one-off said:I'm not suggesting they fix customer problems in the old firmware. I'm suggesting that they freeze the old firmware and ship it while continuing to work only on the new firmware. I know this will delay fixing any new issues, but based on the glowing reviews you and the other TREG folks have posted of the old firmware, any early customers affected by bugs remaining in the old firmware would almost certainly prefer to live with the bugs while the new firmware is perfected than to live without this wonderful product. Further, I'm suggesting WT ease into this strategy by closing down new orders and keep their original promise by shipping the earliest orders first and see how it goes before they open up the order page again.
I agree that no one outside WT knows the complete picture on existing bug. But TREG testers clearly do know more than enough to judge if the current product meets the expectations you had when you ordered. And I don't believe any of you have recently (ever?) reported anything to the contrary. Would you or any tester prefer to give up your test unit and wait with the rest of us for the new firmware? If not, why should the rest of us have to wait?
Okay, let's go with that - no fixing of the present firmware. Which would mean that when people complain about a problem, WT would be telling them it won't be fixed until the new firmware comes out - which could be a long time before it is finalized. It certainly has been a long time so far! I think a lot of customers would not be happy about that!
As for closing down the order page, I can see serious problems with that too. As long as they aren't doing an advertising blitz, I'm okay with the status quo.
As for our "glowing reviews", I know I and others have said that what we, as tech nerds, may be happy with does not mean that the vast majority, who are just ordinary users, will be. I have said more than once that even after the first couple days with the TB, that I didn't want to use anything else. But I also said it sure wasn't ready for GR. Most readers have tended to lock in on just certain things that are said, while forgetting other important things. Just recently, and I think it was on this area, someone disagreed with WT comment about treg testers being customers but not testers. But that was NOT what WT said. They said we were not "merely testers". That is, we are ALSO customers. But the context was left out in the posters analysis.
In itself, that isn't a big deal. We all read or hear things and tend to automatically filter by our preconceived ideas. It only becomes a problem if the facts are then provided and the person ignores them.
Would I want to give up my TB and wait with the others? No. But it isn't that simple.
First, I'll point out that after being accepted into treg, but before units were shipped out, I posted on their forum about another person's usage situation which I thought would be a good choice - and told WT that, while I certainly would like to get mine for treg, I was willing to give up my spot to this other person if adding them would be more than they wanted. Because my focus is on what, long term, is best for getting this thing to work as well as WT wants and to be successful.
Second, we are now well after I got my first treg unit. I have completely adjusted to it. To lose it at this point would be a disaster since I'd have to relearn on a regular keyboard and it would be far worse that adjusting to the TB. Because while there are certainly adjustments to be made on the TB, the whole time you can see so many things that are better too. Going back to an old keyboard, I'd not only have to readjust, but every step of the way I would be seeing things as much harder anyway! This is actually one of my concerns - if WT is not successful, at some point there would be no working TB (everything wears out eventually). While some may say they would just sell the patents to someone else, there are plenty of things bought by other companies and then shut down. So no guarantees.
Third, we don't know how good WT want's it to be before shipping. And even treg testers don't know how widespread or common a problem may be. We probably don't even know all the problems - only those posted by other treg members, but we are a small portion of all their testers. Which brings me back to the simple point that this is simply a decision only WT can make or should make.
Your first paragraph actually contains one reason I believe you are wrong in your second paragraph; If they are to ship to the early adopters, they need to stop orders to avoid disappointing average customers. Customers who have waited up to 4 years for a product are not average customers. We who have waited would rather have the use of the existing product now while we continue to wait only for any fixes. Other than the loss of advance revenue (which they claim not to need), what harm would it cause to stop accepting new orders until a real ship date is known? You say you see problems with that. What are they?
I believe you are also exaggerating the "tech nerd" factor. Waytools has indicated that they intentionally included a wide spectrum of customers in TREG. Not all the forum members who are TREG members are highly technical. But they all seem to be happy with the current product.
Further, they probably had to specifically seek out "average" customers because the long delay would have driven many who are not passionate about portable keyboards away. Again, this is why they should stop taking orders before they begin shipments to these early adopters, all of which have already demonstrated enough patience to be happy (as virtually every customer in the TREG class is) with the current product while we wait for the new firmware.
