Posted by: PlopperZ
Craig posted this on Twitter:
Final boards are being ordered this week….
Posts Tagged ‘Ordering’
Twitter Update: Final Boards Ordering This Week
April 19, 2009Manufacturing Time Guesstimate
February 1, 2009From Chip:
Four to six weeks from the first to the last of the first batch Pandoras. Give or take a couple weeks for testing and tweaking the assembly process.
Once the manufacturing process is 100% nailed down (2nd batch onwards) the plant can make ~5000 per month, though they can only make them as fast as we can get parts. Second batch will probably start up about two months after the first is finished (again, depending on parts availability).
So at least 3-4 weeks before first batch starts, 4-6 weeks after that it finishes, then ~8 weeks until the 2nd batch starts. If you want a Pandora soon, order from the first batch. Otherwise you’ll be waiting a while.
Reordering Info and Xoom Instructions
January 24, 2009Chip posted a copy of the email sent to reorderers as well as instructions for anyone who wants to use Xoom.
Read the full text after the break.
Update from Craig; Ordering Options, Hardware Status…
January 19, 2009Hello everyone,
Payments are coming in at a steady rate now via alternative means.
We will honour the AMEX orders so don’t worry about those.
Payment methods you can use:
Tranzfers: $5 cost which we will cover, especially good for USA orders.
Bank Transfer: Will vary depending where you are, good for Europe and UK.
Money order: This will cost you nothing and can be requested from your bank and you will have to post it to us, it costs us $10 to cash it here but we will cover that.
Cheques: These work but again you will have to post them to us, the fees for accepting them seem to vary.
I need to go in to a little more detail on the CC situation, if we were selling PSP and DS consoles, yes, they would probably be fine, but as soon as they see we are selling something ‘made by the community’ they instantly back off and don’t let us take orders or limit the orders to such a low amount as to make it pointless, this is due to the project not having a big name behind it I guess, although the reasons vary depending on who you speak to.
There is nothing we can do here, I’ve been down every route, things are very different to a few years ago in regards to merchant numbers. Two banks have said they are willing to review this situation in 4-6 months time (ie when we are more established in their eyes).
So that’s how long the CC situation will take.
But the good news is you guys are ordering and things are slowly getting back to normal.
The FDM has been ordered (I think the top half has already arrived with Michael).
We already demoed the icontrolpad here which is at CNC stage:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7ojLKeewbEk
The Pandora demo will be following soon (actually whenever the FDM arrives).
The 3D driver is working, Wifi is saying hello, the batteries are working, *ALL* LCD screens are finally in the USA (they should be in Texas today).
Now, those of you who don’t want to reorder right now please let us know so we can open up some slots for people on the waiting list, I know that seems harsh but we have to move on this now as we approach MP.
Your original order price will still stand if you decide to order in the future (ie maybe in 4-6 months when we hope to have merchant numbers). You will get the fast track treatment at that point.
I hope this will be the final post regarding ordering for a long while, it’s time to get some finished Pandoras out there.
Thanks,
Craig
When Can Orders Be Placed?
January 11, 2009A very minor ordering comment, but it keeps getting asked. Chip posted this response to the question on gp32x.com/board.
We’ll make an announcement via email and probably here as well when we’re ready to take orders for first batch leftovers and second batch preorders. If you’re interested, then I highly recommend you sign up for the newsletter on the official site.
Don’t expect this announcement until the first batch has mostly (if not completely) shipped.
The newsletter sign-up is in the top right hand corner of http://www.openpandora.org/ There is no signup confirmation.
Based on the timeline in the January update, that means not before February, possibly March.
January Update
January 6, 2009This was posted on the main site. Little bit of info on what’s going on with the battery and case, more reassurance for Amex orders, as well as some speculative ship dates! Also our blog got a mention, which is great (: .
Hello everyone and a very happy new year!
We wish to thank you all for your ongoing support and tell you a big sorry for all the delays we had so far.
2008 had been a very exciting year for us. With a lot of stepping stones. First we had the PayPal issue, then the banking problem with all those credit cards (and Amex is still troubling) and because of this we needed to reroute money from various other accounts to pay for the production… which caused delays, especially for the LCDs (though that issue is solved now, the last LCDs will ship soon, thank goodness).
And if that wasn’t enough, we a bit trouble with the rechargeable battery, as it was pretty hard designing a battery with that high capacity that also FITS into the case. This delayed the case – but I’m happy to announce that the final battery is already being prototyped. As soon as we get it (which should be within the next week), the case design will be ready a few days later (we set the deadline for the case design to January 15th). Prototyping shouldn’t take too long – and then it will only be a matter of a few weeks more until everything is ready for delivery.So, while we’re really sorry for those delays (believe me – we didn’t expect THAT much problems – especially not from the banks… we couldn’t have found a worse time to start this than that of a worldwide economical crisis.
However, we also got some good news for you AMEX guys: We know you didn’t get your money back yet (we’re having another meeting with the bank in the near future), however, we assure you that EVERYBODY WHO ORDERED AND PAID will get a Pandora, even if you didn’t get the chance to reorder yet!
But, oh well, we did learn a lot – and now, after 2,5 years designing the system, the end of the trip is coming to an end. All thanks to you guys! Without your support, all this wouldn’t have been possible!
Stay tuned for final prototype pics within this month!So, here is a mini-roadmap:
* Case Design: January 15th
* Case Prototyping: approx. 1-2 weeks later
* Final production and delivery: approx. 2 – 4 weeks later2009 will surely be the year of the Pandora.
Also, as you do know that this site is not updated with every step we do, we do post a lot of mini informations at the forums. As a lot of you don’t have time to read the boards frequently, people did create an unofficial blog with a lot more updates. Keep in mind that the information there is NOT directly from us, so some stuff might not be completely accurate, but it’s a very nice site.
Head over to http://openpandora.wordpress.com/.
Re-order emails trickling out again, for real real.
January 6, 2009
Two GP32X forum members confirmed today that the final round of re-order emails are beginning to hit inboxes. According to one of the members, the email contained a Google Checkout link for credit card payment. Both happy chappies confirmed that they didn’t get stung by exchange rates; the payment amount was within a few spacebucks of the refund they had received.
Remember, the emails are being sent person by person, so don’t fret if yours doesn’t arrive today, or this week. It’s on the way.
It’s been said before, but we’ll say it again: We’re on the home stretch now!
Minor re-ordering update – re-ordering to happen over next 2 weeks
January 4, 2009Chip said this:
The emails will be sent over the next week or two, so it’s a pretty small chance that any one person will get theirs by monday. As for the reorder notification emails, they were sent to everyone. If you didn’t get the first one, it was probably blocked on your end. They were not linked to the refunds (they were processed separately) so you would have gotten a refund regardless of the email.