As an engineer working for over 15 yrs in product development, I've been a party to many slipped timelines, and have seen many of the pitfalls of "expectation management".

It's mentally difficult to pad timelines in advance; no matter how many projects you have done, you always feel like you could do better the next time.

I think John + Vitor are being honest with everyone. This is a new product developed by a new and very small team, in collaboration with what appears to be a credible manufacturing partner. You have to sweat the details in a product of this type, as it is going to be inevitably compared to the level of "thinking it through" that people take for granted from Apple's products. The last 5% can take a considerable amount of time and effort.

Think back on some of the months-long delays that Apple subjected their shareholders and customers to in the service of making things "just work" - and, many times, for some downright neurotic Jobsian detail that perhaps only he could appreciate.

I take some satisfaction in participating in the Kickstarter model - which is a small step in democratizing product development, venture capital and, inevitably, small business. I'd like to see this evolve into a true investment model, where the backers are participating long-term. The backers would stop whining about late delivery if they had a stake in the products' long-term success and the financial liabilities of product returns and repairs.

That said, I think those who voted for chargers should get them, and those who didn't should receive some compensation of equal value. These chargers are not expensive, people, and I personally don't need to charge 10 things at once. And I would sacrifice 50% battery life for better sound every time. Get a portable USB charger, and stop worrying. :-)

I do not trust those survey results and I don't think those that bought multiple units would have voted Put me down as someone who would not have backed this had I known the direction this would take. I paid way before this project closed. I bought them as presents for someone I am visiting at the end of July never imagining it would take this long. And now I have to spend more money to get something else. My electronics come with chargers for a reason and they are in use with what they came with. I don't have multiple adapters laying around. I am extremely disappointed. This does not mean that now you should be cutting corners and rushing the product to market. I want something that works well, but -- for me -- I already went and bought wireless speakers and spent several hundred bucks more than I figured on spending. The idea that you think it is okay to just cut out chargers and save yourself money is a little self-serving. I was also annoyed about an update which showed pictures of china that had nothing to do with the product. I'm really not interested in the scenery and looking at the big picture I have to say that I am really disappointed. Since I already have some fine speakers and will be buying new gifts for my friends this was just a waste of my money.

John + Vitor. Firstly, thank you for your response. We as backers certainly appreciate the communication. I however completely agree with Chris' comment below. It will not be too costly to send chargers to those who need them.
Please note that as per your criteria in Update #12, you agreed that chargers would not be sent out if at least 70% of people did not want it. The final survey showed 76% of people did not want it. That is pretty close to the target percentage. Hence the decision to not send out the chargers.
That being said though, the percentage of people who 'bought multiple units and did not want the charger' may have been lower than 70%. In which case, this group meets the criteria to send out chargers. I'd be interested in this figure. I'm sure you understand that the needs of those who bought multiple units is very different from those who bought single units.

That been said however, as per Chris' point below, I have taken the liberty of doing another quick calculation taking into account that only 24% of backers from each level wanted a charger. The final figure shows that there are a total of 1260 people who want chargers across all levels. Further calculation shows that the number of chargers needed are 2032. At $5 a charger, that is $10,160. However, if you purchase in bulk, you will get the chargers for $3 or even less, making the total cost $6,096. That is less than 1% of total funding.

I apologise if this seems to pedantic but the chargers are important to me. It is ultimately your decision.
On another note, I certainly appreciate the time and effort you guys are putting into making your product exceptional. That kind of uncompromising quest for quality and perfection will ensure that your reputation for quality is solidified. Sure, you may get complaints and negative feedback now but that is nothing compared to the negative publicity of delivering a less-than-perfect product. Stick with your vision and mantra. They will serve you well.

For those who voted they needed chargers, just give it to them. As the poll speaks that is a minority. As the product has evolved to non-user replaceable batteries - Some will need a charger per unit. I am one of those who ordered 5 & need 5 chargers. Should still be a cost savings since the consideration was a yes/no to include. For those who voted 'Yup, need one' send it to them. Nuf said.

I have 5 speakers and some are gifts. I totally blanked on that when I voted for no charger...I am going to need some with my speakers. That being said...I would like to reiterate (again) that I think every move or change you make is done with the best intentions; the haters on here who think you guys are pocketing money, misleading people or pulling a fast one are probably just projecting onto you guys. Keep up the good work.

@Andy, you are right. Most backers don't want the chargers - fine with me. But I have ordered 2 units - 1 is a gift - and I would like the chargers.
@John + Vitor, don't use the result of the survey but let people decide if they want the charger included or not. For the backers how have purchased more than 1 unit: let them choose how many chargers they want.

Apart from being interesting, have you decided whether or not to include chargers? I bought 5 to give away as presents, so I need 5 chargers.

