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TextBlade Update: An Inside Look at Production Troubles and New Info on Shipping Estimates

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So now it's looking like end of January is the best case for shipment. This is from their forum:

"waytoolsWayTools Team
4d
Happy New Year to everyone!

A quick post to update you on progress -

We had our development team review meeting Monday, and went through details of our latest test results.

During the holidays, each of our team members put their TextBlades through testing and daily usage to exercise the latest firmware build.

The results were quite encouraging. While we found some nit points to polish, there were no major show stoppers that surfaced, and the release performed really well.

So we're currently on track for first release in Jan (likely around the end of the month).

We plan to post some tech tidbits in a few days for our engineering enthusiast friends on the forum.

FYI - We also submitted a new release of the TextBlade App that's now pending in the App Store approval pipeline. It makes improvements to known minor issues on the first release. We'll post and advise when Apple has published it. Thanks to all those who wrote us with your kind and helpful input on the app.

Happy 2016! This will be an awesome year for us all."

Still no actual statement of a "code freeze" though :(.
 
Who would believe that a year later this thing still hasn't shipped. If you read the forum posts over at forum.waytools.com almost every post is now about year later cancellations and talk of being betrayed. WayTools designed the best portable keyboard ever, then killed it. What a shame.

It looks like Jorno and Microsoft Folding Keyboard are still the best options out there...
 
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bobdobalina said:
Who would believe that a year later this thing still hasn't shipped. If you read the forum posts over at forum.waytools.com almost every post is now about year later cancellations and talk of being betrayed. WayTools designed the best portable keyboard ever, then killed it. What a shame.

It looks like Jorno and Microsoft Folding Keyboard are still the best options out there...
Click to expand...

I know!

I have been after them asking what schedule they are following. The can never produce one. Always saying they want to be sure it works properly so they have no release date other than soon.

I mean after a year you should be following a plan.
 
ZipZap said:
I know!

I have been after them asking what schedule they are following. The can never produce one. Always saying they want to be sure it works properly so they have no release date other than soon.

I mean after a year you should be following a plan.
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Yeah, it doesn't seem like they have one. Maybe they do: "When it's perfect, and when the mood is right, and when Aquarius is in the..., and when the people are truly ready, then we'll release it."
 
I see on another thread there are still issues with components (stand and caps keys?) needing remedying.

I wish they had been more advanced when they launched the product (because of my own natural impatience/passion) but respect their desire to get it right before full launch.

Is there a master thread on Macrumors where the most up to date information can be found as the Waytools site only has periodic updates under their "Service' tab?
 
PeckhamBog said:
I see on another thread there are still issues with components (stand and caps keys?) needing remedying.

I wish they had been more advanced when they launched the product (because of my own natural impatience/passion) but respect their desire to get it right before full launch.

Is there a master thread on Macrumors where the most up to date information can be found as the Waytools site only has periodic updates under their "Service' tab?
Click to expand...


You may want to join the WayTools forum. There is much activity there as well as more-frequent posts from WayTools. (BTW, I am not commenting upon their communication methods. They do what they do for their own reasons.)

Link: https://forum.waytools.com
 
There is little else new on their site. In fact, they have been deleting comments. They keep finding issue after issue. Causing delay after delay. They should never have undertaken this effort as they are clearly not engineers.

There really is no excuse for debacle.

18 months down the road we are now when they stated they were shipping in March 2015.
 
It is now mid-August 2016, which means six months have passed since the joint MacRumors and Waytools announcement, WayTools' TextBlade Keyboard to Start Shipping to Test Group Users Next Week, was made.

It is more clear than ever that MacRumors made the correct decision to curtail its coverage of the TextBlade. Continuing to enable WT to exploit MR's reach, reputation, and readership would be folly.


----------
Anybody who has just discovered the TextBlade should take a look at these links:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads...-users-next-week.1957232/page-5#post-22597429
https://forum.waytools.com/latest
http://www.zdnet.com/article/textblade-update-i-cancelled-my-january-order/
https://www.reddit.com/r/textblade/

In short: do not place an order for the TextBlade. There is no evidence whatsoever that the TextBlade will ever ship to retail buyers; WayTools collects payments upon ordering, not shipment; and there is no guarantee WayTools will be able to provide refunds on demand in the future.
 
