Kickstarter

Creator Rob Hart on May 2, 2014

Damn, anyone else want to take my money and run?

Creator Andy Bates on May 2, 2014

Last Twitter post from Equiso was on 23-Apr-2014 (https://twitter.com/equisoplay), so it would appear that they gave up trying a couple of weeks ago

Creator Andy Bates on May 2, 2014

There is a number at the top of the page that tells the whole story of why this project only had 125 backers and 5% of its requested funding before being cancelled with no explanation: Updates = 0.

Equiso: If you guys are serious about this product, you're going to need to work on your communication skills...

Creator Brandon Vipperman on May 2, 2014

Canceled, and no explanation. What is going on.

Creator Krakn3dfx on May 2, 2014

"Equiso Play: An Open Source Console for Android Gaming has been canceled by Equiso."

Whelp.

Creator Isaac Hyman on April 28, 2014

I find it interesting that there has yet to be an update.

Creator Coniqua Abdul-Malik on April 25, 2014

I went to check on my support ticket (which was submitted to equiso almost 30 days ago) and now come to find that they've cancelled their zendesk account. When you click on the support link on the Equiso website it takes you to a page with this message

The help desk configured at this address is no longer available.

Creator Mitchell Lewis on April 22, 2014

Hi everyone, I was a backer of the original Equiso project here. Came back to see if there was anything interesting that I might take a gamble on. That's right, a gamble. Backing a kickstarter project is, is ultimately placing a bet on an idea and the people behind it. With Equiso, both the team and the product are a losing bet.

I am extremely disappointed to see Mr McBride here trying to make another quick buck flogging what I am sure will be another inferior semi functioning empty promise product. I am extremely disappointed that Kickstarter would allow such a person to repeat their previous business practice on this site.

The previous product was, truthfully, a disaster. I still have it, sitting in a drawer since about a week after I gave up trying to make using the device bearable with the assistance of outside developers/genuine helpful people. Please note that NONE OF THE POST SHIPPING SOFTWARE IMPROVEMENTS WERE DONE BY THEIR DEVELOPMENT TEAM (which never actually existed due to the fact that the stick was just the cheapest OEM chinese rebrand that Adam could locate).

Whilst I do not take pleasure in the company failing, I do feel relieved that Adam McScammer will note receiving another $200000+ for the monumentally difficult task of arranging drop shipping of someone else's product, keeping in mind that even successfully coordinating shipping was beyond their abilities during the last project.

In short, SAVE YOUR MONEY and good luck McBride family.

Creator Mike Smith on April 20, 2014

Can't wait looks AWESOME!!!!!! You should make up a controller. Will be letting everyone know about this.

Creator Dennis van der Pool on April 18, 2014

@Coniqua: Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with the backers :-)

Creator Coniqua Abdul-Malik on April 17, 2014

I love a good Kickstarter story. And I understand that often getting off the ground is a little harder than anticipated. I was not a backer on the original Equiso Smart Stick project, in fact I stumbled upon it at Walmart (apparently only days before they stopped carrying it).

Having purchased my Smart Stick at a retailer rather than as a backer, makes my experience different from all of those people who had negative experiences with the kickstarted roll out. One would think that since I purchased mine via the traditional route that I avoided all of the issues. NOPE!

Apparently my timing sucks. Having purchased the smart stick just before Walmart stopped carrying it means that when my smart stick originally broke I was unable to exchange it bc they no longer had any. My stick broke within only a week of my getting it and instead of bailing and getting a full refund I wanted to give it another go bc we actually enjoyed it while it worked.

So I had to end up going through the Equiso support team, which often doesn't answer the phone. I submitted a support ticket and it was answered right away, however I was a bit turned off that after paying over $70 for a product, and having it break within a week I was expected to pay shipping both ways. I finally sucked it up and sent the broken stick (I was told by the original support person on the phone I could just send the one piece back and not the whole system). I was pleasantly surprised when (after all my complaining about shipping) that instead of a PayPal invoice for shipping I received my replacement in the mail care of Equiso.

Unfortunately, now my old remote (which is still paired with my original stick apparently) won't pair with my replacement stick which again renders the product unusable. The problem (again my timing sucks) is that my "problem" seems to have coincided with the rollout of this new project which means when I initially went to find the support info the website was down. As the days went by the website started to come back to life, though w. no mention of the original product and all the focus on this new console.

