ZX Vega Comparison

[SimonL]

Is anyone concerned about comparisons with the ZX Vega project? I know very little about this project, but I've gleaned from unhappy backers on Twitter that money was pledged but no rewards were forthcoming. Apparently some of the people involved with ZX Vega are involved with Gemini. I'm confident that since people like Martin Riddiford are involved with Gemini it is not simply a means of extorting cash, but I'd be interested to know the thoughts of others.

Hopefully we'll get confirmation in the next couple of days that Planet are starting to dispatch units, which will allay any fears we might have!

[andrewl]

I followed (but didn't back) both Vega+ and Zano, and this feels very different.

Janko got involved with Vega+ only after the trouble started and people started leaving. Crucially, the two people at Vega+ who I see as the real problem are not anywhere near Gemini.

Vega+ didn't get past showing cobbled up prototypes with 3d printed and borrrowed parts. Gemini has pre-production run samples.
Vega+ attempted to licence hundreds of software titles for many diffferent rights holders. Gemini has no such problem.
Vega+ original team have gone all legal on each other.

The one real similarity for me was the involvement in a symbolic role for Clive Sinclair on Vega+. Gemini have done the same with David Potter, which I really like.

I also think that the nature of the Gemini product - as a serious productivity tool that can be roadmapped into the future is more attractive to capital investment than the Vega+ which a is a nostalgia based toy with and that nostalgia can be satisfied on simple free emulators.

[Varti]

I have read lots of cringeworthy posts and threats on tweets with the #zxvega hashtag. From what I have understood, the ZX Vega+ campaign has been halted by Indiegogo last year, and it seems lots of pledgers have not received any refund from it, and are understandably upset about the situation. Anyway, if any campaign has  ended, or it has been halted because of violations of Indiegogo's Terms of Use, Indiegogo itself is not required to refund the backers. The campaigners themselves are required to find a solution, be it "a full or partial refund, alternative perks, or discounts on a similar product": https://support.indiegogo.com/hc/en-us/arti...campaign-fails-. AFAIK the only Planet's employee which was involved with the ZX Vega was Janko Mršić-Flogel.

Yes, it might happen that the units won't be shipped and that we'll not receive a refund at all, or that we'll receive our units but they'll be defective. I have pledged myself knowing that this might be the outcome. Anyway, judging from how Planet has handled this project, and after reading all the various reviews, I think it is unlikely that it will fail, so I'm not concerned about this. I also don't believe that the problems with the Vega can affect the Gemini project's outcome.

At this point the only thing we can do is to wait and see, everything else is just speculation.

Varti

[SimonL]

Thanks, both, for your insight. Very reassuring!

[speculatrix]

I think a key difference is that the Gemini doesn't rely on anything other than having good hardware and a reliable OS running on it to be good.

There's been with multiple iterations of the hardware and lots of positive hands-on reviews at different stages, which prove that the company are serious about making good hardware.

The hands-on reviews of it running Android seem quite positive. The linux installation seems a little unpolished but working.

I must admit, I did hold off becoming a backer until CES, until it was as close as possible to the launch, to give myself maximum certainty, but without missing the discount deadline!

[gidds]

I came to some of the same conclusions as you folks.

I was pretty excited at the initial announcement.  (I've spent 20 years looking for a worthy successor to the Psion 5mx that I still use every day!)  But the uncertainty of crowdfunding, the amount of money, and concern over possible links to the Vega+ situation, made me hold off for several months.

But since then, everything I've seen has added to my confidence.  Planet have posted relatively frequent updates, demonstrating lots of progress, and seem to have been pretty honest about the spec and timescales.  The appearance of working prototypes and, most recently, actual production models, have made it seem more and more likely that they'll deliver.

(Also, although I'm not sure I follow much of the Spectrum Vega+ story properly, it seems like the real culprits had left before Janko became involved, and he's one of those left to carry the can.  I'm not sure that excuses everything that's happened since, but it does at least reduce some of the question marks over his name.)

So for me, the expected benefits exceeded the risks several months ago, and I took the plunge.

In the next few weeks I hope my confidence will be validated…