Your point about how you would suffer without your Textblade is further evidence of how good it already is. Even nerds won't adopt a weak product to the extent you have. If the current version wasn't already better than every other keyboard, I doubt you would use it.
Which brings up another point you may be missing. You seem to be assuming customers would be disappointed in the current firmware because it has problems and is not as good as it should be. But anyone who needs a portable keyboard which is what this product was supposed to be has probably tried other portable keyboards. Typical non-technical customers won't be comparing the Textblade with the ideal perfect use-everywhere keyboard you and Waytools are striving for. They will compare it with the other crappy compromise portable non-configurable keyboards on the market and I believe the vast majority of them will be thrilled with the Textblade in it's current state. In other words, I believe the Texblade concept is so good that your long experience with it has raised the bar for you to the point that you are not seeing how much better it already is than other products. Even with the current firmware.
You frequently speculate that there may be remaining show stopping firmware problems which only Waytools knows about. Statistically, this is highly unlikely given the lack of any such reports by the many vocal testers. And even if a bug exists which makes the keyboard unusable for someone, the percentage of people it affects must be very low or one of the vocal testers would have noticed it. And if there are such problems, all Waytools need to do to convince us to wait more patiently is to provide the details and real estimates on when the new firmware will fix it. I believe that after 4 years of missed delivery dates, they owe us that much.
I've seen you express the viewpoint in your last paragraph many many times in the forum. I don't entirely agree. Yes, Waytools management is who must make this decision. But they should be taking the views of customers like me into account when they make it. And they should be considering the promises they made to early adopters, both explicit and implied. It's not my decision. But my input as a payed customer should count for something. Instead, not only do they not seem to be listening, they seem so insensitive to the frustration of 4 years of waiting that they would rather squelch discussion such as we are having here than openly address it on their forum.
WT still haven't responded to my private queries as to why I (brad0) was blocked from posting on their forum. I don't believe I am abusive in the way I express my opinions or frustration and I don't believe the questions I ask are unreasonable. When a company accepts a pre-payed order and fails to deliver, they should expect some customers to complain. Even if I am wrong about everything above, they should be treating us with more respect.
Do you think that commercially available wipes, such as lens cleaning, or screen cleaning wipes would serve as a 'de-gunking' tool?
I think many of those wipes are alcohol based so I guess they would work. Haven’t tried myself. So long as it is not abrasive as the coating over the magnets could get damaged.
So fluff is a non issue, and storing magnet side in for when stowed is a useful tip.
Two NanoStands is recommended. Much better drop protection. Also don’t have to be careful which end is stored in the stand. Probably doesn’t matter but I somehow end up with the KeyBlade magnets and charging port at the same end as each other. Possibly how I’ve developed muscle memory to fold TextBlade so I always do it the same way.
It's nice to run into another person running the 'scratchy stuff pocket' & 'stuff that gets scratched pocket' system. Do you have no concerns that the TB with scuff your phone, or do you 'back to back' them? (Screen side faces away from the TB)
Side by side is usually how it goes. iPhone 6s is small enough to allow that in most of my pants. Silicone feet of the NanoStand against the phone screen or back causes too much friction for my liking. Has sometimes left a glue smear on my phone and a silicone foot out of place. The adhesive is like a type of rubber cement that never dries.
Silicone lifting has occurred with me when attempting to slide a dusty TextBlade in to the NanoStand. I was camping at the time and didn’t realise how dusty my working surface was. When packing up TextBlade one of the SpaceBlade feet caught and pulled against the inside of the NanoStand, folding and sliding a silicone foot out of place. I was able to edge it out and re-align it but it left a residue on the inside of the NanoStand that was difficult to remove. I believe the NanoStand I used was an older model and the newer ones have a looser clearance which would make that event a lot less likely to happen.