I submitted a support ticket 22 days ago and it's still waiting to be assigned to someone. That is ridiculous! After reading all of the bad press and complaints re the first Kickstarter I was willing to give Equiso a shot and attempt the exchange instead of the full refund route. I get that folks make mistakes, companies grow faster than anticipated, the first time out of the gate may not be pretty. BUT leaving existing customers in the dust to chase after new money is to me inexcusable and bad business. The fact that you stumble isn't the problem it's how you handle it and judging from my experience and the experiences of others customer support/service/care is severely lacking in this company.

Creator Daniel Brito on April 11, 2014

after reading all this comments and related links.... im canceling...

Creator Steve S. on April 8, 2014

The below forum link is very informative and makes interesting reading.

http://www.equisoforum.com/Thread-Suspicions-Confirmed…

The above forum post contains eye opening disagreements between Equiso staff members. One of Equiso co-founders, Jeanine, also posted in that thread. On page 4, her post explained why she herself filed a lawsuit against Equiso and gave her own personal view on why she felt the company lacked integrity. She also went to confirm some backers' suspicions that the original Equiso stick was simply a rebranded Uptek (chinese manufacturer) device.

Rebranding was denied by Equiso during the original Equiso Kickstarter campaign. Some backers did their own investigation. Here is one such post where backers discussed their findings.

http://www.equisoforum.com/Thread-Manufacturer-of-Equiso-Stick-and-Remote…

Rebranding is not very creative for a Kickstarter project.

Creator John Ellis on April 7, 2014

I've had many different kinds of "TV Sticks" (and tablets) mostly bought from Chinese supplies. I can say that none of them have worked correctly. It's taken some hardwork by dedicated developers to get some of these to even barely work. Some I just ended up throwing in the garbage. Needless to say I won't hold Equiso's history of failed "TV Stick" hold me back from this Kickstart. I am sure they will be using a reference PCB so I don't think that will be a problem because . My only concern is the actual OS they will be using. I know it's Android but who's version of Android. If they used a Cyogen base then we would have insurance of the os being updated.

Creator Rob W. on April 4, 2014

Im only a backer to provide some feedback to everyone, will cancel shortly after.
I was a backer of the equiso pro tv stick, so first off i will say that my smart tv stick works just fine, the remote doesn't work as well as i hoped.. its not broke, the design just wasn't that great. the buttons can easily doublepress, and the feature to flip and use as a pointer was never very reliable. Overall though, the product work as described, just poor quality.
My concern is that once it was released, i received one or system 2 updates in the beginning but support for it has dropped of the face of the earth, not even email updates.. you go to their website and its not even listed as a product?!? Its a cool product idea, but seeing that its unlikely to get another android ver update or anything it will soon be a paperweight as Google drops support for the older OSs. They have stated they will begin cutting off access to Play store/services on older versions as a means to limit os fragmentation in the smart phone space.

Now here is my concern with the Play console, and why i didnt back it when the campaign started, beside the apparent lack of continued support for the smart tv.
There are already a number of "android game console", even ones that are open source. You have the Ouya and Game stick that were even launched on KS.
You now have big players in the space, Amazon, which released the FireTV, a streaming device and an gaming console. And Google, with the Chromecast, which isn't exactly a gaming device, but a mirroring device which as it grows, will allow you to mirror your screen to the TV. As dev start working with the recently release API, im sure it will get a lot better letting the game be on the TV and the phone be more of a controller.

Point is you already have at LEAST 3 or 4 (if you count chromecast) devices doing exactly what Equiso Play wants to do. They do it well, and Equiso Play isnt really bringing anything new to the table here.

I just foresee it being another device, that will get developed, shipped and forgotten about.

@equiso, you can provide whatever feedback you want.. but remember that it doesn't matter at this point.. "Perception, IS reality.." and right now perception is that Equiso has a track record or at least the perception or low quality devices, poor support and in this case an attempt to try jump on the band wagon of what others are already doing.

There is already hardware to play Android games on TV using a standard Android OS
There is already hardware to play Android games on TV using a custom Android OS
There is already hardware to play ported and TV optimized android (mobile class) games on the TV using Android based OS.

