Status GTA04 GroupTour

[Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller]

Hi all,
that status of the GTA04 mass market group tour

http://www.handheld-linux.com/wiki.php?page=GTA04%20Group%20Tour

is that we have:

* passed half time yesterday
* first early bird batch is sold out
* but still only 16% preorders (56 units)
* we have approx. 6 weeks left to fill the remaining
   gap of 84 %

So I would say that we are still far away from becoming
successful.

If I read that over 2 Million new Android units have been
activated over the Christmas holidays [1] and 4 Million
iOS devices just on Christmas day [2], I can't believe
that we do not find 350 potential buyers in 60 days...

Well, we don't have a real mass market device and I think
we should not even pretend to have one, in this phase.
Because we are then compared to the 100 EUR Huawei
Android/UMTS units where one has to suspect that the
workers in China are being ripped off...

What do you think should we do to make this group
tour a success?

* extend the subscription timeframe until we reach
  100%?
* ask for/collect donations to extend the early bird rebates?
   Some sort of sponsorship by community members for
   community members who can't afford a new GTA04
   immediately?
* have more resellers or buying groups to order batches
   of 10 units?
* talk more about the benefits and special features one
   can only find in a GTA04 and nowhere else?
* subsidize GTA04 boards by combining them with a 
   UMTS contract?
* offer to pay only part of the price by end of the subscription
   time frame so that we can already buy the expensive
   and difficult to source components, but postpone
   production individually until the remaining payments
   arrive? (i.e. pay 200 EUR until 10th Feb and the remainder
   until May)

More ideas are welcome! But please keep in mind
that we can't develop something completely new until
February and components cost what they cost...

The simpler the idea the better!

And, there may be ideas which are too big for a single
community member, but may become feasible if we all
work together, contributing many small pieces.

Curious about your ideas,
Nikolaus

[1]: http://www.giga.de/macnews/newsticker/ios-gegen-android-42-millionen-ios-26-millionen-android-aktivierungen-am-weihnachtstag-256890
[2]: http://www.macrumors.com/2011/12/27/holiday-gifts-drive-new-ios-device-activations-sharply-higher/