For those of you with a current order, this is lifted from the Status page and is about me, written by WayTools a while ago but is largely accurate (moved jobs, no longer need the Windows boxes):
In the realm of keyboards, a lever of change is in play right now, and the scene above depicts it. One TextBlade user is in the Land Down Under, and his story is emblematic of what's happening. Glenn M. is an Australian developer, and because of his work, he spends a lot of hours each day, typing. He's also surrounded by a lot of machines - a Mac, an iPad, an iPhone, and one or two more PCs, and they each demand subtle differences in typed characters. At the center of this scene, and at the center of change ... is a TextBlade. Glenn jumps between all his different devices from one TextBlade. It knows the differences in modifier keys between his Windows and Mac systems, and it makes the changes for him, automatically. His physical labor of typing is dramatically reduced, and has a consistent, satisfying feel no matter which machine he’s typing on. His TextBlade desktop footprint is no bigger than his hands, and he gets back the workspace that was once wiped out by a 2 foot long board. And when he’s on the road, Glenn can operate any of these machines remotely from his 64 bit mobile workstation - an iPad, SwiftPoint mouse, and TextBlade.
Forget to mention in one of my previous posts, Jump Desktop has been a big win for my mobile station. I’ve gained a lot of freedom from lugging the laptop around because I can access it all remotely while using the same efficient keyboard.
Forget to mention in one of my previous posts, Jump Desktop has been a big win for my mobile station. I’ve gained a lot of freedom from lugging the laptop around because I can access it all remotely while using the same efficient keyboard.
Is two stands what comes with, or is the second stand extra?
Much better drop protection.
How does does it fair in the wild with with the waste high drop?
You mentioned that was easy to put back together. How had it come apart? was it just a spot of maintenance or bit of 'field ruggedness testing' if you know what I mean?
It is actually quite nice to get someone to talk about the device in the field, (without all the unnecessary stuff that seems to follow) had you considered popping over to the Reddit if you had the time. There are people there who could use some sane answers to normal questions. There will be criticism of WT there, but it is of WT's handling of customers and communication usually, and the criticism is going to be somewhere, isn't it? No we don't need people to stand up for WT, just share their experiences, if they fancy.
Fascinating vaporware, but pretty much vaporware nonetheless.
Well it cannot be "vaporware" because it is a physical device and not software, besides that, I am typing on a TREG unit right now. It is a wonderful keyboard and is by far the best mobile keyboard I have ever used. I've used almost every mobile keyboard ever made and this thing is astounding. My favorite feature is the jump feature where I can switch bluetooth devices with ease. I do this frequently between Windows, Mac and iOS devices all on the same desk. It is also very handy using it with devices attached to TV displays that normally do not have a keyboard present.
Having spent approximately two and a half hours on the phone with Mark Knighton, when I originally received my TextBlade, I can honestly say the man is a bloody genius. This is his baby and he intends to release it when he is completely happy with it. Although I am happy, there are some niggling issues that should be fixed and some future proofing that needs to be done first. There have been delays and design changes over the last four years. The Bluetooth issues are real bugs that Apple appears to have mostly fixed.
The feel of this device is very good, the key throw depth is perfect. It senses your fingers before you even touch a key. It is an immensely complex little device which I learned a great deal about as Mark explained all the internal workings. The battery life is fantastic and it charges up fairly quickly.
Customers who have waited up to 4 years for a product are not average customers....what harm would it cause to stop accepting new orders until a real ship date is known? You say you see problems with that. What are they?
I believe you are also exaggerating the "tech nerd" factor. Waytools has indicated that they intentionally included a wide spectrum of customers in TREG. Not all the forum members who are TREG members are highly technical. But they all seem to be happy with the current product.
Which brings up another point you may be missing. You seem to be assuming customers would be disappointed in the current firmware because it has problems and is not as good as it should be. But anyone who needs a portable keyboard which is what this product was supposed to be has probably tried other portable keyboards.
You frequently speculate that there may be remaining show stopping firmware problems which only Waytools knows about. Statistically, this is highly unlikely given the lack of any such reports by the many vocal testers.
I've seen you express the viewpoint in your last paragraph many many times in the forum. I don't entirely agree. Yes, Waytools management is who must make this decision. But they should be taking the views of customers like me into account when they make it.
