For what it's worth, a couple of new developments in the continuing Cherrypal-o-rama.
One person who had planned to purchase ten devices if he could come to suitable payment terms
reported getting through to Max Seybold and coming to suitable payment terms.
In a later comment in the same thread, a German Africa orderer reported that
the tracking number he had been given had started to work, and is updating the tracking information in
a post on his blog. (The tracking widget shows the device travelling from Baoding to a distribution center in Beijing, then leaving the distribution center.)
Hopefully before the week is out people will actually start receiving these devices. My own order, #1035, for sample devices still shows "pending". I've been told it will ship this week.