Any Interest In Rubin's Essential Phone?

[widgeteer]

My meaning is that you have made your point known and I have made mine and lets move on.



I will agree with charging cards to early. The lying about shipping most likely had more to do with the phone being delayed longer then expected then an intentional lie aimed to deceive customers. Again overpromising and under delivering.



Lets all be honest here... When we hope to receive a package and it doesn't come when we expect it to we all get little upset. The company has done some things that deserve criticism yes but I do not think it is as bad as some are making it out to be.

You have to define "bad". I don't see people complaining about anything other than lying about shipping. I would agree with you if the company said "We need to delay delivery due to X" and people got upset that their new toy was coming later. But that's not that happened. Even the first missed 30 days was somewhat excusable (not the silence about it though). However consider what happened:

-A week or two ago the company stated they would announce a specific shipping date. That didn't happen.

-They sent an email to all of us who reserved stating we needed to provide CC info, and our phone would ship within 7 days. That didn't happen.

-They stated yesterday that email would shipping info would be sent last night. That didn't happen.

-This morning some early reservations got shipping email, but not everyone and seemingly it's random. Some fks who reserved a couple of weeks ago got confirmation, but folks who reserved months ago got nothing.

-On my own end I was told today they would try to cancel but couldn't guarantee it didn't ship. Okay, fair enough. Except as of yet I have received neither a confirmation of shipping or cancellation.

All of the above isn't projection or opinion. It is in fact the sequence of events up until now. None of that has anything to do with disappointment in a camera. A company that has charged people $700 for a product has repeatedly been dishonest about shipping that product and disorganized about process.

That's the criticism I'm seeing. And it's justified.

 

[AppleRobert]

So what was the big rush to order this in the first place since initial target date was missed and with few reviews out there? Also concerns for the camera and how timely the company would release software updates.

In baseball one gets three strikes, I listed four and there are even more unknowns. I should be nice but really feel the need to add, point gun at foot and shoot. The best approach would be to wait and see when something with no track record and full of concerns/unknowns costs $699.

 

[Zackmd1]

So what was the big rush to order this in the first place since initial target date was missed and with few reviews out there? Also concerns for the camera and how timely the company would release software updates.

In baseball one gets three strikes, I listed four and there are even more unknowns. I should be nice but really feel the need to add, point gun at foot and shoot. The best approach would be to wait and see when something with no track record and full of concerns/unknowns costs $699.

Exactly why I am waiting for my initial pure white model reservation. Criteria I need filled in order for me to purchase would be extensive low light camera improvements and preferably an Android O update.

 

[AppleRobert]

Exactly why I am waiting for my initial pure white model reservation. Criteria I need filled in order for me to purchase would be extensive low light camera improvements and preferably an Android O update.

Battery life, how it manages memory, quality of the display, performance.

Those pales though, need to see if the company shows commitment and support of their product.

 

[Zackmd1]

Battery life, how it manages memory, quality of the display, performance.

It seems through the initial reviews that these are all checking out fine. I would love to test one out in the store though to be able to see the display in person. Coming from an OLED back to an LCD might be an issue if the LCD is not the greatest.

 

[AppleRobert]

It seems through the initial reviews that these are all checking out fine. I would love to test one out in the store though to be able to see the display in person. Coming from an OLED back to an LCD might be an issue if the LCD is not the greatest.

The manager whom I know well is in store at BB today. I will try to find out when a demo would be available. I was told by a mobile rep a few days ago they are expecting to get one so maybe she could be more precise as to exactly when.

 

[jamesrick80]

Enjoy your one generation device people.

 

[Tig Bitties]

There's too many good phones still to come this Fall. I rather not blow $700 on a phone that will tank in the resale market very soon. These will be IMO the best phones still coming;

Pixel XL 2
LG V30
OnePlus 5T
iPhone 8

 

[AppleRobert]

I am not blowing anything, try it at BB. Buy it with their CC if it is not on display for trial. Return it and wait for a much better price down the road if I like it. I rather not buy it without checking it out first but that is on BB. Maybe I can check it out at Sprint beforehand but we will see.

 

[widgeteer]

FYI after trying to get me to reverse my cancelation by promising tracking info was going out Saturday, I've received neither tracking nor confirmation of cancellation.

I still think the device itself is pretty cool, warts and all, but this company is a dumpster fire. At this point if you do buy from them, any issues that crop up you cannot say you haven't been amply warned.

 

[noobinator]

Maybe in a few years they can write a book entitled "How not to run a new tech company" or something similar.

 

[widgeteer]

Maybe in a few years they can write a book entitled "How not to run a new tech company" or something similar.

What finally killed my desire was the realization that there is nothing they could offer moving forward that I would trust to be released. The site talks about a wireless charging dock for the phone...okay, sure. Rubin said they plan to release a new mod every few months. Okay, sure.

If I can't even get my hands on the first and only offering of your start up after multiple promises, I'm guessing accessories aren't going to be a high priority.