As im sure you probably already see by now, its highly unlikely you will hit your funding goal, you are best to cancel the project, take a step back and really look at what you are doing.

Kickstarter is a place to get crowdfunding on new "INOVATIVE" ideas that bring something new and exciting to the market by people that dont already have the financial means to do so themselves. This project is just a re-hashed console that has been done half a dozen times by others already.. we dont need another one

Creator Levvy on April 3, 2014

I glad i got my refund after badgering them for weeks when thry failed to deliver the equiso.
BTW, they deleted my comment on their Facebook page. Pretty much proves how trustworthy they are in needing to filter/censor their comments.
Unfortunately for them they can't delete/censor comments here.
Just a recap of what I posted,
"You guys should have fixed and iron out all the issues with your first product when there are still so many complains over the quality, durability and delivery.
The fact that you jumped on releasing another new product before fixing their only other product just shows how short sighted this company is, mainly focusing on milking the cash cow while its hot before fading away leaving the existing consumers with paper weight products"

sorry, you can't delete this post this time.

Creator michael howard on April 2, 2014

Further, with Amazon announcing Amazon Fire TV, it appears that the equiso play may be a little too late

Creator michael howard on April 2, 2014

Just an update, I did get a replacement for my equiso pro. I was sent a retail model in the mail almost a year and a month to the date I returned the defective unit. I was also mailed a refund but have yet to receive it. As such, once the refund arrives, I plan to mail the retail unit back. Its a shame that Adam couldn't have offered this type of customer service in the beginning and been more upfront with the product. Things might have been more favorable for him this go around if he did.
Through it all, you have to ask, if the equiso was such a success and the original backers were well compensated, then why must he return to the kickstarter campaign to fund equiso play? The revenue generated from the equiso as well as continued support from the original backers should have been sufficient enough for him to bring a new product to market.

Creator John Scullin on April 2, 2014

I worked for them as a designer in Boston for a few months. Based on how he screwed the previous backers and the people in the Boston offices I think I've earned the right I speak my mind.

P.S. You failed as a father if you're truly proud of his behavior.

Creator Kenneth McBride on April 2, 2014

John, your profile does not show you backed the last Equiso. The post comments ask that you be respectful and considerate. Those are some pretty disrespectful and inconsiderate comments coming from one who appears they were never a backer.

Creator John Scullin on April 1, 2014

So, do you guys have an actual Android dev in-house or at least Stateside? Or is this the same garbage team in China pumping out stuff like previously mentioned?

Will this be abandoned in less than 6 months after release like the last one?

http://www.geekbuying.com/item/Tronsmart-Vega-S89-Amlogic-S802-2-0GHz-Quad-Core-Android-TV-BOX-2G-16G-Dual-Band-WIFI-2-4G-5G-Bluetooth4-0-XBMC---Black-324676.html

Creator michael howard on April 1, 2014

@Jimmy if its based off the s802 chipset like it appears then it should have Bluetooth. Not sure why they would list the play with Bluetooth and then not have it on the elite

Creator Adrian Wong on April 1, 2014

I've read most of these past comments and over 50% are negative comments about Equiso's previous product. Granted it may not have been to certain individuals expectations and I hope those get resolved. As for me, I am not a family member. I actually read an article on Beta Boston and it wasn't the highest of praise towards the company in referring to the previous product but it peaked my interest.

Kickstarter is a platform to allow the unknown to be tested. After researching the previous mishap, I feel confident that the Equiso team will execute this time around. Companies are allowed to fail. It is how they learn from their failures quickly and come around with a stronger product that gets me excited for this project.

Creator Jimmy Song on April 1, 2014

Does the Equiso Elite have Bluetooth capability?

Creator Happy Pants on March 31, 2014

I'll continue to keep my fingers crossed as a supporter! And I thought I'd mention, you did a nice job on the video.

Creator Paul Merrill on March 31, 2014

Well I'm in. Good luck. Do want, especially with Samsung's cheap 4k monitor coming out so soon.

Creator Paul Burden on March 31, 2014

Just an update: Got an email from Equiso saying they've shipped an updated Smart TV stick to me. I'll test it and update this project with results.

Still doesn't change the fact that it's taken 5 months to send it to me but hey ho.

Creator Isaac Hyman on March 30, 2014

If this doesn't get funded, (looking more likely by the day) will the Equiso Play be made or will the project be ended?