In paragraph order:
1. Just because they have waited years doesn't mean they aren't ordinary customers - which I would define as those who aren't tech nerds, but just see a keyboard they think may fit their needs and are not as likely as tech nerds to be willing to deal with problems. As for the problems that may come about if they cut off orders, that is one of perception. As soon as you stop the orders, there will be lots of stories about it with all kinds of assumptions about what it "really means". And before you say that wouldn't happen because you would also ship out to early customers, they aren't going to ship out tens or possibly hundreds of thousands of units before GR.
2. A tech nerd, in may way of thinking about it, isn't specifically a person who is "highly technical". I mean it in the sense that they really like new tech - even if they don't understand a single technical thing about it.
3. This isn't just about being portable. They are after a much bigger market than just that.
4. Just pointing out that we don't know - not even how widespread or common issues we do know about are. There are only 120+ members in treg from the forums. There is a smaller number who even signed up on the Slack page. Of those, some haven't really posted, or rarely did, or stopped long ago. Of those posting, some don't report problems, but may be doing so to WT. The point is, we don't have nearly enough data points - and I probably track this more than anyone else on Slack. Looked at another way, what if 5 people report a problem? You may say, well, that's a really low number. But what if only 20 people are posting? Suddenly it is 25%! But we'd still be faced with too few people to really know. So I'm just correcting the assumptions made my many that things must be good enough, as if there is no doubt about that.
5. You are assuming they don't consider what many customers have said. Just because you don't get the answer you want does not mean you aren't being listened to! Many customers wanted it shipped before Treg started. And I'll clearly say it was a good thing they did not. I've also said it is possible at this specific point in time, it is good enough - but I'm sure not going to assume that is a fact and the best decision.
My usage is mostly with my Desktop and occasionally with my iPhone.
This would have been the same even when I used a MacBook since my typical arrangement was the desktop on the desk, but whatever wireless keyboard I had at the time would be on my lap so I could just lean back in my chair and type away. I very rarely used the MacBook keyboard except on trips where carrying the big wireless keyboards was not very practical. Which, of course, isn't the case with the TB.
Is two stands what comes with, or is the second stand extra?
Much better drop protection.
How does does it fair in the wild with with the waste high drop?
You mentioned that was easy to put back together. How had it come apart? was it just a spot of maintenance or bit of 'field ruggedness testing' if you know what I mean?
Preorders (at least my one) come with a second NanoStand free. Waist high has been fine for me in most cases. I’ve dropped it more often than I’d like, but that mostly is part of Madden’s law of dropped things, that is, when you are carrying more than one item and you drop something it’ll be the most expensive/precious thing that falls. I have broken one NanoStand when dropped from about chest high on to polished concrete. That’s not the only time I’ve dropped on concrete, just happened to hit the wrong edge that time. A crack formed along one edge. The stand is still useable but compromised, none the less.
I talked about repairability in relation to the SpaceBlade where a WayTools engineer coached me through disassembly. I repaired the part and put it back together on my own.
I have had the keys come off before. I was in the middle of a football field taking player registrations when a gust of wind picked up the mat that my TextBlade was on and dropped it on the ground. Couple of the keys dislodged and one of the butterfly mechanisms, if I recall correctly. I was able to get it all back together and working in less than a minute.
At a conference early this year I spilled coffee over my TextBlade. I disassembled, cleaned and constructed it all before the first presenter was finished. I didn’t get a lot of notes typed for that session though.
There will be criticism of WT there, but it is of WT's handling of customers and communication usually, and the criticism is going to be somewhere, isn't it? No we don't need people to stand up for WT, just share their experiences, if they fancy.
Well, there has been plenty of occasions when Treg members in general have been accused of "Stockholm Syndrome" and other things as well, without much, if any, objections from other people on that subreddit. However, in the past day it has been better. Will be interesting to see if it lasts. One day doesn't prove much.
But just why does it matter if the people there don't "need" people to stand up for WT? If they think some of the criticism is unfair, why shouldn't they be allowed to present their view on that as well?
At a conference early this year I spilled coffee over my TextBlade. I disassembled, cleaned and constructed it all before the first presenter was finished. I didn’t get a lot of notes typed for that session though.
edit:fixed that last emoji
Interesting. Is the TB easy to disassemble, then, for self repairs and such? And also to put back together?
Interesting. Is the TB easy to disassemble, then, for self repairs and such? And also to put back together?
