Check irex :) game on..

[Laurens]

Originally Posted by Riocaz

Indeed. They never denied this.

September is rather annoying. But hey it's at least a date.

I think the community here had become a little too psyched about this device over the past few weeks, with polls, speculation, etc. (MobileRead is turning more into a support group for deprived e-book junkies.) Irex may have overlooked the demand for this device, but they're just a startup, so give them a break. From Henrycat's postings I gather that the thing is not ready for primetime yet, so it's a wise decision to delay the "consumer edition" anyway.

[Riocaz]

Yup I agree.

On the otherhand it led me here and gives me several more months to get more highscores in the Arcade :-)

[CommanderROR]

It may be wise or it may not be Laurens, but it's not OK to tell people "in the next few days" and then "in a couple of months".

[Riocaz]

CommanderROR: Well "couple" can mean a few or several. So in all fairness if it's available to the B2B market it could well be available to you (as a secondary sale) soon enough.

All Irex are saying there is that they are working on a true 'consumer' product which they expect to have available in September.

Again they haven't directly lied. They havn't told the whole truth. But they havn't directly lied.

[CommanderROR]

well...I think they have directly lied. They actually told me "word for word" that the webshop for individual (retail) purchase would open in the next couple of days, and that is in direct contradiction with what is happening now.
I don't see much room for misinterpretation here to be honest...

[Laurens]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

It may be wise or it may not be Laurens, but it's not OK to tell people "in the next few days" and then "in a couple of months".

Maybe their PR lady just didn't know or they decided to delay at the last minute.

[Riocaz]

Ahh sorry CommanderROR I obviously missed that.

When I phoned I was only told that the launch was going ahead in a "couple of days".

That said they havn't actually actually said that the webshop won't be opened until September. Just that they are recommending that Indiviauls wait for their consumer version.

[Laurens]

Maybe the consumer edition will be cheaper?

[CommanderROR]

yep...unfortunately the lady told me exactly that...i'll call them tomorrow to clarify...though i doubt i'll get a lot of clarity...

I also contacted Jinke...I'm very seriously thinking of abandoning iRex and getting a device that could actually appear on the market sometime...I haven't given up completely, but i'm very close.
Let's see whether my questions to jinke about the V3 will be answered so quickly and efficiently as they always were in the past...

[Bierius]

Originally Posted by Riocaz

CommanderROR: Well "couple" can mean a few or several. So in all fairness if it's available to the B2B market it could well be available to you (as a secondary sale) soon enough.

All Irex are saying there is that they are working on a true 'consumer' product which they expect to have available in September.

Again they haven't directly lied. They havn't told the whole truth. But they havn't directly lied.

Haven’t directly lied?! Oh silly me! I got all confused and thought they had completely lied. Well then, if it’s only a half lie it’s all ok then.

In my moment of weakness I almost started blabbering about customer trust, business ethics and transparency.

Luckily now I realise it was only a half lie and all will be………………………

[feersum]

Originally Posted by Laurens

Maybe the consumer edition will be cheaper?

I don't think so, because it probably wouldn't be subsidized by long term subscription contracts with publishers and such.

[VillageReader]

Originally Posted by feersum

I don't think so, because it probably wouldn't be subsidized by long term subscription contracts with publishers and such.

Well, I have a tendency to disagree.

The b2b orders should be 'volume' users (although a sole proprietorship would probably qualify as b2b even with QTY1). In electronics, higher volume nearly always leads to a lower price on components. By September, iRex might be willing to pass that savings to consumers and keep margins constant rather than increasing.

I would also point out that from a marketing perspective consumers may not be willing to pay the b2b price (think Saturday stay overs for airlines or weekend rates for hotels) as businesses can justify the expense based only on ROI.

SO, my guess is a lower price by September (another poll, anyone).

[Riocaz]

Originally Posted by Bierius

Haven’t directly lied?! Oh silly me! I got all confused and thought they had completely lied. Well then, if it’s only a half lie it’s all ok then.

Where did I say that. Oh wait I diddn't. I was making a distinction between a direct untruth and lying by omission. And I was assuming that CommanderROR was refering to the conversation that I relayed and that someone else had had via email.

Since he has clarified that he was refering to his own communication with Irex where they specifically stated that the webshop would be open for individual orders that point is moot anyway.

And as Laurens said that could have been the truth at the time of the phonecall.

In my moment of weakness I almost started blabbering about customer trust, business ethics and transparency.

Customer trust: Things get delayed. Ok they could have been more upfront about it. Yes it's annoying I am probably as annoyed about it as you are. But as has been pointed out numerous times new products are often subject to delays at short notice.

They are only delaying by a few weeks (presuming that will actually be released within the next few weeks) even added to the previous 4/6 week delay this is still pretty small. If it gets delayed beyond that then start worrying.

They have suggested that the consumers (vs the 'professional' market they have always maintained was their primary focus) may want to wait for a planned "consumer version" rather than go with the inital offering. As that will be more directly geared towards them.

That haven't said you won't be able to get it. Just that they recommend that you wait a bit.

Transparency: This is a new marketplace with _3_ new products coming out in a relatively short period. There is transparency and then there is outright stupidity. "Lets just tell these 2 competitors, one of which is a huge corporation with very deep pockets, what our problems are!"

Business ethics: IMO thats an oxymoron.

It's bad business practice to deliberatly mislead your potential customers. On this I think we can all agree.

Without knowing exactly what has been happening at Irex recently no one can state that they had no intention of releasing the iLiad either in April or May. I sincerely doubt they intentionally mislead anyone here.

They may not have told the whole truth. But equally people have been reading their own meaning into what they actually have said. As Laurens mentioned earlier we have generated our own hype about the product.

Originally Posted by VillageReader

The b2b orders should be 'volume' users (although a sole proprietorship would probably qualify as b2b even with QTY1). In electronics, higher volume nearly always leads to a lower price on components. By September, iRex might be willing to pass that savings to consumers and keep margins constant rather than increasing.

That was exactly what I thought when I read the announcement.

[Alexander Turcic]

What they said before:

"Although the business focus of iRex Technologies is Business-to-Business solutions, we will also make our product available for individuals, who can order via our iRex Technologies web retail. (April 2006)"

They then postponed April to May because of "technical glitches" with the Web store.

Sorry, but I have to say, their customer relations needs some serious revamping.

[Drops]

A great lesson from irex on how to handle customers: Say May, deliver September....sorry Irex, you've just lost a lot of potential customers.