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There always seems to be a need for people who are mad at WT to assume anyone who defends them in any way must be associated with them other than as a customer. I agree with the same criticisms others make that make sense. I defend against the ones which don't and explain why.

I speak for myself. If some of it happens to support WT, so what? Make a real case to defend your criticisms rather than making another poster the target. I've seen some pretty crazy assumptions made in order to support bogus attacks. For example, there have been posts saying the videos are phony (not really showing a TB being used), that the hands-on was just employees and relatives of employees, that WT only has "hundreds" of orders left, that the who thing is a scam, etc.

Typically one phony assumption is piled on another to justify pretty much any attack. Heck, I've not only been accused of working for WT, but of actually being the owner! All because I dare not agree with all the criticisms. They can't defend their assumptions so they make up things about me instead.

You should not be here defending them. 99.99% of us are mad.

Let them speak for themselves.
 
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While we're waiting for a response, why don't you read us some more official press releases from WayTools?

Actually, what would be helpful is if dabigkahua could post links to WayTools status announcements instead of reporting on what they said. That way, people who are interested can go read the updates and draw their own conclusions. I appreciate getting the heads up, because I don't regularly check the WayTools site, but I don't need further commentary.
 
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Dear thousands of MacRumors readers who ordered a TextBLade, never received one, yet remain utterly silent.

I invite you to announce yourselves. Let us know you exist... - exist - exist. Helllooo out there - out there - out there. Dooo - do - do. Youuu - ou - ou. Ex-iiist - exist - exist.

While we're waiting for a response, why don't you read us some more official press releases from WayTools? You do realize that just because they publish something that doesn't necessarily mean it's true, don't you?


I believe there are still a large number of us. We exist and we are still awaiting the general release of the TextBlade.

Why are you being so antagonistic towards dabigkahuna? He has repeatedly been challenged because he is one of the few TReG participants who frequently provides updates. He is neither a WayTools shill nor their pawn. He has often called them out for the same reasons many people do: when they are incommunicative; or inaccurate; or overly vague when they do issue an update.

Am I envious that he was selected for the first TReG group and I have not been invited to join in that "club"? Yes, I am. (And I'm guessing that you are, too!) He has a TextBlade and I do not. But I appreciate that he does try to keep the rest of us informed. Should WayTools be doing a better job of that? Absolutely!! But let's not take that out on him. It really isn't his fault.
 
Dear thousands of MacRumors readers who ordered a TextBLade, never received one, yet remain utterly silent.

I invite you to announce yourselves. Let us know you exist... - exist - exist. Helllooo out there - out there - out there. Dooo - do - do. Youuu - ou - ou. Ex-iiist - exist - exist.

While we're waiting for a response, why don't you read us some more official press releases from WayTools? You do realize that just because they publish something that doesn't necessarily mean it's true, don't you?

1. Most people who ordered have never ever even joined the WT forums, let alone here. I doubt many will even see your post.

2. Of those who do see it, few would bother responding.

3. Likewise if you take the reverse. Few who cancel are going to bother to say so - though they are more likely to.

4. Most of that I post isn't from official releases, though I do quote some of them to keep people informed who are here but not on the WT forums.

5. You do realize that just because they publish something doesn't mean it isn't true, right? As I said, you rely on assumptions. When you are claiming someone is not telling the truth, you need to do better than that. I don't think you can.

You see, it is easy to take lots of missed shipping goals and declare they lied. Not particularly logical, but sure is easy. Lots of people over on the WT forums did the same. Funny thing though, those critics who were selected for TREG don't say those things now because they've seen some of the issues that even a couple months ago justified delaying shipping. They see now just how complicated - and new - this thing is and thus how easy it would be to think something is about done only to have a new problem show up.

Oh, they'll probably agree with an argument that says they should have done more testing sooner to reduce this problem, but that has nothing to do with saying WT lied.
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Actually, what would be helpful is if dabigkahua could post links to WayTools status announcements instead of reporting on what they said. That way, people who are interested can go read the updates and draw their own conclusions. I appreciate getting the heads up, because I don't regularly check the WayTools site, but I don't need further commentary.

I assume there are people who just don't want to bother going to the site. Actually, I know that is true in some cases. So I give updates here. As for "further commentary", pretty much everything that gets posted here is someone's commentary about something!
 
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This entire thing is absurd. They should have all of their funds seized and refunds issued to those that pre-ordered. Anyone still buying into this TREG testing is going to be disappointed.

