The PearPad: A Cautionary Tale for Founders

I worked with so many companies and seen this too offen: They develop an super-duper-product, write basic firmware (software) and promise that "product will have many extra powerfull features on next firmware release". But after initial sales started they usuallu only pollish critical errors and bugs in basic software. Than after the end of sales circle (6month - 2years) they finally present new firmware with all so-long-waited featues worked.., but it will require new hardware, and not compatible with old model. It's true for big companies, but most often for small ones.

I'm very houp that eDGe can (and will) use another bussiness model. If they not upgrade the OS to Android 2.1, or if they not give SDK to developers, after several months, market will be flooded with e-pad-like devices (at the end of the year there may be even tablets with pixel-q displays), than eDGe hardware will be outdated and the only way to pitchup eDGe sales will be software (but as we know, there's almost no software for eDGe). And there's no chance to make software without SDK.

Thanks maynard, I understand what you mean now.

Originally Posted by robot

I worked with so many companies and seen this too offen: They develop an super-duper-product, write basic firmware (software) and promise that "product will have many extra powerfull features on next firmware release". But after initial sales started they usuallu only pollish critical errors and bugs in basic software. Than after the end of sales circle (6month - 2years) they finally present new firmware with all so-long-waited featues worked.., but it will require new hardware, and not compatible with old model. It's true for big companies, but most often for small ones.

I'm very houp that eDGe can (and will) use another bussiness model. If they not upgrade the OS to Android 2.1, or if they not give SDK to developers, after several months, market will be flooded with e-pad-like devices (at the end of the year there may be even tablets with pixel-q displays), than eDGe hardware will be outdated and the only way to pitchup eDGe sales will be software (but as we know, there's almost no software for eDGe). And there's no chance to make software without SDK.

Unfortunately this is a growing trend in all software sales..even those software sales that are included with hardware (such as firmware). Companies are under so much pressure these days to pipe up the PR channel, bring in the pre-orders and then see how it goes. In some cases, in at least one company where Ive worked, the initial 'announcement of a release date' is simply an exercise in prototyping.

As users, we just want stuff that works!!!! Honesty is the best policy

Being one of those people who makes his living in the software industry, I truly cannot stand that mentality.
"Hey, lets use the installed user base as beta testers, they won't mind! they'll think it's awesome".
And what's with Apple CHARGING for a beta release of OSX?

This is why people hate software companies. I get tons of email from users who are loaded for a fight when the write to us and want something really simple like a copy of their license key or they just assume that they're not going to get any support because they're still using the trial version or whatever. Clearly this doesn't happen in a vacuum; they've had these experiences enough times to warrant the position.
Why in the **** would a company poke their customers in the eye by setting this sort of expectation. It boggles the mind.

Apple is notoriously bad at this. Microsoft has gotten immeasurably better since they moved much of the support back from overseas. The little developers selling apps on the Android Market/App Store/Live Marketplace are doing a surprisingly good job in most cases, even without dedicated support staff.

we've gotten quite far off topic on this though...I agree with the premise of the article, however. If the iPad was any other companies product, it would be excoriated in the press as pointless and irrelevant and no one would buy it.
EnTourage is doing a really good job of positioning the eDGe. Just looking through the available titles shows such an abundance of propeller-head publications that the target audience is clear.