Creator Florian Stumpf on March 30, 2014

Haha this gets so ridiculous, they entire family is promoting the game :D
HAAHAHAHAHAH such a fun project to observe

@Jesse
Excited for Equiso play! Its amazing to me people actually even spend $1 and take

you know we spend 0, when we back out of the project ebfore it ends?
Oh no wait, you have zero experience on Kickstarter because you are just a promtion lamb of Equiso. sorry forgot about that

Creator Kenneth McBride on March 30, 2014

Mansoor, KickStarter's mission as stated by them is simply this........

7. Our mission is to help bring creative projects to life.
We believe that creative projects make for a better world, and we’re thrilled to help support new ones. Building a community of backers around an idea is an amazing way to make something new.

Mansoor, this is the American Dream.... To bring an Idea to fruition. Most KickStarters backers understand the risk involved and are excited to be part of bringing ideas to life which is what happened. Then to be able to have Wal-Mart a Billion Dollar company pick it up.... You were part of that, you made it happen. If your looking at Zero risk and something that has been "proven in the market" then try Best Buy. You will notice in the post comment section it states " Be respectful and considerate about posting comments My first original KickStarter Equiso still works ( However I use the more advanced one from Wal-Mart). I am thankful the American Dream is still alive ...risks and all with Kickstarter. My email is kensmcbride@gmail.com so feel free to email me if you expected more out of a KickStarter project than you got. Kind Regards

Creator Mansoor Seikh on March 30, 2014

I find it funny that Adam's whole family is commenting here ... Will that change the experience of backers of original equiso ... not sure ... perhaps if Adam accepts that he sold cheap chinese rebranded android stick to 2703 KS backers at higher price and won't repeat it again, people may forgive him and give another chance.
@Kenneth McBride - Is that refund offer for all backers of original equiso or just for people who speak ill about Adam? I totally understand you supporting your son but I'm equally sure that you would be in same boat as rest of us if he was not your son.

Creator Kenneth McBride on March 29, 2014

Michael, it sounds like you are pretty bitter and distraught over last Equiso investmen. I understand that it didn't work out for you. I could not tell on your comment page what your actual problem was (you spoke about two different things). Please give me your address and I would be happy to pledge a cash refund for you first Equiso investment. Adam is a good guy and I hate to see some one with such a small investment terrorize him. You can see his family has great respect and confidence in him and we know personally this project is real and will be all it is said to be. With a full cash refund you will be made whole and should have no reason to speak ill anymore. He has a family and feelings just like you do. My email
is kensmcbride@gmail.com

Creator michael howard on March 29, 2014

@Malcolm - dang, I was hoping no one would mention that just yet about Jesse. I really wanted to see how far he would go pretending to be an excited supporter of equiso play.
@Jesse - google much? doesn't take a lot of detective work when all you have to do is put your name and Adam's name in google, then follow the link.
@Adam - don't you have any relatives not on the internet that you could put on here as fake supporters?
Hey, I hope that this does work out and you really do come through with the product. But your track record leaves much to be desired in that category. Plus you try to make it sound like the Equiso play is new and revolutionary, when its nothing more than the standard Chinese fair based of the amlogic s802 chipset which can be purchased right now. Anyone that goes to the equisoforum will find a link posted there for a similar spec'd device

Creator Jesse Baradoy on March 29, 2014

No one has said they didn't know the founder, but good job on all the detective work. The awesome thing about knowing the founder personally though is getting to be the first to try out the awesome products! Go Equiso!

Creator Malcolm on March 29, 2014

Ok, this is getting really silly: a jesse baradoy married a jen mcbride in 2012. And this jesse baradoy is friends with Adam D. Mcbride on Facebook who states he is the founder of equiso.
Coincidence of course

Creator michael howard on March 29, 2014

@Jesse and it amazes me how someone who's never backed a project other than equiso play would be so willing to throw $89 or more to a company that with a little research would show they have poor customer service and do not deliver on the products they produce. And then how that same person feels the overwhelming need to post a comment of support for the company while also taking time to deride those who offer there personal experience with the company.
Hey, I had forgot all about Equiso until a got this lovely email from Adam telling me how excited he was to offer me another chance to lose money. Besides, if I'm not happy with my pledge I can always cancel it in 40 days.