Yes. Confidence probably comes with practice. I’d say the motion will accelerate wear so I wouldn’t recommend doing it just because you are bored. The important bit, I think, is making sure that the butterflies are lapped correctly. Easy to test but small and a little tricky to get first go. There is a video of the process on the waytools.rocks wiki in the Troubleshooting section.
Or the questions asked about your product. But hey whatever you need to do to stop flying off the handle.
*******
At a conference early this year I spilled coffee over my TextBlade. I disassembled, cleaned and constructed it all before the first presenter was finished. I didn’t get a lot of notes typed for that session though.
That's good to know. Odd question:Do you take sugar in your coffee? It's just that can make the whole cleaning process a bit of a chore. If the unit can recover from that relatively quickly that would be a bonus.
*******
As an indirect response to another question regarding a previous post of mine: My invitation is to all TREG (with a couple of minor exceptions, they know who they are) to do much as they have done here. come say their piece, spread the word.
Even WaytoolsTeam/WaytoolsSupport/Mark is welcome. As long as he can behave himself. If people wanted to 'defend waytools' I don't have a problem with it, but I would expect some actions easier to defend than others, and due to the subjective, and somewhat speculative nature of some of those discussions, very little is ever really gained.
The Reddit has had a "no war" posting rule for years now. Based on the childish equations I posted earlier (TREG is not WT, if you are angry at WT customer service, that isn't TREG)
Still the olive branch is there. I'm just happy that TREG members feel ok talking to customer and ex customers about the product they are using here. That is a step forward.
After we get past how the WayTools sales model plays fast-and-loose with FTC regulations for postal/on-line orders relating to notifications of delays.
After we get past the long-promised Android version of the mobile app (necessary for firmware updates as well as any customization functionality) that has not even begun development.
After we get past the shell game of "We have shipped and we do have users." that means "We have a prototype testing program that only iPhone/iPad users can join and only if we like you."
After we get past the effective banning of anybody who stops being a cheerleader from the WayTools Forum (which is known these days as "WTF" at the https://www.reddit.com/r/textblade refugee reddit).
After we get past the *involuntary* order cancellations by WayTools for non-cheerleaders who complain too much at WTF.
We must ask ourselves:
"Why, after four years of being 'for sale', has this product still not shipped? Could it really true that it's simply because it's not perfect yet?"
I think a careful reading of the WayTools patent portfolio and certain Apple patents (announced after TextBlade went on-sale) relating to touch sensors and keyboards with special attention to the relative *dates* on those patents is instructive and enlightening. It cannot be denied that the possible penalties for a judgement for patent infringement are severe indeed. The original TREG user agreement (supposed to be secret but whose text was hidden behind some kindergarten-level DRM) alludes to consenting to an ability to remotely disable TextBlades in the event of TREG user non-compliance. That would be very useful in mitigating any damages claimed in a patent infringment case (where they would be trebled) and preserving a fallback exit strategy that involves monetizing corporate intellectual property without ever actually making a product genuinely available.
The promise years ago was that development of the Android app will begin right after general availability of the TextBlade. If my original exit strategy as WayTools management was to sell out to Apple (before the patent disclosures), I wouldn't want to expend any money on an Android app that would never be released.
But maybe it's just not available because it's not perfect yet. That's the offical story.
It seems like a great device. But it has no value to me personally unless it can be fully functional without an iPhone. I ordered on day-one, and promoted it enthusiastically within my social network. I engaged on WTF until, after years of waiting, I cancelled my order. My WTF account was muted shortly afterward.
After we get past how the WayTools sales model plays fast-and-loose with FTC regulations for postal/on-line orders relating to notifications of delays.
After we get past the long-promised Android version of the mobile app (necessary for firmware updates as well as any customization functionality) that has not even begun development.
After we get past the shell game of "We have shipped and we do have users." that means "We have a prototype testing program that only iPhone/iPad users can join and only if we like you."
After we get past the effective banning of anybody who stops being a cheerleader from the WayTools Forum (which is known these days as "WTF" at the https://www.reddit.com/r/textblade refugee reddit).
After we get past the *involuntary* order cancellations by WayTools for non-cheerleaders who complain too much at WTF.
