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OpenPandora liquidated, as company runs out of money
- Thread starter Takao
- Start date
electristan
Member
Sad to see as I love the concept of what they were trying to do.
If I remember correctly though they had lots of problems actually delivering on the amount they sold, still think there are people waiting (though could be wrong)
I also backed the iControlPad2 on kickstarter and was notified a few days ago that it was cancelled. 200 000 gone in a year and nothing to show for it. The kickstarter was terrible in every way.
If I remember correctly though they had lots of problems actually delivering on the amount they sold, still think there are people waiting (though could be wrong)
I also backed the iControlPad2 on kickstarter and was notified a few days ago that it was cancelled. 200 000 gone in a year and nothing to show for it. The kickstarter was terrible in every way.
To clarify: There are two companies (and mainly two People) involved in the Creation of the Pandora:
OpenPandora LTD lead by Craig Rothwell ("Craigix") in the UK and OpenPandora GmbH lead by Michael Mrozek ("EvilDragon") in Germany.
The one that folded is the English one. Craig has stopped communicating with the community (and with Michael) for some time now, so this was expected. There are now a few hundred customers of his that paid for a Pandora and never got it. Also he failed to deliver his latest Kickstarter Project (the IcontrolPad 2).
The German company run by Michael is still healthy and still making and selling Pandoras and there is even talk of a Pandora successor (not associated with the Pandora name though, after all this).
This is a sad turn of events. Not all of it is Craigs fault, the Pandora Project was initially royally screwed by the company making the PCBs, but Craig did not manage this and other problems well and worst of all did not communicate properly with the community to search for solutions.
Michael did all that and managed to save the project through a vast effort (basically working two jobs at once), but since Craig did not inform him properly (i.e. lied) about the number of his orders, his efforts were not able to provide all of Craigs customers with Pandoras. He is currently offering a Pandora at production costs for Craigs customers.
Luckily I ordered at Michael's Store and got my Pandora after numerous delays (nowadays you get one instantly when you order it). I can still recommend it for what it is: a portable Linux computer with a number of very good emulators and some unique hardware features (two SD slots, great battery life, full USB-port, all replacement parts available, etc...), even though it has been eclipsed by the Nvidia shield and some other devices as a pure emulation device.
OpenPandora LTD lead by Craig Rothwell ("Craigix") in the UK and OpenPandora GmbH lead by Michael Mrozek ("EvilDragon") in Germany.
The one that folded is the English one. Craig has stopped communicating with the community (and with Michael) for some time now, so this was expected. There are now a few hundred customers of his that paid for a Pandora and never got it. Also he failed to deliver his latest Kickstarter Project (the IcontrolPad 2).
The German company run by Michael is still healthy and still making and selling Pandoras and there is even talk of a Pandora successor (not associated with the Pandora name though, after all this).
This is a sad turn of events. Not all of it is Craigs fault, the Pandora Project was initially royally screwed by the company making the PCBs, but Craig did not manage this and other problems well and worst of all did not communicate properly with the community to search for solutions.
Michael did all that and managed to save the project through a vast effort (basically working two jobs at once), but since Craig did not inform him properly (i.e. lied) about the number of his orders, his efforts were not able to provide all of Craigs customers with Pandoras. He is currently offering a Pandora at production costs for Craigs customers.
Luckily I ordered at Michael's Store and got my Pandora after numerous delays (nowadays you get one instantly when you order it). I can still recommend it for what it is: a portable Linux computer with a number of very good emulators and some unique hardware features (two SD slots, great battery life, full USB-port, all replacement parts available, etc...), even though it has been eclipsed by the Nvidia shield and some other devices as a pure emulation device.
calc84maniac
Member
To be clear (as the end of the quote somewhat notes), it is only OpenPandora Ltd. that is disbanding. OpenPandora GmbH is still up and running, and they're the ones who have actually taken responsibility for manufacturing and everything else for the last couple of years. Sucks for the people who preordered from OpenPandora Ltd. and still haven't received their unit, though. (I ordered from OpenPandora Ltd. myself, but I took advantage of the upgrade plan from OpenPandora GmbH and I got an upgraded Pandora around a year ago.)
Edit: Somewhat beaten.
Edit: Somewhat beaten.
electristan
Member
Did not know this, have always wanted one to play around with and now that the icontrolpad2 is dead ill have another look.
I can only add to the above: it's sad for the people caught up in Craig Rothwell's lack of ability to actually fulfill his promises.
As stated, OpenPandora GmbH is still going strong and they are looking after Craig's customers as best they can, either through paid upgrades or by donations. It will take them a while but hopefully the Craig's customers will eventually get what they have paid for.
I don't want to go off on a rant about Craig, you need the dreamers to inspire the more rational among us to attempt projects they normally wouldn't try. But now he has left 2 trails of victims of his incompetence in his wake.
The Pandora is still the only device of its kind. It is a fantastic little thing, it really is.
It's a pity the merits of the console, the community and EvilDragon and OpenPandora GmbH's loyalty to Craig's customers is being overshadowed. Very sad for those who have been affected by this.
As stated, OpenPandora GmbH is still going strong and they are looking after Craig's customers as best they can, either through paid upgrades or by donations. It will take them a while but hopefully the Craig's customers will eventually get what they have paid for.
I don't want to go off on a rant about Craig, you need the dreamers to inspire the more rational among us to attempt projects they normally wouldn't try. But now he has left 2 trails of victims of his incompetence in his wake.
The Pandora is still the only device of its kind. It is a fantastic little thing, it really is.
It's a pity the merits of the console, the community and EvilDragon and OpenPandora GmbH's loyalty to Craig's customers is being overshadowed. Very sad for those who have been affected by this.
zephervack
Member
So how many people were still waiting for their handheld?
sixteen-bit
Member
sucks for people who paid like $400+ for nothing, ouch.
Also an iCP2 backer via Kickstarter. What a horrendous and insulting campaign they ran. Got to be honest, not at all surprised they went under with practices like they have displayed. Hope to all that is good in this world that I receive back my initial investment, just on principle...
Parallax Scroll
Banned
A few hundred (last I heard was ~440). In total there were a few thousand Pandoras made and delivered .The German company produced and delivered around 3000, the English company probably around the same, so I'd estimate there are around 6000 Pandoras in the wild (and before someone asks: yes, this number is a huge success for a niche device like this).
Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.
coughlanio
Member
I'd totally be on board for a successor.
Give me a quad core, 2GB RAM, 5" 720p clamshell with QWERTY keyboard that can run a full Linux distro, and I'll be completely happy.
Give me a quad core, 2GB RAM, 5" 720p clamshell with QWERTY keyboard that can run a full Linux distro, and I'll be completely happy.
I was strongly considering pre ordering from the second batch a few years ago. Dodged a hell of a bullet there.
I think the time is past for me in terms of getting a pandora but I'd be interested in buying a successor device from ED since he did about as good a job as you could salvaging the disaster the pandora became.
I think the time is past for me in terms of getting a pandora but I'd be interested in buying a successor device from ED since he did about as good a job as you could salvaging the disaster the pandora became.
A successor might actually happen, though it seems really difficult to source a good SOC:
http://boards.openpandora.org/topic/14698-overview-of-soc-options/
The current Pandora can run a full linux distro quite well already, though the ram is indeed a bit tight.