Quote:
Originally Posted by PPCMD
So that tells me the OS is ready to go then. I don't see high profile users putting up with buggy pre-production units do you.
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There are 3 classes of users that usually get devices ahead of everyone else (regardless of the readiness of the device for the masses):
1. The celebrity -- These are pure marketing arrangements. Celebrity carries a device with him/her in exchange for being the first person in the world to have one. They understand the device may not be ready for prime-time, and contractually they cannot say anything negative about the product as part of the arrangement. Chances are the celebrity will ditch their device in a few days or weeks (either stuffed in a drawer along with the rest of their free swag, or placed up for charity auction).
2. The media -- these are the A-list bloggers, journalists, etc. that upon receiving an evaluation unit will analyze the device to death. Companies are very careful about releasing their products too early to this crowd, because a negative review (even ones where the journalist is clear that they are reviewing a pre-production unit) can be enough to make or break a product launch.
3. The engineer -- As part of carrier acceptance procedures, and field testing, there are typically dozens of engineering samples floating around. These devices may occasionally also filter through to regional sales reps to share with corporate customers looking to buy these devices in bulk.
In all cases, all 3 of these types of people understands that there are strings attached to having custody of a device like this. All of them also understand that the device may or may not be ready for prime-time.