We must ask ourselves:
"Why, after four years of being 'for sale', has this product still not shipped? Could it really true that it's simply because it's not perfect yet?"
I think a careful reading of the WayTools patent portfolio and certain Apple patents (announced after TextBlade went on-sale) relating to touch sensors and keyboards with special attention to the relative *dates* on those patents is instructive and enlightening. It cannot be denied that the possible penalties for a judgement for patent infringement are severe indeed. The original TREG user agreement (supposed to be secret but whose text was hidden behind some kindergarten-level DRM) alludes to consenting to an ability to remotely disable TextBlades in the event of TREG user non-compliance. That would be very useful in mitigating any damages claimed in a patent infringment case (where they would be trebled) and preserving a fallback exit strategy that involves monetizing corporate intellectual property without ever actually making a product genuinely available.
The promise years ago was that development of the Android app will begin right after general availability of the TextBlade. If my original exit strategy as WayTools management was to sell out to Apple (before the patent disclosures), I wouldn't want to expend any money on an Android app that would never be released.
But maybe it's just not available because it's not perfect yet. That's the offical story.
It seems like a great device. But it has no value to me personally unless it can be fully functional without an iPhone. I ordered on day-one, and promoted it enthusiastically within my social network. I engaged on WTF until, after years of waiting, I cancelled my order. My WTF account was muted shortly afterward.
Not hard to figure why your account was muted, particularly since you cancelled your order. Yet, here you are, after canceling your order, still attacking Waytools over a $99 product. Why? I now see on Reddit that you and Rolanbek spend your life disparaging this company. Someone already asked you on Reddit, I'll also ask, what legal qualifications do you possess to opine on patents or even the FTC for that matter? My bet, absolutely none. You got your refund. Please go away. Is the product perfect yet? I have no idea. But I'm certain Waytools is working on it everyday, as it's in their best interest to do so.
WayTools now owns hundreds of granted patent claims, including rights to the very popular home row cursor / edit controls, even if deployed on any other kind of keyboard, large or small. This has just been granted in the EU and will publish soon.
WayTools has amicable relations with Apple. They graciously helped us by working to get BLE solid on their iOS and MacOS Bluetooth stacks.
Apple has reviewed our patent portfolio in depth, and we work with extensively with top executives on their patent legal team, on multiple topics, including 3D patents our founders own relating to iPhone X and newer products.
Apple’s patents in keyboards are very different from TextBlade. Apple has made no infringement claims on TextBlade. We’ve been shipping hundreds of units for years. Infringement claims can be raised just for shipping one unit. We are in regular contact with Apple’s team, and no such infringement claim exists.
Although some people tweet about such speculations, the above facts are the reality. If patents were a hurdle to general release, we would say so. But those speculations are not correct.
Yes, the test units no doubt work when connected to Android devices as generic BT keyboards. But my understanding is still that no customization or firmware updating can be done without an iPhone.
Comments
I think many of those wipes are alcohol based so I guess they would work. Haven’t tried myself. So long as it is not abrasive as the coating over the magnets could get damaged.
Two NanoStands is recommended. Much better drop protection. Also don’t have to be careful which end is stored in the stand. Probably doesn’t matter but I somehow end up with the KeyBlade magnets and charging port at the same end as each other. Possibly how I’ve developed muscle memory to fold TextBlade so I always do it the same way.
Side by side is usually how it goes. iPhone 6s is small enough to allow that in most of my pants. Silicone feet of the NanoStand against the phone screen or back causes too much friction for my liking. Has sometimes left a glue smear on my phone and a silicone foot out of place. The adhesive is like a type of rubber cement that never dries.
Silicone lifting has occurred with me when attempting to slide a dusty TextBlade in to the NanoStand. I was camping at the time and didn’t realise how dusty my working surface was. When packing up TextBlade one of the SpaceBlade feet caught and pulled against the inside of the NanoStand, folding and sliding a silicone foot out of place. I was able to edge it out and re-align it but it left a residue on the inside of the NanoStand that was difficult to remove. I believe the NanoStand I used was an older model and the newer ones have a looser clearance which would make that event a lot less likely to happen.