I was intrigued by the product over a year ago and actually pre-ordered but came to my senses a day later and cancelled. It just doesn't make sense to pay $100 for a product that doesn't exist yet in any real functional way. I check in every few months primarily out of curiosity of how long this nonsense can continue? There's a better chance of another company producing a similar product and selling it at Brookstone before anyone received a final, production text blade.
 
They should have all of their funds seized and refunds issued to those that pre-ordered. Anyone still buying into this TREG testing is going to be disappointed.

You know, it is interesting to see the complaints and compare them. For example, WT gets attacked because they won't refund everyone and then just charge them when the product is ready to ship. Now, I happen to agree with those folks who say they never should have been charged in the first place, but they did so now we have your approach to force a refund.

Which brings us to another complaint - that WT has sometimes, when someone complained a LOT, gone ahead and made a refund without asking. Immediately got criticized for that too. Though it is worth noting that people could reorder AND keep their old spot in line.

But here's the thing, many international customers took a loss because of currency fluctuations. So THAT was a legitamate complaint, of course.

But, you see, it also means your solution is not a good one because it would mean that every international customer may face the same problem. So, while they may not like the fact that their card was charged, at THIS POINT they don't want the order refunded because it can cost them money. So, at THIS POINT it is best for each to make their own decision.

BTW, why should anyone be disappointed if they buy into this TREG testing? I haven't see a single tester from the second or third round (you know, people who were not happy about not being selected for the first round) saying they were disappointed once they got their's. In fact, they have pretty much been raving about it. Why should it be any different for when regular customers get their's? Unless you point is that you don't think they even will get theirs.
 
My point is basically that this thing is nearly 20% of a DECADE late shipping. I hope they figure it out and ship a successful product but I just don't see it happening at this point.
 
My point is basically that this thing is nearly 20% of a DECADE late shipping.

Well, we can make it sound extra bad by playing with numbers. Let me play with them some, though a bit more precisely:

It was due in February 2015. Don't recall if a specific date was given, so we'll just say February 1st to make it as bad as possible. It has been 16 months late by that standard. It a decade there are 120 months. So that means it is actually 13.3% of a decade. Since we are having fun with numbers, I could say your figure of "nearly 20% of a decade" was nearly 33.3% off! Of course, that will get closer until the date it actually ships, but they have 8 more months before it gets to 20%.

I just don't see it happening at this point.

Now I can understand that frustration. But I don't think you'd find a single treg tester who feels the same about regular shipping. Even in the early stages, when we were finding problems they needed to fix before shipping, we all seemed to feel it was a pretty solid device, but just a few irritants. I discovered one, fairly serious one, that would cause some typists - including me - to often get symbols instead of numbers. However, even with that problem that affected me a lot but others not at all, I still never had any feeling that I'd rather go back to my Apple wireless keyboard. Because even with that occasional problem, I found too many things that were better with a TB.

Since then that problem and a number of others have been fixed. We literally do not know at this time of any that are left. So, from our view and, of course, barring a new problem popping up, it is just a matter of them making sure the process of assembly doesn't have problems of its own. This is NORMAL. Any time you manufacture something, the wrong process can mess it up anyway.

So, assuming no new problems come up, we are just left with the question of how long will they be testing small runs before giving the go ahead to ramp up and ship. Meanwhile, we sweat out the possibility of something new happening.
 
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They should have all of their funds seized and refunds issued to those that pre-ordered.

One thing that WayTools has always offered and provided is a swift refund to anyone who requested one (and sometimes to folks who didn't ask but were too critical of them). As DBK pointed out, forcing everyone to take a refund and re-order could have negative consequences for many international customers.

My point is basically that this thing is nearly 20% of a DECADE late shipping.

I think this is a pretty large exaggeration. Even if you calculate using the original ship date as March 2015, that's still 15 months late. Not 24. Granted, 15 to what is likely to become 17 months is pretty d@ng late and very frustrating to those of us who are still waiting. 17 months (presuming an August start to general shipping) is still 14.2% of a decade; not 20%. As annoyed as I am, I still feel it's necessary to be mathematically accurate. And several of the TReG participants have indicated that once they got their hands on the TextBlade, they understood the delays much better.
 
There's a better chance of another company producing a similar product and selling it at Brookstone before anyone received a final, production text blade.