It's bizarre that the vote of those who purchased a single unit was weighted the same as those who purchased 5.

In retrospect, I wish i had voted in favor of the charger. After submitting my vote I realized that multi-unit purchases, especially those in the 5 and up, were going to be hurt the most.

I don't know if those who purchased multiple units planned on giving them away, or keeping them all for themselves.

I hate interjecting a scope change, or a request for a feature, but is there time to look into something like a multiport USB chargers? At 5 and up, 3776 people would need 3 2 port usb chargers, and 25 backers would need 4 2 port chargers... Or something like that... Like I said, I hate suggesting something, but this might be a compromise. I can't remember if the survey asked how many units backers purchased to correlate with need of usb chargers.

I think part of my desire to express my change in heart is the drop from 30 hours to 15 hours. Those with multiple units may be hurt the most.

Is there any chance the battery life will improve as the production development proceeds? I dont mind a little "less than communicated" but half the time is quite a serious reduction. I know the battery spec changed in development, but to be this far off seemslike a pretty mega miscalculation.

Thanks

I have to say that based on what I am seeing now, there is absolutely on way I would have backed this project if I had to choose again. The delivery time has long gone ("ready for production"!!); battery life has been halved (30 hours to 15 hours!!); batteries are not removable; you're trying to be stingy on the charger (I don't care if no one else wants one btw, you said it was coming with one).

This is NOT a matter of taking time to polish a flawed product. This is a matter of you guys outright lying about the state that your product was in in an attempt to lock in revenues before other products came to market. Well done, you've managed to capture a million dollars.

I get the feeling this ridiculousness is going to reach "Pen Type-A by cw&t" proportions.

This stinks.

Thanks for the update!

I love the frequency of your communication - but frankly I think you are sharing too much. It appears that less may actually be more in your case. I have backed quite a few projects on Kickstarter and have noticed some intersting patterns: 1) many backers don't understand kickstarter, start-ups, design and manufacturing process or any other basic business paradigm. 2) many seem to have pledged their last dollar to whatever they are backing 3) This has left them broke, angry and impatient 4) Oh yeah, and they think they've "invested" and therefore have a "say so".
I pity the founders of every single project I have ever backed on kickstarter and am constantly in awe of their patience with backers who just don't get it. So here's what I would like . . . SLOW DOWN, take extra time, drag it out, shoot for perfection, eliminate more functionality, kill a desired feature, change the name or just quit communicating all together . . . I mean why not? . . . you already get treated like you do . . . might as well go all the way with it . . . and this time it can all be on purpose!

I completely agree with Gerald's comment below "I did did some quick calculations.

There are 8463 units sold. At $5 per charger, the project owners have managed to save themselves $42,315! Not a bad move on their part. Will this saving be passed on to backers?

I have bought multiple units and hence need a charger for each unit as I cannot keep unplugging the charger and taking it to another rooms.

That survey is only biased towards those who have bought just one speaker. They can use their one iPhone charger. What about those who have bought multiple speakers? I fell that those who bought more than one speaker should have a choice on whether they want a charger or not."

I am in a similar position and need chargers for the 5 units that i bought.

John VDN + Vitor Santa Maria - Is the drop in battery life due to the larger speaker size and smaller battery pack?

I did did some quick calculations.

There are 8463 units sold. At $5 per charger, the project owners have managed to save themselves $42,315! Not a bad move on their part. Will this saving be passed on to backers?

I have bought multiple units and hence need a charger for each unit as I cannot keep unplugging the charger and taking it to another rooms.

That survey is only biased towards those who have bought just one speaker. They can use their one iPhone charger. What about those who have bought multiple speakers? I fell that those who bought more than one speaker should have a choice on whether they want a charger or not.

"we were finally able to check the sound quality as it will be in production. We were very happy with the results. The quality of the sound is similar to Jambox’s"
-sorry guys. "similar" to another product tells me nothing. is there a db, s/n or any other quantitative way to describe the measured sound quality?
"louder than the Jambox by approximately 10%"
-louder by 10% does not really mean anything and it certainly does not mean better!
"Overall the mechanism is working pretty well......Having almost resolved these two issues on such a complex mechanism....."
-we had an update long ago titled "smooth as silk"
"it still beats Jambox by 5 hours of playtime"
-we went from 30 hours of play time to 15. we can't replace the batteries ourselves. since you enjoy comparing to jambox, that unit comes with 2 different lengths of usb cords PLUS a wall charger, which you are obviously now trying to back out of! and by the way, removing batteries to charge does not leave the unit "inactive" if you have a spare set of batteries. that line was just ridiculous!

@John & Vitor // Re: LED Colour // That's awesome! Thanks for info, keep up the great work.

I'd rather you take your time to get things right and not rush something out because people have no concept of how Kickstarter works. The same people that are complaining that it's taking too long are the same people that will complain about the build quality later. I'm seeing the same type of attitude on virtually every project I'm backing.