Forget to mention in one of my previous posts, Jump Desktop has been a big win for my mobile station. I’ve gained a lot of freedom from lugging the laptop around because I can access it all remotely while using the same efficient keyboard.
Is two stands what comes with, or is the second stand extra?
How does does it fair in the wild with with the waste high drop?
You mentioned that was easy to put back together. How had it come apart? was it just a spot of maintenance or bit of 'field ruggedness testing' if you know what I mean?
It is actually quite nice to get someone to talk about the device in the field, (without all the unnecessary stuff that seems to follow) had you considered popping over to the Reddit if you had the time. There are people there who could use some sane answers to normal questions. There will be criticism of WT there, but it is of WT's handling of customers and communication usually, and the criticism is going to be somewhere, isn't it? No we don't need people to stand up for WT, just share their experiences, if they fancy.
TREG != WT
TREG != WTF
Drama == Unfortunate.
R
Well it cannot be "vaporware" because it is a physical device and not software, besides that, I am typing on a TREG unit right now. It is a wonderful keyboard and is by far the best mobile keyboard I have ever used. I've used almost every mobile keyboard ever made and this thing is astounding. My favorite feature is the jump feature where I can switch bluetooth devices with ease. I do this frequently between Windows, Mac and iOS devices all on the same desk. It is also very handy using it with devices attached to TV displays that normally do not have a keyboard present.
The feel of this device is very good, the key throw depth is perfect. It senses your fingers before you even touch a key. It is an immensely complex little device which I learned a great deal about as Mark explained all the internal workings. The battery life is fantastic and it charges up fairly quickly.
1. Just because they have waited years doesn't mean they aren't ordinary customers - which I would define as those who aren't tech nerds, but just see a keyboard they think may fit their needs and are not as likely as tech nerds to be willing to deal with problems. As for the problems that may come about if they cut off orders, that is one of perception. As soon as you stop the orders, there will be lots of stories about it with all kinds of assumptions about what it "really means". And before you say that wouldn't happen because you would also ship out to early customers, they aren't going to ship out tens or possibly hundreds of thousands of units before GR.
2. A tech nerd, in may way of thinking about it, isn't specifically a person who is "highly technical". I mean it in the sense that they really like new tech - even if they don't understand a single technical thing about it.
3. This isn't just about being portable. They are after a much bigger market than just that.
4. Just pointing out that we don't know - not even how widespread or common issues we do know about are. There are only 120+ members in treg from the forums. There is a smaller number who even signed up on the Slack page. Of those, some haven't really posted, or rarely did, or stopped long ago. Of those posting, some don't report problems, but may be doing so to WT. The point is, we don't have nearly enough data points - and I probably track this more than anyone else on Slack. Looked at another way, what if 5 people report a problem? You may say, well, that's a really low number. But what if only 20 people are posting? Suddenly it is 25%! But we'd still be faced with too few people to really know. So I'm just correcting the assumptions made my many that things must be good enough, as if there is no doubt about that.
Waist high has been fine for me in most cases. I’ve dropped it more often than I’d like, but that mostly is part of Madden’s law of dropped things, that is, when you are carrying more than one item and you drop something it’ll be the most expensive/precious thing that falls.
I have broken one NanoStand when dropped from about chest high on to polished concrete. That’s not the only time I’ve dropped on concrete, just happened to hit the wrong edge that time. A crack formed along one edge. The stand is still useable but compromised, none the less.
I talked about repairability in relation to the SpaceBlade where a WayTools engineer coached me through disassembly. I repaired the part and put it back together on my own.
I have had the keys come off before. I was in the middle of a football field taking player registrations when a gust of wind picked up the mat that my TextBlade was on and dropped it on the ground. Couple of the keys dislodged and one of the butterfly mechanisms, if I recall correctly. I was able to get it all back together and working in less than a minute.
At a conference early this year I spilled coffee over my TextBlade. I disassembled, cleaned and constructed it all before the first presenter was finished. I didn’t get a lot of notes typed for that session though.
edit:fixed that last emoji
But just why does it matter if the people there don't "need" people to stand up for WT? If they think some of the criticism is unfair, why shouldn't they be allowed to present their view on that as well?
