Jolla: ask tablet campaign contributors how to proceed [not relevant]

idea

asked 2015-12-03 12:46:24 +0200

ziellos
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updated 2015-12-06 18:41:38 +0200

Faz
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There has been much discussion about how Jolla could proceed with the tablet campaign recently. If I understand correctly Jolla's priority is to deliver the tablets even in their critical financial situation.

But let's think about that. We, the community who paid for the campaign, should be heard if that should be really our main goal.

Of course we would like to get the tablets we paid for. But for some of us a tablet without further manufacturer support might be of little value, just some more gadget lying around. A financially healthy Jolla company that ensures further Sailfish development and cares for adapting the OS to new hardware could be much more valuable.

If Jolla could survive only when some or all campaign contributors resign "their" tablets, that should be offered as alternative to the community. Jolla should know how many contributors would prefer the tablet, and how many would prefer further support. Jolla should execute a survey in order to get these numbers.

Of course this question is completely void in two cases: when either the Jolla ship would sink anyway, or Jolla's financial situation would suddenly relax.

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The question has been closed for the following reason "question is not relevant or outdated" by JSEHV
close date 2016-02-01 12:20:23.727303

Comments

Ehm, that'd be Jolla, not Yolla :)

tortoisedoc ( 2015-12-03 13:49:40 +0200 )edit

Of cause, changed.

ziellos ( 2015-12-03 13:55:34 +0200 )edit

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Wish the majority had this point of view (ie value the survival of the company rather than a tablet/refund).

Perhaps if Jolla was direct about its financial situation and troubles, then people would be much more forgiving.. Some might even completely release Jolla of its obligation and be willing to cash out even more money if they felt that would mean the survival of the company.

Sadly communication has been lukewarm at best and while its understandable if the staff there are panicking as to community its just a hope/dream that didn't materialize, to them its going jobless, it only takes one staff being active here to completely reverse the image of the company not communicating well.

Wish Jolla survives, I really hope their fortunes change to the better.

SilentWanderer ( 2015-12-03 14:18:56 +0200 )edit

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@SilentWanderer, how much more direct do you want than "We need 10M€ or we won't survive."? Because, that's the case at the moment, if they don't get the funding, it's going to be really hard to rise up and continue the business, let alone manufacture and ship the tablets that are remaining.

raketti ( 2015-12-03 14:29:42 +0200 )edit

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@raketti And how did the community find out about the financial troubles? Through an interview posted on some tech website.

Jolla should have shared their situation much earlier... This is expected from a company that goes around shouting "people powered" and similar slogans. Openness and disregard to usual "corporate practices" like hiding how bad things really are or issuing robotic press releases etc.

Just see how people warmly reacted to the thread where a Jolla employee asked the community to come help move furniture to a new office. This is what I see as fitting to "people powered" school of thought. Open, direct and vulnerable.

SilentWanderer ( 2015-12-03 15:10:17 +0200 )edit

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answered 2015-12-03 14:25:19 +0200

pvcn
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updated 2015-12-03 21:02:20 +0200

As the Tablet has already been developed and is ready to be produced, Jolla should start to sell them - but for a reasonable price. In my opinion the price Jolla took from backers and pre-orderers was simply to low. They should take at least about 350€ for it.

If someone doesn't care about the OS and just wants a cheap tablet, he will buy an Android device anyway. Jolla developed a unique OS and a device with really good hardware and design, so they should take good money for it (thats how Apple manages to be succesfull).

Jolla could tell the Tablet Contributors that their money is lost and offer them to buy it for a discount (50% of the contributet money). Those who pre-ordered could be given the choice of either paying the difference to the higher price or getting a full refund.

PS: Yes, I contributed for the Tablet on Indiegogo...

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Comments

I believe Jolla is now in a situation that it needs to pay for the production facility before they even start doing something, in the blog they wrote something in the lines of "We need to clear the issues/misunderstandings with the factory to start producing the tablets". So they have more than money as an issue at the moment. So starting to sell the tablets would mean another pre-order type of sell - so not exactly a solution as they would need to sell volumes to get the cash to pay the production facility.

raketti ( 2015-12-03 14:35:01 +0200 )edit

@raketti: Ok, I see your point (Damn...) But shouldn't the factory have an interest in producing them too, as they already assembled small batches and seem to produce a similar device for Aigo? Looking at the way Jolla sells their phones right know, they seem to be able to always reorder small batches with the money they get from buyers and deliver them, just the time to deliver has increased. Well, of course on the other hand I'm aware that selling the old phones is something different than the new tablet.

pvcn ( 2015-12-03 14:51:02 +0200 )edit

@pvcn - they should, if they do produce the Aigo tablet, but do we know that they do? And (sorry to be a bit blunt but) now it's all about business and it's all about money, if Jolla doesn't pay, they don't get the merchandise - it's as simple as that. I don't know how they've organised the phone revenues and manufacturing, but I'm guessing that they have some issues with the tablet production factory or people working there and they aren't willing to produce any goods before they get some money from Jolla - and selling a few hundred tablets isn't that much money. I do want them to succeed, but I also want to see things as they are/might be so I'm happily surprised when they get out of these troubled times. :)

raketti ( 2015-12-03 15:44:21 +0200 )edit

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a unique OS and a device with really good hardware and design

Only one of those things is vaguely correct concerning the Jolla: the OS.

Neither the hardware of the phone (even when it was released) nor that of the tablet are anywhere nerar premium. Or high end. Or, to be honest, particularly good when compared to similarly priced devices. It was and is at best adequate. And that's fine. But they sure as heck can't start slapping high prices on low-end hardware (even if they argue, as they have for the Jolla tablet, that they slightly upped the specifications of build materials compared it's Chinese sibling, the Aigo x86 tablet. - which is why the Jolla tablet is more expensive than Aigo). Unlike Apple, I'd suggest that they don't have the market cachet to get away with that.

strongm ( 2015-12-03 17:20:58 +0200 )edit

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Well, I must admit you are right considering the hardware quality of Jolla devices (even if I unfortunately can't judge the quality of the tablet personally. Yet). But then the question still is: what are people willing to pay for an alternative OS like Sailfish? Jolla may never reach a huge market share as must people just don't care about this, but the few who do (and those have bought the Jolla phone despite its average hardware and contributed for the Tablet at Indiegogo) might know what Sailfish OS is worth. And that's the point where you can't compare the Jolla and the Aigo Tablet, because Aigo has not to pay for the development of their own Software. They got Android. And I prefer to give away another 200 € to Jolla than give away my privacy to Google

pvcn ( 2015-12-03 20:57:34 +0200 )edit

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answered 2015-12-06 22:24:27 +0200