5 ms·

This isnt really a finished product that they are comfortable selling to the general population. I actually feel like they are doing a pretty good job of settin

This isnt really a finished product that they are comfortable selling to the general population. I actually feel like they are doing a pretty good job of setting customers expectations. From the order page for the pine tab I see these disclaimers: The PineTab comes with UBports OS build installed. Please note that the OS build is still in a beta stage, and while most core functionality works, some elements remain a work-in-progress. Small numbers (1-3) of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD screens. These are normal and should not be considered a defect. When fulfilling the purchase, please bear in mind that we are offering the PineTab at this price as a community service to PINE64 communities. If you think that a minor dissatisfaction, such as a dead pixel, will prompt you to file a PayPal dispute then please do not purchase the PineTab. Thank you. To me that means, this is not a "product" in the traditional sense. They're just trying to accommodate hackers by providing more fully fleshed out development kits in hopes that they can make a more fully fledged product in the future.

beamatronic 6y ago
Their honesty is so refreshing. Wish more companies were like this.
founderling 6y ago
How does the statement about dead pixels help people who ordered and paid a phone but get no information on when it will be shipped? Regarding general population vs hackers: Do you imply that hackers value low price higher then others? Are hackers particularely poor? I thought hacker often means coder which usually means higher income then the general population. Personally, I would totally prefer to pay 50% more and have my emails answered and my orders shipped.
- Lex-2008 6y ago
  I'm not that much into discussion of terms "hackers" vs "community", but maybe you can track updates in the first post in this tread: https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=9942 https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=9942 Quoting from there: > We're under constraints that we have no control over (e.g. border being closed between HK and mainland China), the shipping companies and carriers are under many constraints (self-imposed or imposed by regulators) and the logistic chain as a whole - including people - is under regulatory constraints. In short, current situation is not business as usual. I am getting many PMs and emails asking about status reports - as soon as I know something, I post it here, there is no need to PM or email me. Thank you for your continued patience! Also, somewhere I've read that their shipping team is 4 people packing about 1000 items per day. Why increased demand doesn't cause increase in shipping team - that I don't know. You can also connect to IRC/Telegram/Matrix channel and ask there - somebody with more knowledge might answer you.
- evultrole 6y ago
  The price is low because they are generally selling things at cost as a service. This isn't a standard "make a device for $50 then sell it for $400 because we can" company because they don't want to be. Orders are delayed because, and this may surprise you, there is a global pandemic right now which is affecting factory workers in China, causing production and Q&A issues because of restricted staff, visitors, and shipping. If you prefer to spend more money then go do it and shut the hell up. "Personally, I'd like everyone to have to pay $50-75 more for this unfinished product because I'm an arrogant impatient idiot" is the worst take in the world Just go buy a finished product from a store
  - boneitis 6y ago
    They have said that orders for people who opted for the faster DHL shipping option had already shipped out 6/5 - 6/6 and would be given a tracking number and contacted by DHL, yet there are some of us who have still received nothing in terms of updates. Here we are, a week later, and even after their update 3 hrs ago, the Pine team has yet to acknowledge this. Ordinarily I would have shrugged it off, but the shipping carrier needs to reach out to collect their taxes before we can get our devices. E: offtopic, but there's no need for the namecalling. We like to think we're classier than that 'round here.
  - a1369209993 6y ago
    > Just go buy a finished product from a store Not that you're wrong about the rest, but we can't actually do this; there are no stores that will sell you a working smartphone or smartphone-based tablet. (That is, with compiler, shell, kernel- and driver-patching, etc that constitute a operating system.)
kohtatsu 6y ago
The PineTab comes with UBports OS build installed. Please note that the OS build is still in a beta stage, and while most core functionality works, some elements remain a work-in-progress. Small numbers (1-3) of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD screens. These are normal and should not be considered a defect. When fulfilling the purchase, please bear in mind that we are offering the PineTab at this price as a community service to PINE64 communities. If you think that a minor dissatisfaction, such as a dead pixel, will prompt you to file a PayPal dispute then please do not purchase the PineTab. Thank you.
vikramkr 6y ago
That doesnt mean their customer service as in giving an estimate of a shipping time should be that bad. They could at least say "hey, we're a bit overwhelmed right now, we'll let you know when it's ready to ship but dont have more info right now, sorry" or something like that

beamatronic 6y ago

Their honesty is so refreshing. Wish more companies were like this.