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I'm an optimistic person - but the latest hardware issues and the ensuing period of applying test fixes, testing the fixes, testing production of fixes and someday actually applying fixes to production stock and then testing production fixes via TREG and then...

Well, it's all becoming very tedious.
 
Ergates-thi-Ant said:
I have gotten a refund on my order. I don't believe any more of WayTools lies. IMO lies, because their promises keep changing.
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Yeah, I got tired of the lies 2 months ago, and got a refund, which I'm pleased to say came thru promptly.
But really, there is no excuse for their procrastination. They should refund all orders remaining, continue development, send free Textblades to anyone who ever ordered one, and then see if there is any goodwill remaining for them to continue, or else shut up shop.
 
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rmeurant said:
Yeah, I got tired of the lies 2 months ago, and got a refund, which I'm pleased to say came thru promptly.
But really, there is no excuse for their procrastination. They should refund all orders remaining, continue development, send free Textblades to anyone who ever ordered one, and then see if there is any goodwill remaining for them to continue, or else shut up shop.
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And where do you think they got their development money from? By selling suckers (we were two) a product that didn't exist yet. Refund the money and where are they?

A forthright company either has investment capital and charges with shipping, or is an open Kickstarter campaign. WayTools is just plain scummy.
 
Theranos should use whatever remaining cash it has to acquire WayTools. Talk about two peas in a pod!

And at least Theranos knew that when you run an advance-payment grift, you gotta make it BIG.
 
We have the first report of a treg tester getting a device that has the new pcb board fix. So far no one has gotten the new keycaps yet - at least not that we know of.
 
There may be a slim chance they will ship on October but I have my doubles they have had to many production faults to discount another round of TREG testing until next year. Remember we are coming up to the 2 year anniversary when it was suppose to be ready to ship.

The reason I think they could "maybe" ship by October is cause that is when my forum account is suppose to become unblocked could be coincidence only. I was block for "misrepresentation" in the rants forum. Isn't that the point of a rants forum to rant.

Have people noticed the way the Rants forum has effectively been closed down on WayTools forum site. Any view that is contrary or isn't positive is quickly closed down. Many people like me have been banned from posting on the rants forum. It is almost a ghost town.Most of my comments I feel have been reasonable and fair and only expressing my opinion in the near vacumn WayTools create themselves. People posting even flippant commentary are closed down and banned.

If I have a criticism of Dabigkahuna he is to readily to think semantics can win the argument for why we are still waiting on device that should have been released months ago if not years.

When it is the plain facts that speak louder. Back in Jan 2015 it was suppose to ship to paying customers, they even took people's money. It is currently October 2016 and the clock is still ticking as to when they might ship. We are 3 months off 2 years no shipped Text blades. Note I don't include TREG devices as these aren't retail devices.

My worst case scenario was August 2016 at the time Dabigkahuna berated me for even thinking that could be a reasonable estimate it was bound to be earlier. Yet it is October 2016 and we still waiting.

Also he to ready to excuses Waytools behaviour of indifference and plain arrogance in not communicating to the general public what they are doing. The Treggers tell stories of the CEO spending hours on the phone with each TREG tester. Yet fails to have the time to post a weekly updated to the many preorder customers left waiting patiently for an update. But to be fair Dabigkahuna does provide some insight as to what is happening with the TREG testing.

WayTools always miss their own deadlines but even when they say they will provide an update on a certain date they miss it. Dabigkahuna then goes into an in depth analysis if they meant Malaysian time at the factory. When clearly they would of meant US HQ timeframe.

Look anyone thinking of purchasing a Text blade should hold off until it has finally shipped to paying customers. I also suggest possibly waiting on the second gen. as it is clear from the ten months of TREG testing there has been faults that weren't just quality control. Aldo there is a slim chance you may end up with a refurbished device. Although WayTools may provide same insight to confirm if refurbished devices will be shipped.

I will eagerly watch and track when and "if" WayTools eventually release a device. Although I am unlikely to buy one myself. Simple cause the company's woeful customer service, especially their treatment of very patient pre-ordered customers with such contempt indifference.

If Apple buys them out I may buy one but not from them.
 
AnthLC said:
Any view that is contrary or isn't positive is quickly closed down.
Click to expand...

I've criticized them as have others. No problem doing so.

AnthLC said:
Back in Jan 2015 it was suppose to ship to paying customers, they even took people's money.
Click to expand...

That is one of the things I have said they shouldn't have done - did so quite recently as well as long ago. So have others. Wasn't closed down.

