed unfortunate. If they might not be done shipping before the new year that serious takes a lot of the point of ordering in batch 1 out of the equation. I have to admit that I'm somewhat less than enthused about paying that far ahead. Not sure that I'll go for the refund, but I wasn't really expecting there to be that amount of disparity in ship dates.

[Foehammer]

Refunds
As has been the policy from the beginning, you may have your pre-order refunded at any time. This is a community project, and I get the impression that some of you who are new to the community didn't understand what that meant when you placed your order. If you don't want to deal with problems like this, there are others who don't mind as much.

I doubt I'm the only one that didn't have their cash together for the pre-order window. Now all I need is for someone to get a little impatient and I can get my order in... .

[b_o_b]

Thanks for the update Chip and Craigix for leaking the information. I hope to see new updates as soon as more details are known.
Not really good news (I really hoped getting one before Christmas), but not unexpected. It is a complicated project and a lot can go wrong. Not the end of the world though, we will still be here next year.