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oliverbogler · 05-31-2006, 11:02 AM

I share the disappointment many here feel on the delay in the release, and the possibility that we may have to wait until fall. However, I think one cannot ascribe it to lack of willingness to launch, or intentional misleading by the company. Sure they got it wrong a couple of times, but they are trying to balance the buzz with the reality.

As has been mentioned many times, we are not Irex's core business. That is the content providers (newspapers, magazines) who will probably pay for the hardware in some way - therefore their main attention has to be on the trials going on, which will be evaluated academically and success there is key. If that fails, the whole company's future may be in doubt.

We represent more of a risk at the moment, IMHO. If they release a device with issues (e.g. power management) to a crowd of vocal, and sometimes critical

folks like us, we may create more negative buzz, and customer service headaches than is offset by the income we are likely to provide. They clearly do not have much staff to handle this sort of thing yet, and so holding off is the safer strategy. I think the info coming from LA that there will be a developer prerelease soon sounds right.

I say: "Don't be angry at Irex". I am sure that if they could release, they would. They are not witholding a well functioing Iliad, but are getting it right as quickly as they can.

Sure, they didn't handle the communication with us very well. Companies should realize that raising expectations and then failing to deliver is worse than not raising them in the first place. Apple knows this, which is why they never talk about upcoming things. However, a startup like Irex probably has investor pressure to get to market, and so promised too soon. On the other hand, they cannot take us on every twist and turn in what must be a complex situation with different external vendors delivering/not delivering software etc.

Let us be patient, and give them a chance to wow us with a cool new device when it is ready. I'd rather wait a couple of months, than have something that I dislike because it underdelivers. The battery life is huge for me - I want something that I can treat like a book for a couple of weeks, then plug in. Not something that I need to recharge every 3 days.

05-31-2006, 11:02 AM	#42
oliverbogler Connoisseur Posts: 81 Karma: 90 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Houston, TX Device: iLiad	I share the disappointment many here feel on the delay in the release, and the possibility that we may have to wait until fall. However, I think one cannot ascribe it to lack of willingness to launch, or intentional misleading by the company. Sure they got it wrong a couple of times, but they are trying to balance the buzz with the reality. As has been mentioned many times, we are not Irex's core business. That is the content providers (newspapers, magazines) who will probably pay for the hardware in some way - therefore their main attention has to be on the trials going on, which will be evaluated academically and success there is key. If that fails, the whole company's future may be in doubt. We represent more of a risk at the moment, IMHO. If they release a device with issues (e.g. power management) to a crowd of vocal, and sometimes critical folks like us, we may create more negative buzz, and customer service headaches than is offset by the income we are likely to provide. They clearly do not have much staff to handle this sort of thing yet, and so holding off is the safer strategy. I think the info coming from LA that there will be a developer prerelease soon sounds right. I say: "Don't be angry at Irex". I am sure that if they could release, they would. They are not witholding a well functioing Iliad, but are getting it right as quickly as they can. Sure, they didn't handle the communication with us very well. Companies should realize that raising expectations and then failing to deliver is worse than not raising them in the first place. Apple knows this, which is why they never talk about upcoming things. However, a startup like Irex probably has investor pressure to get to market, and so promised too soon. On the other hand, they cannot take us on every twist and turn in what must be a complex situation with different external vendors delivering/not delivering software etc. Let us be patient, and give them a chance to wow us with a cool new device when it is ready. I'd rather wait a couple of months, than have something that I dislike because it underdelivers. The battery life is huge for me - I want something that I can treat like a book for a couple of weeks, then plug in. Not something that I need to recharge every 3 days. Last edited by oliverbogler; 05-31-2006 at 11:11 AM.