Our thank-you was for elevating the tone of conversation. Everyone does appreciate that.
The important bit, I think, is making sure that the butterflies are lapped correctly. Easy to test but small and a little tricky to get first go.
There is a video of the process on the waytools.rocks wiki in the Troubleshooting section.
http://waytools.rocks/keyboards/troubleshooting/start#removing_the_keycaps
edit: section specific link
Or the questions asked about your product. But hey whatever you need to do to stop flying off the handle.
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That's good to know. Odd question:Do you take sugar in your coffee? It's just that can make the whole cleaning process a bit of a chore. If the unit can recover from that relatively quickly that would be a bonus.
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As an indirect response to another question regarding a previous post of mine: My invitation is to all TREG (with a couple of minor exceptions, they know who they are) to do much as they have done here. come say their piece, spread the word.
Even WaytoolsTeam/WaytoolsSupport/Mark is welcome. As long as he can behave himself. If people wanted to 'defend waytools' I don't have a problem with it, but I would expect some actions easier to defend than others, and due to the subjective, and somewhat speculative nature of some of those discussions, very little is ever really gained.
The Reddit has had a "no war" posting rule for years now. Based on the childish equations I posted earlier (TREG is not WT, if you are angry at WT customer service, that isn't TREG)
Still the olive branch is there. I'm just happy that TREG members feel ok talking to customer and ex customers about the product they are using here. That is a step forward.
R
After we get past the long-promised Android version of the mobile app (necessary for firmware updates as well as any customization functionality) that has not even begun development.
After we get past the shell game of "We have shipped and we do have users." that means "We have a prototype testing program that only iPhone/iPad users can join and only if we like you."
After we get past the effective banning of anybody who stops being a cheerleader from the WayTools Forum (which is known these days as "WTF" at the https://www.reddit.com/r/textblade refugee reddit).
After we get past the *involuntary* order cancellations by WayTools for non-cheerleaders who complain too much at WTF.
We must ask ourselves:
"Why, after four years of being 'for sale', has this product still not shipped? Could it really true that it's simply because it's not perfect yet?"
I think a careful reading of the WayTools patent portfolio and certain Apple patents (announced after TextBlade went on-sale) relating to touch sensors and keyboards with special attention to the relative *dates* on those patents is instructive and enlightening. It cannot be denied that the possible penalties for a judgement for patent infringement are severe indeed. The original TREG user agreement (supposed to be secret but whose text was hidden behind some kindergarten-level DRM) alludes to consenting to an ability to remotely disable TextBlades in the event of TREG user non-compliance. That would be very useful in mitigating any damages claimed in a patent infringment case (where they would be trebled) and preserving a fallback exit strategy that involves monetizing corporate intellectual property without ever actually making a product genuinely available.
The promise years ago was that development of the Android app will begin right after general availability of the TextBlade. If my original exit strategy as WayTools management was to sell out to Apple (before the patent disclosures), I wouldn't want to expend any money on an Android app that would never be released.
But maybe it's just not available because it's not perfect yet. That's the offical story.
It seems like a great device. But it has no value to me personally unless it can be fully functional without an iPhone. I ordered on day-one, and promoted it enthusiastically within my social network. I engaged on WTF until, after years of waiting, I cancelled my order. My WTF account was muted shortly afterward.
WayTools now owns hundreds of granted patent claims, including rights to the very popular home row cursor / edit controls, even if deployed on any other kind of keyboard, large or small. This has just been granted in the EU and will publish soon.
WayTools has amicable relations with Apple. They graciously helped us by working to get BLE solid on their iOS and MacOS Bluetooth stacks.
Apple has reviewed our patent portfolio in depth, and we work with extensively with top executives on their patent legal team, on multiple topics, including 3D patents our founders own relating to iPhone X and newer products.
Apple’s patents in keyboards are very different from TextBlade. Apple has made no infringement claims on TextBlade. We’ve been shipping hundreds of units for years. Infringement claims can be raised just for shipping one unit. We are in regular contact with Apple’s team, and no such infringement claim exists.
Although some people tweet about such speculations, the above facts are the reality. If patents were a hurdle to general release, we would say so. But those speculations are not correct.
Engineering work drives general release.