I don't know that anyone's come up with a keyboard that's as compact, but for me, the situation has indeed changed, so that I'm no longer as interested in the TextBlade as I was a year ago. Namely, the on-screen keyboard of the 12.9 iPad Pro is so much easier to type on than the 9.7, I no longer feel much need to carry a physical keyboard, no matter how compact. And if I do decide to carry a keyboard, I'd get Apple's new Magic Keyboard, because it's so light and thin, that it's no problem to prop it into my bag along with the 12.9 iPP. If I were still using a 9.7 iPad, the Magic Keyboard might not fit into the bag I use for that. But the 12.9 is big enough that any bag that fits the 12.9 will also have space for the Magic Keyboard.

So I'm at least one potential customer WayTools lost by being so late.
 
Makes sense, though you may want to consider some things. Pretty much all the testers have reported they love the feel of the TB over their full size keyboards. They also love how their fingers don't have to move so far and that they can hit numbers and symbols without looking because they are on or right next to the home keys. No stretch.

Of course, the weight. Apple magic keyboard weighs half a pound which is considerably more than a TB. And, while I can't be sure of long term issues with the TB, it seems to me that it would be easier for the Apple keyboard, even in the bag, to take a solid hit somehow and get damaged.

Being able to have it set up for as many as 6 devices is another huge advantage - if you have more than one. I have four! Nice to only need one keyboard and only take 2-3 seconds to switch between them.

And, of course, customization.

It may be worth the effort, AFTER you know it is shipping, to get one to try and, if necessary, take advantage of the 30 day guarantee to send it back. It only took me about 5 days to be typing 40 wpm so 30 days is more than enough to see if it works well for you.

BTW, while I never could type fast on-screen, some Apple blogger reported his speeds. I was shocked by his tablet speeds:

9.7 software keyboard = 80 wpm
9.7 smart keyboard = 85 wpm
12.9 software keyboard = 96 wpm
12.9 smart keyboard = 104 wpm
12.9 magic keyboard = 116 wpm

I don't see how anyone can type so fast on the screen, let alone be so close to their speed on a regular keyboard!

You might find the article he wrote interesting:

https://sixcolors.com/post/2016/04/typing-test-the-129-inch-ipad-pro-advantage/
 
I appreciate that there are situations where TextBlade has more advantages than the Apple Magic Keyboard. But most of them don't apply to me. For instance, I already have a keyboard sleeve that I feel provides enough padding to protect the Magic Keyboard when I carry it in my bag. I am intrigued by the numbers and symbols being easier to type, but not sure whether it's worth learning a new way to type. Fast switching between devices is nice, but again, I don't switch devices often enough to make it a must have feature.

As for people being able to type on-screen at nearly the same speed as on a physical keyboard, I have friends who can do it. My own typing speed isn't that fast, even on a physical keyboard, but I think my on-screen typing speed is more or less the same as on a physical keyboard. I also do a lot of writing in Japanese, and for that, I'm faster on iOS than on Mac or Windows, due to the complexity of the Japanese input system, it just works better on a touch screen than through a keyboard.

I'll be sure to check out that article, thanks for the link.

Right now, for me, the main advantage of a physical keyboard is that it doesn't take up space on screen. Other than that, the on-screen keyboard is better in almost every way. No weight, no need to charge or carry a separate device, always there when I need it, can change to match the language.
 
My fingers drift too much to make serious use of an on screen keyboard. I need co feel something that helps keep them in position. Even then it can be an issue for me.
 
My fingers drift too much to make serious use of an on screen keyboard. I need co feel something that helps keep them in position. Even then it can be an issue for me.

Hm, this made me wonder why my fingers don't drift, so I paid more attention to how I'm typing. Turns out I'm anchoring the heels of my hands on the edge of the 12.9 iPad.

With the 9.7, I didn't even try to touch type. I just held the iPad by the edges with my four fingers and used my thumbs to type.
 
Hm, this made me wonder why my fingers don't drift, so I paid more attention to how I'm typing. Turns out I'm anchoring the heels of my hands on the edge of the 12.9 iPad.

With the 9.7, I didn't even try to touch type. I just held the iPad by the edges with my four fingers and used my thumbs to type.

Interesting. Next time I go to the Apple store, I'll need to check that approach. Otoh, when typing on my TB, I also have the heel of my hands on the plastic lap desk I "designed". I do have a mark on it to place the TB at the angle that seems to work best for me (tilted to the right). And I try to place my elbows in the arms of my chair as that also seems to work best for me. But I do still find myself drifting. Just a bad habit from decades ago, probably.
 
