Yeah, shipping times were bad for Gameshell and Devterm, but not quite as bad as uConsole. Gameshell had a successful kickstarter (or maybe indiegogo, I forget?) run and I think those went out about when people expected. Since it was the first product, I waited to see what people thought. Based on the positive reviews, I got in on the post-crowdfunding release, and I remember it being delayed, but I think it was only by a few months.
The Devterm had the valid excuse of releasing during the height of the pandemic. So the delay for it was easier to accept.
Supply chain issues continue, and I’m sure affected small players like this much more than larger companies who can ensure their stuff gets made first, or at least not last.
The communication issues seem to be everywhere except support, which has always been fast and reliable, if direct email is used. Better communication could have helped relieve people’s shipping fears and set more appropriate expectations. But I also think the website and marketing materials are quite professionally done, and imply this is more of a company than just a hobby project. It kind of ends up being crowdfunding, but under the guise of a company that can ship in 90 days.
The thing is, the hardware, so far, has always been excellent. (The software has some issues, usually, but with support of the community, people end up replacing or enhancing the rough parts and sharing that on the forums.) And the presentation of the hardware (opening the box), and assembly has always been amazing as well. Documentation may not be 100% complete or accurate, but usually it’s stuff that people figure out pretty quickly, and again, that stuff gets shared on the forums.
The main problem seems to be a disconnect between people’s expectations of what Clockwork Pi is, and what they can do (and when they can do it) and reality. And I think better communication could help with that. Maybe going back to the crowdfunding model would make more sense too, at least for new products. Everyone expects those might be delayed! Clockwork Pi has built up a lot of goodwill through the uniqueness and quality of their products, but they’ve also done harm to that reputation through the shipping issues and setting poor expectations. Personally I hope they weather this storm, but they need to do better on any new products after uConsole.
just will make do with all the other linux laptops I’ve saved from the land fill…
