[brandon]

Just a note:

I pre-ordered a WakeMate on November 25th, 2009 with a ship date in January. After the ship date passed, I got a "we're sorry" email which said that they tentatively planned to ship them in February. No word until March when they said they'd go out in March. In April, they told me the following:

"Based on your pre-order date (11/25/2009), you should expect your WakeMate no later than 07/30/2010."

I've heard literally nothing since. Their website now says that if I order a WakeMate today I'll get it in September 2010.

I can't speak to whether or not these sleep analysis tools work, but I absolutely can't in good conscience recommend buying this particular device (YC or not).

[tdavis]

Though biased (I wrote all of WakeMate's web-based software), I think the product is solid and works as described; Beta users have agreed. Release estimation and product management in general are clearly a different matter, but we have sent out multiple emails since April and the blog (http://blog.wakemate.com) is routinely updated.

[brandon]

The only thing that has kept me from pulling my pre-order was that I do have high hopes for the device once I eventually receive one. That's certainly not a basis upon which to recommend the device, though, and my negative experience so far has lead me to do the opposite for now.

As for the blog, it's great to see that progress is being made, but the company's communication strategy has been inconsistent at best. I had no idea that there were public updates outside of the emails I'd received, and I can confirm that the last communication I personally received was on April 1st. Even when I initially put $5 down on the device, the only confirmation I got was from PayPal, not WakeMate.

The fact that the endeavor was a start-up effort is not lost on me, though, and so I'm trying to be patient. I just hope that there are lessons learned around customer communication and commitment.

[redorb]

same issue here, I emailed them earlier today and asked if it would be to me within a year of me pre-ordering :(

WakeMate so far for me is a sad story of a good product with a poor planning/release cycle..

Also their front page still shows the wrist band that will look nothing like the one you will get

final wrist bands here http://blog.wakemate.com/2010/08/10/final-wristbands-3/

compare that to front page http://wakemate.com/

Perhaps they are shipping to their new customers; cause they think there is no way to please the old ones?

[wccrawford]

Personally, I think the 'final' bands look a lot more comfortable.

[logic]

They're apparently hiring:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1757816

It doesn't appear that customer service is a role they're looking to fill.

[cullenking]

Notice that thread has no comments, and comments cannot be left. I am assuming this is a HN tool - wakemate threads tend to devolve into criticism and bad feelings.

[johnswamps]

It isn't specific to wakemate, none of the YC job postings allow comments (unless it's just submitted as a regular story of course)

http://news.ycombinator.com/jobs

[cullenking]

This was just pointed out to me - I feel like an idiot now :)

[zaatar]

My wakemate was meant to be a slightly delayed xmas gift ... ;) The recipient has even sold their iPhone now. Sigh.