Only teaching I got was by buying the Mavis Beacon course and used it to learn qwerty and then dvorak (which I was much faster with). So no one to really tell me if I was holding my hands wrong or anything beyond home row keys. I had to have been at least 40 or more before I bought that program.
 
I put my order in april of this year and I been told that it will here at the last week of June time frame.So let see if they keep there word on the time frame
 
I put my order in april of this year and I been told that it will here at the last week of June time frame.So let see if they keep there word on the time frame

It gives me no pleasure to say that there is no chance of you getting a TextBlade in June. Maybe if you were selected for "TREG," otherwise, no dice. That holds as true for your April 2016 order as it for an order from one year ago. I recommend that you post in their forum and ask if they will ship your order in June.
 
Yeah, I think it is highly unlikely an April 2016 order would make a June shipment at this point. I think it is possible initial orders may make it, but not ones from this year.

But there is one positive possibility to consider overall. As far as I know, the hardware updates have recently been about things they'll do as units are assembled. Right now it seems the vast majority of the inventory is in the various subassemblies that still have to be put together. WT may have been continuing to add this inventory while finalizing the process. If so, it may be they have enough parts for all orders so it just becomes a question of how many per day they can put together. I can't imagine any speed that would reach April orders before the end of June though.

Related is that they may have created the different keycaps during this time. Right now all TREG testers are on qwerty keycaps.
 
I guess it depends on your needs. If you aren't in a situation where, "I need it by July or I'll have to buy something else anyway", I'd wait at least a little longer and see what WT announces this week, etc. Obviousy back in April you knew you'd be doing without until at least this month. And I wouldn't want to buy something that I don't feel is as good if I didn't have to either, only to have the TB be shipped later.

So any cancellation I did would be based on a feeling that I just couldn't wait any longer to buy some other keyboard. But then, I never had to have another because I was satisfied with my apple keyboard and I rarely am desperate for one to use with my iphone or ipad so I could wait indefinitely. You may not be in that position.
 
A year and a half later and they still aren't shipping. What a scam.

How is it a "scam"? I'll agree that the delays are frustration and also so the communication has been pretty bad. For example, for the past couple weeks nothing has been said to us about the current gating situation. The last info was simply that firmware isn't an issue and all hardware problems that were known have been fixed and testing well.

So, of course, why are they not shipping? Unfortunately, the last info for that is also a couple weeks old - they ran a small batch through the normal assembly process and they were good. Some were sent to new TREG testers and it seems they were fine with it. So a larger batch for testing the process was supposed to begin last week, As I recall.

We are still waiting on an update of how that went, whether or not more, larger, test batches are planned or what. It may be the assembly process is tricky and too many units don't pass inspection so they still have to improve it. It may be they are testing it at too high a standard. It could be in the past couple weeks a new problem came up.

But I don't see this as a scam at all. This device is way too complicated a thing to develop just to scam people!
 
How is it a "scam"?

They took payment in January, 2015. They said they had a product that was "IN MASS PRODUCTION". Eighteen months later those people who traded the paper version of their personal labors still do not have the product they paid for, nor fair interest for the time this company has kept possession of their money. If you believe WayTools when they say they sold 10,000 units in the first two days (I don't) then you must accept that they were effectively given a $1,000,000 zero interest loan for which they have yet to deliver any shred of compensation.

You may not like the poster's usage of "scam" here <a dishonest way to make money by deceiving people> but it isn't wholly wrong. Just because WayTools probably intended to deliver their product doesn't mean they haven't also acted in a dishonest way in their money making efforts. You can intend to deliver, lie all day and all night long too, and deliver your product in a reasonable time. That's dishonest but not a scam. You can never intend to deliver a product which you accept payment for. That is a scam. But if you have great intentions, and you make up a bunch of BS to stall your buyers, and then you also don't deliver. Well, guess what, you just cornered yourself into scam territory.

Personally, I think "scam" is too strong. But the poster's usage here almost certainly was intended to convey the popular usage of feeling deceived, cheated, hustled, lied to, and generally "scammed" that most of us customers do feel.

For the record, there are a few apologists who signed non disclosure agreements in order to get their hands on test units ahead of paying customers. But I don't generally think they are always the most objective commentators on this unfortunate TextBlade situation.
 
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