Here Is What Will Be Happening.

[second exodous]

Oh for crying out loud, you have 9 posts.

So???
I have worked in plastics and mouldings for at least 9 years if that makes any difference to you?

10. Sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm sorry, bad day for me, and it didn't have anything to do with the Pandora, I'm not usually like this.

 

[hosant]

Hmmm, it does look rough around the edges. But I reserve my judgment until I see a full assembled pandora.

 

[fusion_power]

Hi,

I know these cases lack finish and silkscreen, but this hinge picture is really scary.

IMHO, MWeston should give a RED LIGHT again, and ask the Chinese factory to do a better work next time...

Bye, Magic Sam

I think this is one of the Problems: maybne the Chinese think this IS the finish and silkscreening.
Thanx for The Pix MWeston. But I really can't understand how the Factory needed over 5 Months to deliver such a "final" Case.
And when they really lied, then don't trust them ever. No western Company could last a day with such a behavior they do. Very strange that such a Factory can even exist.

 

[MiniSinisterMinister]

Having seen the photos, I think OP shouldn't continue to piss the Chinese company off by more complaints about the sub-standard quality of the cases. To be honest I didn't except more than that from the project in the first place. What is really important to me is functionality. So please, be sane, safe the project and get us our Pandoras.

 

[Esslan]

The LCD cable slot took a step backwards with a bit of unevenness but since it was right last time, we can assume that more carefully made production parts will be back to normal.

This may be a stupid question as I don't much know about the process, but how can this be? Aren't they using the same mould. How can it become worse unless they somehow made a mistake and shaved off to much while trying to fix it?

Edit: Also, +1 for a photo of a full assembled pandora.

 

[Dr.Crow]

Just to be clear, I am not one of those impatient customers who has to have his Pandora NOW. I've waited over a year since placing my original preorder - and I can wait longer. I fully respect the decisions of MWeston and the rest of the OP team. If they feel the cases are not good enough (for whatever reason) and decide they want more revisions before mass production, then I am fine with that. That having been said, however, I did not order the Pandora to show off to my friends - I ordered it to use it. If these cases are sturdy and 100% functional and the team decides to make them available to customers (and I am offered the opportunity) I would gladly take one now. Cosmetic imperfections are completely trivial to me and (except for that hinge business) the pictures of these cases look perfectly fine for my uses - so why wouldn't I accept it if given the chance?

I will wait or I will accept it as is. Even if there would be another year of case revisions before any are mass produced, I would still maintain my preorder and I would still support the team. It has nothing to do with impatience.

 

[Jumpman]

1. Hinge Works
2. Buttons don't Stick
3. Pandora Functions As Designed

The finished areas look fine to me, and fully assembled things won't look nearly as bad. Another problem I see, is this case being black! Most of these imperfections would not be seen or noticed with a white or clear case! I do feel sorry for the team, as the mould factory seems to be from another planet! What happened to the silk screen? How are some things less than previous cases?

All the things that where important to me have been accomplished in spades! I'm very tired of the wait, as I'm sure many are. If better cases are produced down the line, great! If not, no big deal! If the team had built these in there garages, the quality would be even less, and I still would have bought several.

Please send my unit ASAP! I'll be knee deep in N64, PS1, and SNES games to be bothered with this case getting perfected in this public forum!


Chris

 

[skyeyemachine]

Haah...while I'm honestly rather disheartened by these latest developments, I can't help but think that having a functionally complete if slightly under-polished Pandora in my hands and getting on with my plans for it is better than waiting longer for a perfect case from the get-go. Especially if I can procure an improved case later, should I decide the current imperfections really bother me. It is rather annoying that the factory gucked this up at such a critical point in time, though, but then I suppose there was never any truly concrete assurance that this case would be 'finally final' anyway. Not with the language barrier OP is dealing with, at least. :rolleyes:

 

[juniorm33]

I don't know anymore. JUST FREAKING GET IT OUT THE DOOR!!!!!!!! I do see the crack on the back of the hinge though, I'll give you that, but no description of it so we don't know if it was dropped or if it is a side effect of recycled plastic or if it was smited by the hand of God for seeking perfection.

haha
I feel your pain :lol:

 

[emil10001]

Hmm. If the problems are only cosmetic, then I would hope that the offer to produce 500 of them is still good. This might be necessary anyways for the team to analyze the difference between prototype and mass production quality. Again, if this is the case, then I would gladly take one of those units. If they are only going to customers, and not to media, then that should be fine, right? Of course, if the problem is more than cosmetic, that's obviously an issue that needs to be fixed.