founderling 6y ago

How does the statement about dead pixels help people who ordered and paid a phone but get no information on when it will be shipped? Regarding general population vs hackers: Do you imply that hackers value low price higher then others? Are hackers particularely poor? I thought hacker often means coder which usually means higher income then the general population. Personally, I would totally prefer to pay 50% more and have my emails answered and my orders shipped.

Lex-2008 6y ago
I'm not that much into discussion of terms "hackers" vs "community", but maybe you can track updates in the first post in this tread: https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=9942 https://forum.pine64.org/showthread.php?tid=9942 Quoting from there: > We're under constraints that we have no control over (e.g. border being closed between HK and mainland China), the shipping companies and carriers are under many constraints (self-imposed or imposed by regulators) and the logistic chain as a whole - including people - is under regulatory constraints. In short, current situation is not business as usual. I am getting many PMs and emails asking about status reports - as soon as I know something, I post it here, there is no need to PM or email me. Thank you for your continued patience! Also, somewhere I've read that their shipping team is 4 people packing about 1000 items per day. Why increased demand doesn't cause increase in shipping team - that I don't know. You can also connect to IRC/Telegram/Matrix channel and ask there - somebody with more knowledge might answer you.
evultrole 6y ago
The price is low because they are generally selling things at cost as a service. This isn't a standard "make a device for $50 then sell it for $400 because we can" company because they don't want to be. Orders are delayed because, and this may surprise you, there is a global pandemic right now which is affecting factory workers in China, causing production and Q&A issues because of restricted staff, visitors, and shipping. If you prefer to spend more money then go do it and shut the hell up. "Personally, I'd like everyone to have to pay $50-75 more for this unfinished product because I'm an arrogant impatient idiot" is the worst take in the world Just go buy a finished product from a store
- boneitis 6y ago
  They have said that orders for people who opted for the faster DHL shipping option had already shipped out 6/5 - 6/6 and would be given a tracking number and contacted by DHL, yet there are some of us who have still received nothing in terms of updates. Here we are, a week later, and even after their update 3 hrs ago, the Pine team has yet to acknowledge this. Ordinarily I would have shrugged it off, but the shipping carrier needs to reach out to collect their taxes before we can get our devices. E: offtopic, but there's no need for the namecalling. We like to think we're classier than that 'round here.
- a1369209993 6y ago
  > Just go buy a finished product from a store Not that you're wrong about the rest, but we can't actually do this; there are no stores that will sell you a working smartphone or smartphone-based tablet. (That is, with compiler, shell, kernel- and driver-patching, etc that constitute a operating system.)

kohtatsu 6y ago

The PineTab comes with UBports OS build installed. Please note that the OS build is still in a beta stage, and while most core functionality works, some elements remain a work-in-progress. Small numbers (1-3) of stuck or dead pixels are a characteristic of LCD screens. These are normal and should not be considered a defect. When fulfilling the purchase, please bear in mind that we are offering the PineTab at this price as a community service to PINE64 communities. If you think that a minor dissatisfaction, such as a dead pixel, will prompt you to file a PayPal dispute then please do not purchase the PineTab. Thank you.

vikramkr 6y ago

That doesnt mean their customer service as in giving an estimate of a shipping time should be that bad. They could at least say "hey, we're a bit overwhelmed right now, we'll let you know when it's ready to ship but dont have more info right now, sorry" or something like that