June 2018 update

Dear Miraclub members,

 

1. Why it takes time to release the Mirabook
2. New roadmap
3. Meeting with backers
4. New DisplayPort smartphone available
5. Thank you for your patience

June is already here and you asked several times for an update, which is completely understandable. We would like to apologize for this momentary lapse of communication. The Mirateam was busy solving problems and we didn’t have much to tell before finding the appropriate solutions. The main announcement is that we have launched the first step of production. We nevertheless had to briefly interrupt it to ensure the perennity of the company.

So here we are, the June update of the Mirabook is here.
 

 

1°) Why it takes time to release the Mirabook:

 
- Fundraising

It is no news for anyone, starting a project from scratch is no easy task and finding money was the main issue we had these past few weeks. All your contributions and pre-orders accounted for around $200K, which is amazing.
We are extremely honored and thankful to all of you for that. As you may know, we expected things to come through sooner and because it took more time than initially planned, it also cost more money (wages, research and development, to mention a few).
In December, we tried to raise money from banks and corporate investors to compensate for the additional costs and we expected the funds to come through during the course of May. Unfortunately, we learned the truth of what it takes to be a hardware project the hard way.
None of them were willing to invest because hardware is considered too risky a venture. We had to proceed to making some major overhauls in our team, in order to focus specifically on certifications and fundraisings. That is the reason why we didn’t communicate as much as before, even though it is always a pleasure to talk with you guys and we will always remain available to discuss or answer any request you may have.
 
As we specified in the last update, we started supplying some components in April, which is phase 1 of production. That being said, we could have pursued the production in May and June but it would have endangered the financial situation of Miraxess and its employees. We have now found a solution, and the team took advantage of this delay to turn it into something positive for our product.

 

- Futureproofing

Since the beginning, Miraxess has always wanted to create “the last laptop you will ever buy”, meaning that we want to make our product as future-proof as possible.
This implies being compatible with the incoming generation of devices and the new trends of this fast-growing market can sometimes be hard to anticipate. Because we waited a few weeks to launch production, our team was able to calibrate the Mirabook to be compatible with the incoming DeX devices and others… (Unfortunately we cannot give any more details, as we are bound by confidentiality).
We also added the update feature, which will soon be able to update your Mirabook through your phone. All of these new functionalities are here to ensure that our product is as future-proof as possible.

 

Running the beta test phase was essential to identify the specific points we needed to work on. Thanks to this process, we have been able to fix many issues. Reliability is a keypoint and that is why we decided to run some additional quality certifications in May.

Here is the tailor-made cable for the Mirabook

Your satisfaction and experience quality remain our top priority. These certifications are also pivotal to concluding partnerships with major smartphone brands, which would be a fantastic opportunity for the small startup you have supported.

 

2°) New roadmap

We are well aware that multiple delays suck and we are as disappointed as you are. We are nonetheless very excited to announce that a small first pre-production batch will leave the factory in July to be sent to some partners for testing and to conclude partnerships. The objective is to evaluate our capacity to both scale the production and experiment the product on a larger range. The reason why we cannot start sending these first units is because the cost of each unit is extremely high.

 

 

Indeed, the companies which paid for this want to test our product before ordering more units. We will then produce a batch of 2000 Mirabook which will get certification in September before being shipped in October.

3°) Meeting with backers

On a brighter note, we were really happy to meet some of you in our headquarters in Lyon and during other events. Two of you came to Lyon in our office to say “Hi” and to get an opportunity to try the Mirabook with their smartphones. It was a very rewarding meeting and we would like to meet more of you! It is always interesting to have the opportunity to chat with you and benefit from your feedback.
 
If you are travelling to our beautiful country/city for business or even for holiday this summer, do not hesitate to send us a message on our social media or via email.
 
We will be working full time this summer to deliver your Mirabook as soon as possible!

4°) New DisplayPort smartphone available

 

You may have seen this already but the list of smartphones compatible with the Mirabook keeps getting longer. After the P20 from Huawei, it is now AsusRog which will be bringing DisplayPort on their lineup!

5°) Thank you for your patience

Creating a product from scratch is a long and hard journey and every day we receive messages of support from you guys. Without you, none of this would have been possible and we are doing our very best to make it happen. We have been very lucky to have all of you on board with us since day one.

And here is a message from our CEO: “I know it’s frustrating but we are trying to balance production, finance and product quality to the best of our abilities. It is not an easy thing to do and so far we have made a lot of personal sacrifices. Without your constant support it would not have been possible and I am really honored to have this responsibility. Be sure that we are 100% dedicated to Miraxess and to you.”

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