We know everyone is very eager to have some kind of ETA and we’re happy to finally say that first batch of cameras is expected by the end of summer. We just got the first pre-series batch from our manufacturer (see the image below) of 75 cameras last week, and are proceeding with some minor optimizations and finalization of the plastic tooling this week. We are also using these units to measure and certify according to FCC/CE. Since there are still some tests we need to run, we are hesistant to produce a firmer shipping date yet, but we are happy with the quality so far and you can expect more narrowed-down estimates as we move along with the tests during the following weeks – lots of things are happening now, and stuff that has been uncertain is falling into place. When we do start shipping, we will start in batches of a few hundreds at a time for our first Kickstarter backers and then proceed with the rest of all pre-orders as we ramp up production.

Hardware

Some other tidbits from the production:

• The layout design of the box inlays is finished. Fun fact: The hole that allows you to get hold of the cable is measured by the finger tip of our Quality Manager, Johan Thelander. We hope his fingers are not extraordinary in any sense.
• The USB cable tooling is underway. The color of the USB cable will be Memoto Orange.
• Our quality manager Johan and lead firmware engineer and also production-test captain Linus will go to Taiwan next week to setup the automated production test PCs at various points in the production and assembly chain, and verifying the final stages of production of all components on-site for optimizing the production quality. See the image below for the first mass-produced Memoto unit tested with the production test.

Software and Server backend

• We are working on making the shared web view-experience the same way as the app, and working on further testing our client apps on mobiles and desktops.
• We are making good progress on the various sharing and privacy modes selectable for your moments.
• We now can associate the camera units with specific users in the photo-uploader, so more than one user can share the same computer and uploader application for uploading their images to their own moment streams automatically.
• We are simulating the server-side loads expected during our launch and ramp-up to trim load-balancing and server codepaths to reduce the risk of performance problems when our thousands of backers and pre-order customers all start using their Memotos.

Check out the previous updates here.