My other concern with some of the issues listed by MWeston is that this facility lacks the tolerance control necessary to actually make a consistent product. If there are places on the case that worsened between rev 2 and rev 3, where rev 2 was considered good, and shouldn't have had any changes to that area, then it is possible that the issue is that the factory lacks the ability to control tolerances in their process. In this situation, it would be nearly impossible to arrive at a point where you feel comfortable producing a large number of cases, or would need to produce an extra X% to account for bad parts, since you can't count on the factory's judgment.

In the end, I trust OP's judgment on the issue. MWeston's last post addressed my concerns about chasing an impossible standard. I look forward to hearing the team's decision on how they are going to move forward.

 

[Phawx]

I've seen the 3rd revision cases and I am happy with them. Also, where did this 500 number come from? Because I believe you will have more than 500 people that are fine with having the 3rd revision cases.

 

[mafia-man]

Well I don't mind waiting for a case that is 100% done with full green light on everything. As for the Moulding Company, They are shockingly shit! endless lies and delays on their part. TBH though I wouldn't expect anything more from a Chinese company, not to belittle the Chinese as a whole, but in terms of manufactured products quality has always taken a back seat, and in my mind any company worth thier salt and wanting to grab international business would have a fluent English speaking representative themselves.

 

[Magic Sam]

I spent so much time perfecting the guts of this thing and it is a true insult to my efforts to see this mold company send me such incomplete samples and call them 'final'.

+1 You did an amazing work on the Pandora and I can't be thankful enough for that ! I trust this project from the very beginning, I know the whole OP team worked a lot on it, that's why I think this dream machine deserves a better "house" to live in, and not these "crappy" cases, not after all this time !

 

[Nova]

I can't believe so many people here are so impatient. In my opinion, if I have to wait an extra month or so for a case that doesn't look like this:

Then so be it.

 

[Dave1234]

Take the cases or risk having to go through the whole process again, if you can even afford it.

Have to agree with Pleng here.

If they haven't improved any from v2 to v3 then I can't see a v4 being any better. I'd suggest getting what cases you can from this company and sell them to whoever will accept them. Then start looking for a better plastics company.

I wonder if OP will be able to get the moulds? Some might be usable. The stylus looked fine if nothing else.

 

[Dave1234]

I spent so much time perfecting the guts of this thing and it is a true insult to my efforts to see this mold company send me such incomplete samples and call them 'final'.

+1 You did an amazing work on the Pandora and I can't be thankful enough for that ! I trust this project from the very beginning, I know the whole OP team worked a lot on it, that's why I think this dream machine deserves a better "house" to live in, and not these "crappy" cases, not after all this time !

I think MWeston could do with what's pictured in your avatar right now.

 

[vaman]

I really feel for the OP team. The case is the 'shop window' for the product. If the case is poor they are not going to get good feedback from the non enthusiast and possible subsequent sales to the people other than us specialists.
Linux is growing fast and a good, well manufactured product like the Pandora has a lot going for it.
I am confused because the case appear to have gone backwards in quality. I think we need some of the questions answered before any decision is made. This appears to be a now and again job for the factory, I guess due to the small volume, regardless of that, pride would prevent many companies from shipping such a poor example of their work.

 

[Nova]

Be realistic, the case for the Pandora will never be perfect.

By my definition of perfection, those cases will never comply with common standards. Is that what you mean?

You mean to tell me your the most outspoken about waiting and you're not even in the first batch? Heck yeah it's easy for you to wait, you won't get yours for months no matter what. I'm in the freaking first batch and the last case was good enough for me. You shouldn't even get a say in the first batch.

I consider myself logical enough to think about what those other 3700 people from the first batch think about sub-standard cases. Those who are less vocal and maybe not even lurking here. Are you level-headed enough to speak for them, my friend?

Mali speaks for me

 

[scyzor]

Big mistake was made giving that job to be done in China. I know few companies in Poland and Lithuania where they can do that fast and good enough, and I can bet not much expensive from Chinese.

 

[Loonie]

That hinge was the only worrying thing I saw in those pictures. I understand the frustration of having all the work you've done not get the representation it deserves.

Personally speaking, if we're just talking light cosmetic stuff, and the functional requirements are all well met, I would be happy (especially since improved cases will be made available anyway, according to ED). Though I do like a good-looking piece of electronics, I am buying this machine to do stuff, not to look at it (though I will no doubt spend many hours marveling at it).

It's likely a moot point for me, as I didn't order and pay until end of March last year, so I'm probably nowhere near the affected group of customers, and it's rendered even more moot by the fact that I'm headed to England the last week of March this year for a month or so, and if it weren't to arrive for then, I'd have to defer delivery of my order until my return anyway (or maybe have it delivered to the UK at that time), so it may well be a doubly moot issue for me. Anyway, as I say, personally speaking, I can live with a tiny bit of cosmetic imperfection.

Just do what you feel best, Mark/Craig/ED/etc. My order/money isn't going to go away.