TouchFire: The Screen-Top Keyboard for iPad by Steve Isaac & Brad Melmon » Production Update

Production Update

Update #19 · Apr 15, 2012 · 19 comments

Hi, everyone. We got back our molds last week, and did some test runs of the keyboard.

Overall, things are looking really good! We did find some issues, most of them cosmetic. But there were a few functional issues as well. So we took our molds back to the mold maker to figure out what was going on. And figure it out they did.

They are now making what should be the *last* round of changes to our molds. We will be able to do our next set of test runs the week of April 23rd.

So, we are now looking at starting to ship out Touchfires the week of April 30th.

Thanks so much for hanging in there with us as we take the final steps to the finish line!

-- Steve and Brad

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1. Creator John Tino on May 22, 2012
  
  Hmmm....no Keyboard yet.....what gives?
2. Creator Bruce Porter on May 15, 2012
  
  Today is May 15. What's the new estimate on shipment?
3. Creator Regi Wieland on April 29, 2012
  
  Gents,
  
  I received my touchfire as a Christmas gift and have admittedly enjoyed watching you flail a bit as you try to balance promised delivery schedule with quality and the realities of prototyping, and (mini) mass production. Good luck getting to the finish line. I told my mother in December that I was skeptical I'd see the product until summer, and unless your next update reverses the update trend, I am just hoping to have it for Christmas 2012. When you are kickstarting something knew, these things happen.
  
  Just for fun, I looked back at the product release schedule as it changed over time via your kickstarter updates...see below:
  
  Date Estimated Delivery Schedule
  12 12/15 Second Week of Feb
  13 12/18 End of Feb (via comments)
  14 01/19 Not addressed
  15 02/11 Feb 24th
  16 02/29 Not going to make Feb 24th
  17 03/06 Discussion of moving production to US -- no revised date
  18 03/30 Week of April 23rd
  19 4/19 Week of Apr 30th
  20 4/29 ???????
  
  You said there was an update this weekend, so the update for today, 4/29 will presumably say something like mid-May. Given these repeated 2-week pushbacks, it seems like it might be more effectively to just punt to the end of the summer, and then surprise us with early shipments if things work out.
  
  I'll just be happy when it comes out and can't wait to see it in the Apple store -- get on your game and get it in there by Christmas!!
  
  Justin
4. Creator Steve Isaac & Brad Melmon on April 27, 2012
  
  Update coming out this weekend, everyone.
5. Creator Nancy Hewat on April 27, 2012
  
  Still "looking at the week of April 30"? What is it that keeps you from being more forthcoming about the situation? I'm starting to wonder whether your statement about a few functional issues were more significant than you let on.
6. Creator Rosalind Lewis on April 27, 2012
  
  What is the shipment date?
7. Creator Wilfred Phua on April 24, 2012
  
  Please make sure it's good news. :)
8. Creator Steve Isaac & Brad Melmon on April 24, 2012
  
  @Jay - Indeed. We'll have another update shortly...
9. Creator Jay Fogleman on April 23, 2012
  
  Time for another update?
10. Creator Ippei Nishida on April 21, 2012
  
  I cannot trust your schedule 'we are now looking at starting to ship out Touchfires the week of April 30th ' because you just said "Our schedule shows that we will be shipping out your Touchfires the week of April 23rd on the update before last.
  
  Honestly speaking, I never believe your 'shipping date info' anymore due to so many times of your violations. Of course, I appreciate your attitude to pursue the best quality products, but please mind that some of the investors like me have such distrust feeling on you.
  
  I think the shipping date may be postponed again like "We are now looking at starting to ship out Touchfires the week of May 30th because of final check!
11. Creator Amy MacCallum on April 16, 2012
  
  Can't wait to try it out!! Thanks for the update.
12. Creator Wilfred Phua on April 16, 2012
  
  Really appreciate the update! I hope that ship date holds true cos I leave the US on the 15th!
13. Creator Rian on April 15, 2012
  
  I agree that this is perfectly normal. And I am proud of the designers' integrity & that the fact I am backing this project. I have had many other designers/projects that have utterly failed to communicate with backers and to achieve the goal of kickstarter program. None of us are buying product. We are investing in a project. If there is gonna be a problem, I want to see that problem solved before it hits the market. Thanks for keeping us updates. p.s. I might need to update my shipping address info and pay international shipping charge. I wouldn't be in US for 3 months, leaving at 5/5. Would I be able to have it before 5/5?. If it's not, I will have to change my shipping address to international one.
14. Creator Marc Cohen on April 15, 2012
  
  Great to get the shipping date. Now how do we update our shipping address info?
15. Creator Arthur Carter on April 15, 2012
  
  I agree on the 10/10 for the quality of communication on this project. Outstanding. Sounds like you guys are on the downhill slope and gathering momentum fast. And, it's a reminder of how much truth lives in the old adage, "The devil is in the details."
16. Creator Greg Kruse on April 15, 2012
  
  I wish that kickstarter had a feedback system. If they did I'd give you guys 10/10 for communication. I've backed a few projects and typically the communication is terrible and you're just hoping that the end product you receive is going to be "okay". I'm 100% confident in the product that you're making for us and wish that more project creators (if that's what you call them?) would take note
17. Creator Jennifer L Smith on April 15, 2012
  
  I've WORKED in the production process side of things, not even for anything this complex/sensitive. This is utterly normal, I was in fact laughing kindly at their estimated time frame.
18. Creator Gordon Mackenzie on April 15, 2012
  
  Not late at all, timely. Anyone familiar with the development/manufacturing spinup to production process would recognize this as perfectly normal.
19. Creator Ken Siegel on April 15, 2012
  
  A little late, don't you think? Why not just wait until the iPad 4 is out.?

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