Creator Malcolm on March 29, 2014

@jesse: If you have thrown more than 50 dollars at a company, one more doesn't make a difference

Creator Jesse Baradoy on March 29, 2014

Excited for Equiso play! Its amazing to me people actually even spend $1 and take so much of their time to come on here just to write negative comments and research the backers so intensely! haha. Anyways, Im excited to see this product grow!

Creator Malcolm on March 29, 2014

Looks like Adam got his whole family active here to promote this, as no one else likes equiso

Creator michael howard on March 29, 2014

Dang it, I just couldn't resist.

Did you know if you go to Adam's Mylife page:

http://www.mylife.com/122488501

It lists @Julie Fraumeni as a friend or relative of Adam McBride and that there is a twitter account associated with her profile listed as Julie P. McBride (JulieFraumeni) in which she is following equisoplay (so I assume it must be the same person) and also following JaredMcBride on twitter who is related to Adam McBride.

Odd coincidence?

Creator julie fraumeni on March 29, 2014

@michael actually after the second defective cup I tried calling and haven't gotten a response. I went to the store just yesterday and bought my son their magical cup to put snacks in. Just because their cup didn't work doesn't mean their other products will fail. I use google search all the time but the chrome cast hasn't been my favorite, haven't given up on google. Likewise, I think I'll give equiso time to prove themselves. See where I'm going with this. Now I am really off to the beach!

Creator michael howard on March 29, 2014

@Julie - thank you for the recommendation on munchkin cups. I will definitely look into using them. I'm glad they were able to replace your cup in a reasonable time, if only equiso could have followed their example, then maybe myself and others would not be compelled to be here today.
Thank you for worrying about my stress level, but I promise you I am far from it. I am at work, so I can easily sit in front of the PC and follow up to your replies. However, tomorrow I shall be off and will enjoy it. Enjoy the beach. Interesting, my chromecast freezes as well, maybe we should contact google for a replacement much like you did with the cup.

Creator julie fraumeni on March 29, 2014

@michael the other day i purchased a munchkin non spill straw cup. It totally spilled- I was disappointed. I called munchkin and they sent me a new one and had me ship the old one back so they could improve on the model. I paid the shipping and gave feedback. They are a small company. I havent set out to destroy them, they are obviously trying to improve their sippy cups but once they improve im gonna use that cup again. Thats how I choose to handle situations like this, maybe if you took that approach youd feel less stressed. Its a beautiful saturday, im off to the beach. Cheers! Ps my chrome cast sometimes freezes also

Creator michael howard on March 29, 2014

@Julie - you said you had the oldest model and that the ceo replaced it with an updated model. There were only 3 versions of the equiso, the standard, the pro and the walmart retail. So if you purchased your first from walmart and it was replaced with a different model you either got the older standard, the older pro, or the same retail unit. However, you stated you got an updated model? If that is the case, please come to the equisoforum and share the updated model with us. As for your hair color, I could care less. What I do care about is making sure others don't get scammed as well.

Creator John Scullin on March 29, 2014

When the Boston team left in August the return rate on the Walmart edition of the Equiso was over 50%. Last i heard, Walmart dropped them along with other streaming media players. Biggest complaint was that Skype didn't support any cameras. This after Adam repeatedly said it's as simple as loading the drivers for some webcams. How'd that turn out? Cause when I think Skype, I think it's biggest feature is the ability to just message someone instead of email.

I don't even see an Android developer on the team. AGAIN. You have a designer, a marketer and a useless CEO. So that leads me to believe you're using the same Chinese developers from the previous model. The same ones that pushed out OTA updates that bricked retail units and couldn't get the stick to have a reliable wifi connection let alone play HD video from the major providers.

Your website looks terrible. Oh, you learned parallax scrolling? Now try making the background images resize to the browser window. Why bother having actual type on the page when you can just upload jpgs and let all the info get cut off?

You want people to give you $250k and you can't even code a website? Good luck.

Scott is the only one on the team who actually knows what he's doing. I wish he found something better.

Creator julie fraumeni on March 29, 2014

@ Michael. Quite the detective and tech wiz arent we. I bought it in walmart and called to get a replacement, am now on their mailer. I am interested in the equiso play... looks like something my husband would like. Would you like to know my hair color too? Hope that fills in the blanks for you ;)