AnthLC said:
My worst case scenario was August 2016 at the time Dabigkahuna berated me for even thinking that could be a reasonable estimate it was bound to be earlier.
Click to expand...

I'll need more info on that. Like a link.

AnthLC said:
Also he to ready to excuses Waytools behaviour of indifference and plain arrogance in not communicating to the general public what they are doing.
Click to expand...

Now that one I know isn't true. No link needed. I regularly complain about their lack of communication and keep making posts pressuring them to do so. So how did you get this erroneous idea?

AnthLC said:
Look anyone thinking of purchasing a Text blade should hold off until it has finally shipped to paying customers. I also suggest possibly waiting on the second gen. as it is clear from the ten months of TREG testing there has been faults that weren't just quality control.
Click to expand...

I certainly think it makes sense to wait. There is a trade-off as you will lose out on the free multi-app. I'm guessing that the free gift beyond that, since it is based on how early you order, may not have a lot of value left, but I could be wrong. None of us know how the gift level changes oven time.

So the bigger question is about those who already ordered and what they should do.
 
My deadline for cancelling my Mar. 2015 order is Oct.31. Either I get a firm ship date by then or I'm out. The "early adopter gift" is meaningless at this point. If they publicly announce the "gift" is an extra TextBlade I might wait a little longer. Realistically, I don't think they'll offer that. Their lack of expressed commitment to the "early adopters" that are still optimistically hanging on is sad at this point. This is not the way to treat your best customers.
 
redshifted said:
My deadline for cancelling my Mar. 2015 order is Oct.31. Either I get a firm ship date by then or I'm out. The "early adopter gift" is meaningless at this point. If they publicly announce the "gift" is an extra TextBlade I might wait a little longer. Realistically, I don't think they'll offer that. Their lack of expressed commitment to the "early adopters" that are still optimistically hanging on is sad at this point. This is not the way to treat your best customers.
Click to expand...

Well, I can't reveal what the gift is (I do wish they would) and all I know is what the top level gift is - not what the last order date is to qualify for it. I'm also in March 2015. I think one tester reported that Knighton said something about it being for orders in the first couple months, but is presently just hearsay. And does that mean January/February or does it mean two full months (60 days) from when they first started taking orders? In one, I'd qualify. For the other, I would not. And we don't how it changes for later orders.

All I can tell you is that we've all been very pleased when we saw what the top gift was and it was better than any of us seriously expected.

But even if you knew what it was and thought it was worth staying in, I can't tell you for sure you'll ever get a TB. I feel confident you will, for lots of reasons, but I'm not there, knowing the inner workings and, as such, can't guarantee anything.

Heck, I consider every theory out there, no matter how silly (because sometimes silly ideas can lead you to a new way of looking at something which will give you a good idea). So, it is "possible" that WT could declare bankruptcy. There are plenty of critics who happily just claim that WILL happen. I doubt it but sure, it is POSSIBLE.

But do keep in mind that under that scenario, I and other testers lose more than you would. Because not only would we lose our investment (the existing units we have, even if we refused to return them, would soon lose functionality), we have adapted to them and going back to a regular keyboard is simply brutal. When I've done so, it was like I never learned to type!

Now, I think folks who regularly have to switch back and forth do fine - just as I can easily switch between different musical instruments - but honestly, having to switch back permanently is my biggest worry.

I agree with you about their need to do better for their customers. Not by necessarily shipping before they think it is ready, but some things - especially communication - has been worrisome.
 
I'm surprised that in all this time somebody hasn't knocked off what is a REALLY simple design and released it.

Chinese copycats can probably make a better quality product than this bloody Blade... it's farcical!
 
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djgamble said:
I'm surprised that in all this time somebody hasn't knocked off what is a REALLY simple design and released it.

Chinese copycats can probably make a better quality product than this bloody Blade... it's farcical!
Click to expand...

Except it isn't simple. Oh, the concept is simple enough, but the the tech in it is very complicated. I think all the testers have been surprised by that.
 
djgamble said:
I'm surprised that in all this time somebody hasn't knocked off what is a REALLY simple design and released it.

Chinese copycats can probably make a better quality product than this bloody Blade... it's farcical!
Click to expand...
It make you wonder why the market isn't flooded with them?

Is that the new marketing line?

Textblade, so awful even the Chinese won't copy it.

R

 
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