Some light ahead...

[Ian Stirling]

Jim Thompson wrote:
> Duncan Hudson wrote:
>> Sean Moss-Pultz wrote:
>>> Finally, we've already begun moving production into one of our factories
>>> in mainland China. There are two runs scheduled now: May 10th and May
>>> 20th. We're going to take those runs a bit slow just to make sure the
>>> quality is high. And then starting in June, things can run full speed.   
>> I'm as anxious as anyone to get my hands on one of these, but it just 
>> concerns me that the date has slipped again.  With each slip the 
>> competition gets closer and closer.  Openmoko has been compared, 
>> favorably, by many sources to the iPhone - and it was originally 
>> scheduled to ship months before that device.  Now we're talking about 
>> shipping after the iPhone, so the bar that you have to clear will have 
>> been raised considerably.
> 
> 1) the Openmoko-for-customers is slated for 9/11/07, so it was going to 
> ship after the "Q207" date for the iPhone in any case.

Sure.
But of course, the software would have been a hell of a lot more ready 
come 2-3 months before september, when it might otherwise have been
shown to some carriers that might have been interested in subsidising 
it, or phone shops, if the original January date had been kept.

As it is, it sounds like the first preorders (if that's still going to 
be done) are going to be delivered sometime May 20, if the screen 
problems are resolved.
Leaving a couple of months dev time at best before there is something to 
show to carriers or phone shop chains if they are to carry it in September.

I'm not of course saying there is much FIC could have done to avoid 
this, just that even though September is a long way away, (ish), a 
consumer-usable phone a few months before then would be a very nice 
thing to show to potential vendors.

p.s. Of course I know you can develop without hardware. Some people are 
only really going to start once they have some.

p.p.s. What's the fault on the screens?
If it's livable with, I'd be moderately happy with getting shipped a 
'faulty' one, then having a screen turn up in an envelope in a few weeks.