Console & Teclast Partner To Create Two New Android Devices
Console, Inc. and Teclast Electronics Co. are joining forces to co-develop two new Android devices. The first of two devices will be announced in the very near future.
We’re going to be talking a lot about the new hardware soon. Today we’re just announcing the deal, and how it’s going to change what Console will be doing.
There are a lot of great Android devices coming out of China. But, they’ve been falling short in a few areas. Some of the specs are off, and some of the firmware is… well… disposable. Even the biggest companies are missing the forest for the trees on that one. Our strengths at Console have been knowing what tech-savvy Android consumers want, and bridging the Android OS gaps to take those solutions to customers.
We tried to make a dual-boot operating system. One month after we began shipping it, the empire struck back, and the kernel we depended on, mysteriously vanished. We don’t think that was coincidental. But rather than cry over spilt milk, we’re going to move forward. If we can’t make an Android client operating system that’s great on a lot of machines, we can pull off a great Android PC experience one device at a time.
Our partnership with Teclast will make sure of a few things. First and foremost, our devices will be built, shipped, and its delivery guaranteed by Teclast. Two companies standing together, backing these gadgets from design to production. At Console, we also can focus on making changes that are essential to making these devices successful outside China. Built by Teclast, designed by Console. If it sounds like a familiar idea, it is.
As part of this pivot, last week we informed our Kickstarter backers of some major changes. Console OS is moving to an experimental status, and we expect to ship Console OS Marshmallow later this summer. Beyond that, we aren’t sure just yet. As part of the planned pivot to hardware devices, we are going to refund our Kickstarter backers. We outlined the plan to do so with backers last week, and that process will happen as our first hardware ships to end-users in the fall.
But we aren’t going back to crowd-funding. The last, great, part of our partnership with Teclast, is that they see the same demand curve that we do. They don’t see the tablet, or the PC, as some has-been platform. It is still growing. That growth curve has been altered by things like Windows 10. But those distortions are not the death of an industry… they’re merely a call to do better. Teclast sees that same vision. And, because of that, we don’t have to crowdfund. Instead, we’re going pre-order… and save the billing for when your device is actually being built, certified, and then packaged and shipped.
Hardware was where we began. We shipped a small dev kit, one that quietly became the most powerful Android device ever shipped at the time. We’re now pivoting back, because we refuse to let a few bean counters, and a few show stoppers on high, deny you all what you want – a tablet that runs Android, and also can work through the day as a powerful PC.
We’ll have a lot more to share soon, sign up for email updates, and we’ll show you what we’ve been building in the coming weeks.