 

[noobinator]

What finally killed my desire was the realization that there is nothing they could offer moving forward that I would trust to be released. The site talks about a wireless charging dock for the phone...okay, sure. Rubin said they plan to release a new mod every few months. Okay, sure.

If I can't even get my hands on the first and only offering of your start up after multiple promises, I'm guessing accessories aren't going to be a high priority.

I can't help but think this also is a good indicator how updates will go. I remember a recent article that said this phone would get Android O by the end of the year. LOL
I think it will be lucky to be released by the end of the year and get Android O EVER.

 

[widgeteer]

I can't help but think this also is a good indicator how updates will go. I remember a recent article that said this phone would get Android O by the end of the year. LOL
I think it will be lucky to be released by the end of the year and get Android O EVER.

Actually, I wouldn't at all be surprised if the software updates are much better. Reviewers have stated they've been getting a stream of camera updates. I'm still half-expecting them to release Oreo within the next few weeks.

 

[Zackmd1]

Just read over some more people's experiences on Reddit. It seems as though the ones that ordered the camera combo are the ones that have not received shipping info. It looks as though Essential might be ready or close to ready to ship the camera and are hoping to do so with the phone.
[doublepost=1503948063][/doublepost]It also appears that the phones are shipping directly from China in pallets which may be why cancelation is a difficult process right now.

 

[widgeteer]

Just read over some more people's experiences on Reddit. It seems as though the ones that ordered the camera combo are the ones that have not received shipping info. It looks as though Essential might be ready or close to ready to ship the camera and are hoping to do so with the phone.
[doublepost=1503948063][/doublepost]It also appears that the phones are shipping directly from China in pallets which may be why cancelation is a difficult process right now.

I'm not at all shocked by the latter, and it doesn't even bother me. What continues to bother me is you cannot get information regarding your order. If it went out and you can't cancel it, tell me that. Give me tracking info so I can then refuse from Fed ex. Just stop lying about the status. And yes, I consider it lying at this point.

As for the camera order delay, I've read that but I've also read on XDA that there are indeed people who haven't ordered the camera that also haven't received shipping info as of yet. Obviously something is very broken in their logistics pipeline, which in turn underlines how broken their customer communication is.

Again, it's a giant dumpster fire.

 

[Michael Goff]

I'm not at all shocked by the latter, and it doesn't even bother me. What continues to bother me is you cannot get information regarding your order. If it went out and you can't cancel it, tell me that. Give me tracking info so I can then refuse from Fed ex. Just stop lying about the status. And yes, I consider it lying at this point.

As for the camera order delay, I've read that but I've also read on XDA that there are indeed people who haven't ordered the camera that also haven't received shipping info as of yet. Obviously something is very broken in their logistics pipeline, which in turn underlines how broken their customer communication is.

Again, it's a giant dumpster fire.

And that's a shame. Samsung needs competition in the Android market. Right now, nobody is providing any.

 

[widgeteer]

And that's a shame. Samsung needs competition in the Android market. Right now, nobody is providing any.

LG is trying. Problem is, at least in the U.S., people have defined Android as "A Galaxy phone". So if you're not an iPhone person, you tend to go into stores asking about "a Galaxy phone."

 

[Michael Goff]

LG is trying. Problem is, at least in the U.S., people have defined Android as "A Galaxy phone". So if you're not an iPhone person, you tend to go into stores asking about "a Galaxy phone."

Are we talking about the same LG whose mobile division lost over 100m dollars last quarter? It isn' just the US they're not getting.

 

[widgeteer]

Are we talking about the same LG whose mobile division lost over 100m dollars last quarter? It isn' just the US they're not getting.

I think that factoid dovetails with what we're talking about. I'd suggest the LG V20, G6, and upcoming V30 are quality devices on a par with Sammy. They can't get a foothold because the Android market is very crowded, carrier stores push what's easy - Galaxy phones.

 

[Michael Goff]

I think that factoid dovetails with what we're talking about. I'd suggest the LG V20, G6, and upcoming V30 are quality devices on a par with Sammy. They can't get a foothold because the Android market is very crowded, carrier stores push what's easy - Galaxy phones.

Also, it doesn't help that LG has been in the news the past couple years for that whole bootlooping thing.

 

[willmtaylor]

Also, it doesn't help that LG has been in the news the past couple years for that whole bootlooping thing.

The Note explosions were much more publicized and dangerous though.

 

[Michael Goff]

The Note explosions were much more publicized and dangerous though.

Yeah, but that was one phone line. The G line and V line both had bootloop issues.

Edit: It also helps that Samsung pointed out how they're fixing it.

 

[willmtaylor]

Yeah, but that was one phone line. The G line and V line both had bootloop issues.

Edit: It also helps that Samsung pointed out how they're fixing it.

That’s fair.

 

[widgeteer]

I wound wager the exploding battery was a much bigger mainstream story than bootloops. Airlines were banning the phone.

But this is getting away from the point. I don't think bootloop problems are why LG isn't making headway. On websites and in store, all marketing is geared towards Sammy and telling you everything else is a loser.