Hi Pre-order customers,

This is the update on ChessUp production posted June 10th.  For previous updates, click here.

May Recap

The best way to summarize May is that all the slack is now pulled out of the rope.  Units are moving through the assembly line and soon will be making their way to freight containers.  A couple of hiccups getting all stations running smooth - but our CM (contract manufacturer) says 300+ units per day moving forward.  FYI - there are ~7300 pre-orders from Kickstarter, IGG, and our website.

 

We will fulfill a few hundred in June in the USA (air freight units) and the bulk will be in July.  I am sorry that some orders will also slide just into August.  EU, UK, and Canada will be some of the later deliveries simply because of shipping time.  We will maintain an up to date log of container progress here:

https://bryghtlabs.com/a/p/community/post/1794224807

(nothing to report yet)

 

We are doing air freight for just a couple of hundred so we can get units in the wild.  Some of you will receive units in 2~3 weeks.  Please do not contact us asking if you are in that group or to be put in that group.  We have to be strict about this because we just cannot support 5,000 emails asking to be first.  The group is set.  The other units are not far behind.

 

As stated, there should not be any slack left in the schedule.  The one risk we still reserve is stuck in customs.  Customs can be unpredictable.

 

App News

The iOS app is published (search ChessUp).  It has bugs as any initial release does.  Those bugs are going to be eliminated rapidly over the next couple of months.  Help us by reporting bugs here: 

https://forms.clickup.com/10628956/f/a4buw-927/5JB0C0ICQKQQOBD22L

Note - running the app without the board is buggy.  We are also aware of huge issues on certain screen formats (crashes and game play freezes).  If you do not want to see a partially finished app - please just wait for your board.  If you enjoy finding bugs - please download it. 

 

The Android app is one month behind.  We brought on a new Android programmer and will be shifting our iOS developer part time to Android as well.  That gives us 2.5 people on Android and 0.5 on iOS moving forward.  We expect to publish Android at the start of July.  It may not be completely caught up by then but we will rapidly close the gap between it and iOS.

 

The hardware is finished, but the software is not and this order of priority was by design.  You cannot download a chess piece, board top, switch, battery, sensor system, etc.  You can download a new version of the app.  Making the hardware work was prerequisite to everything.  Tasks like having the app formatted for every screen was not a prerequisite for anything.  So we did the work in the proper order.  The hardware interactions work.  The app-only features will work soon.  The app-only features are important, it just wasn't first in line.  Our app team is great.  They just haven't had a chance to make every feature yet.

 

So as the weeks go by - all of a sudden you will have game analysis, then more lessons, then puzzles, etc.  The way we view it, we are just starting on the app and plan to invest in it for years to come.  We promised a lot of features and we will deliver them.

 

Assembly Line Pics

Video of finished goods test.  This verifies all lights work and the piece sensing works.

 

 

Bryght Labs

We have some very exciting months coming up for the company.  Once these units are in your hands it is time for us to turn to new developments.  We have had a few backers ask us about investment in Bryght Labs.  The only reason I mention it now - is that we will potentially be raising a round this fall to fuel our growth into future products.  (*hint we are not done making products for chess).  If you are interested in investment, please email us info@bryghtlabs.com.  There is nothing to do immediately, but we will organize your contact info and reach out when appropriate (likely August).