Keep calm and blah blah blah.

I'm wondering about how different the Hidden Radio & Blue Tooth Speaker is going to be in comparison with the Jambox ! (Which i btw bought yesterday.....)

I might have said earlier that I would like a well finished product but my god this is already 2 months overdue and you've just had the first *test* unit off the production line, your video was unbelievably misleading, you stated you've been working for years and are "ready for production" this was clearly not the case. You said it would be 30 hours this has now halved and your early updates state the sound was already on par with the jambox and these updates should have surpassed this by a large margin. There is already similar products available for less money ready for delivery tomorrow. Very disappointed!

There are several other bluetooth speakers that function similarly to this "Hidden Radio & Blue Tooth Spearker." The joy of getting something new and different is gone. When are we going to get our speakers?

I'm going to need you to send me an A/C adaptor. As that was part of the original offering, I'm going to hold you to it.

Good update! There is one topic I'm curious about: could you describe how the unit will implement battery management, in broad terms of charging and discharging profiles? Is there a consideration made for units that may be plugged in most of the time- will they be allowed to discharge sufficiently while plugged in to optimize longevity?

Also, I forget what specific chemistry the battery is using. Is it Li-Po, Li-Ion (or some variant I'm not mentioning)?

Hey guys, wake up !!!
I don't know if you noticed it, but they just tell you they will not put a charger with our bluetooth speaker !!!.
I really can't believe that 70 percent of people don't want to receive a charger.
Just read the comments after the update # 12, you will realize that the percentage should be rather the opposite.
Stop constantly change the terms of the contract (delivery in August instead of March, autonomy of 15 hours instead of 30, ...).
Do not send charger for those who don't want it, but I'm absolutely need one ...
Thank you in advance!

PS: your graphics are very decorative, but provide no useful information. We learn for example that 23% of those who don't want a charger are European. OK, but that doesn't tell us whether the Europeans are mostly for or against ?

Thanks for the update. Chase the perfection. I'll wait for a better quality product. I'd rater wait than get half baked.

When did the am portion get the axe? I believe that was the original plan and don't remember an update that killed the am radio. I was really looking forward to an am radio. Most products overlook am.

Look forward to the next update. Thank you.

Sorry guys, but I have great sympathy with Jeff's anger. Would you please tell us again when you intend to ship the product? Wasn't it planned for spring 2012?
Best Ralph

P.S. An advice: If you have delays in your process, it would be better to communicate the new shipping date on a regular basis (always last info in your news feed). Take the customer perspective and not the producer perspective, when you write to your barkers.

As in hands on only.

@Rae O'Kane: I'm guessing no.

Seriously boys, I pledged my money in December. How have I not received my radio yet? This is bullshit.

Must be nice sitting on all that money and earning interest while your backers are still waiting.....

And the competition increases:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cubedge/edgesound-bluetooth-speaker-for-iphone-ipad-and-mo…

Wondering about the volume control. In the video the volume increases/decreases with a twist of the cap. Will I be able to control the volume remotely with my ipad/iphone or is it only 'hands on'? (Probably a little late in the game to be asking this, but it only recently occurred to me.) I hope the testing went well. I'm super excited to get my speaker!!!

Update on testing please

John + Vitor, thanks for the detail in update 11. It really helps to illustrate the many small details that are involved in getting a shiny widget into the consumers hands. Great work so far guys!

2 milestones have gone by on the updated time schedule, do you think we can have an update of how they went?

@John & Vitor keep chugging along. this is a learning experience for everyone involved. i can appreciate all the hard work.

@John & Vitor // Are you considering other options for the colour of the LED? Green in my opinion appears a little cheap. White maybe?

:) I seemed to have overlooked that :)

@Noor Ahmed Qureshi // Do you mean like the one in 'blue', 9 posts below yours?

Isn't an update over due????

Hey guys, You were my first kickstarter project and it's been a blast! Seeing the schematics and design changes, and actually being part of the discussion is fascinating. I like knowing the little details of the project, its quite a journey (from the outside). Keep up the great work guys!

No they are not as frequent as we'd like*

@ben ... There have been updates since the start of the project... All of which explain the delays. Yes they are. It as frequent as we'd like but that's not as bad as if they were non existent. New battery design. New mechanism for movement. New speakers due to the battery movement.... All of which is a logical explanation for a delay. As you quoted them 1000 units we will ship... Well that was prior to all of the updates. Wasn't it ? That changed the deal.

At the end of the day though, this is kick starter. You did not buy a product. You funded a project. Project implies work needs to be done. Stop whining and wait like the rest of us. The delay is for the better.

Thanks John & Vitor!

Thank you!!!

Thank you for the much needed update!