The Eve V is a surprisingly good tablet from a company that took a very unusual approach. Not only did Eve Tech raise money through a crowdfunding campaign, but the scrappy young company turned to potential customers for input on nearly every important design decision.
While that could easily have led to a too-many-cooks-spoiled-the-tablet situation, or a niche device that would have limited appeal, the tablet Eve Tech sent me to review in late 2017 was actually a really, really good machine.
Unfortunately it’s never been particularly easy to get your hands on one. After running a successful Indiegogo campaign, Eve held a flash sale before eventually starting to sell the tablet outright via its website.
But a glance at the Eve Community forum makes it clear that many customers are seeing long shipping delays, having problems getting refunds, and generally expressing their concern about the viability of the company.
Eve Tech officials have done a little to explain the situation, but as good as the Eve V tablet is, you should probably know what you’re in for before ordering one today.
Earlier this month Eve Tech founder and CEO Konstantinos Karatsevidis tried to address customer concerns. In a nutshell, he said that the company is continuing to ship tablets… but that as of July 6th only about 65 percent of orders had been fulfilled so far.
A big part of the problem? After Eve Tech raised over $1.4 million through a crowdfunding campaign, the company transferred the funds to a PayPal account… and PayPal froze the funds due to what looked like suspicious activity. This isn’t the first time PayPal has done this sort of thing to a relatively high-profile user.
Karatsevidis says the company does have components to assemble more tablets, but since funds are only being unfrozen a little bit at a time, it’s slow going.
Meanwhile, the company is promising to issue refunds to customers who are tired of waiting… but that’s hard to do without funding as well. So the company has been seeking outside investment to augment the money that’s being tied up by PayPal.
Since the July 6th update, Eve employees have been posting weekly updates in the Eve Community forum, but for the most part they say something along the lines of “no change to report.” The latest update does suggest that the team is working on improving communication with customers, and dealing with shipping, replacement, warranty, and refund issues more quickly.
With a backlit, detachable Bluetooth keyboard, an active, pen, a speedy SSD, an excellent high-resolution display, and other top-tier specs, the Eve V is still a pretty great tablet… if you can get your hands on one. If you were thinking of ordering an Eve V tablet today, you might want to wait until the company is on better financial footing before pulling out your wallet.
Meanwhile, Intel’s next-gen Amber Lake-Y processors set to launch soon, the tablet won’t have best-in-class hardware for much longer. That could make the Eve V an even tougher sell… and it’s not entirely clear at this point if or when Eve Tech will be ready to launch an Eve V II (or Eve VI, or Eve W, or whatever the next in line would be).
Eve Tech Video Review (November 2017):
thanks for the tip, eve_v_review!
PayPal is a garbage company. It’s hard to imagine that the Eve people thought it was a good idea to put the money into a PP account instead of an actual bank
It’s actually not a horrible idea to keep funds for a project like this in a Paypal account. Many of their manufacturing partners probably take payment in that way, and it’s probably the easiest way to keep funds on hand for refunds, etc.
Im in the process of selling an electronic product in a crowdfunded fashion (community based, much less formal), and I’m going to keep all funds in Paypal because my manufacturer in China takes payment that way, and any refunds will go back out via PP. Any conversation to my bank, or asking more funds to PayPal later would only incur fees.
I had ordered a top of the line unit when the indiegogo campaign started. I know they had issues with the screen, but this was delayed a LOOONG time. I had to leave my job and cancelled the tablet after a year of waiting. I was fortunate in that they transferred my order to someone later in the queue and I got my money back. But if you check their web site now, original backers have been waiting for replacement devices, and people that bought devices in the flash sale are still waiting for orders. The company was certainly having a lot of growing pains but the paypal fiasco will probably be the end of them. I mean, the service was OK, for me but it seems it went way down hill since. And right now if your device needs a replacement–you are going to be waiting a long time.… Read more »
I second that.
Eve team are a bunch of clowns with zero business nouse.
They do understand engineering but are no more than another failed indiegogo campaign. give it a few more months and they will pull the plug and run.
Paypal has always been a source of trouble for any company relying on it. And there they fucked up once again.
Eve are not a great company and their product is not good. take it from me – i backed them from day 0 and contributed to the forum. i received the machine – all the bells and whistles possible – and it turned out that it was really made by a team of talented people. But, the machine performed terribly and i was forced to return it. Battery. Constant random shutdowns. Resolution issues. Freezing issues. Compatibility issues. You name it and it goes on. They are no more than a cute company that now refuses to give my – and others – money back despite continued support and patience. it’s clear they are a small fish in a big playground and the reality is that when you are running a business but using tools like paypal you have a problem. they are talented in the lab but have no idea… Read more »
Why in the world would anyone transfer that kind of money TO a paypal account? Are they paying their suppliers via paypal or something?
Edit: nope, they had Indiegogo deposit the money into their paypal account, which seems slightly less bonkers but still not a great plan.
Say it with me: don’t pre-order anything from a company that relies on crowdfunding to make its product. Wait until they actually deliver to see how many promises they were actually able to keep. There’s a reason they had to resort to crowd-funding rather than a traditional business model. For companies that already have an existing business and revenue stream, crowdfund all you want. But for startups, crowdfunding is a huge red flag to me, and this is why.
I pre-ordered on Indiegogo and got my tablet some moths ago.
So they already delivered.
As far as I know they delivered every crowdfunded device.
I have to disagree with some of the comments. While some backers did receive machines that had problems, many others (me included) received trouble-free machines that we have been using for many months and are extremely happy with. As the many reviews indicated, the V is an excellent compatitor of the Surface Pro.
However, I do agree with the comments about how the company has handled sales and support since the backers received their machines. They seem to have built their business model on a fantasy – that they could ship to order without having any inventory or cash. Their communication is atrocious. As one person wrote, they know how to design a great computer, they just have no idea how to sell it. And to run a successful business, you need both.
It is a great shame.
I agree. I have had very few problems with the device. They knew enough to put it together, but the logistical issues may very well be the end of them – and that would be a crying shame, as they had the audacity to deliver a tablet that met some fundamental needs that Microsoft still has not addressed. Thunderbolt anyone?
Chargeback your purchase if you can and don’t buy if you haven’t yet. There are so many great alternative devices out there that come with none of the gigantic risk associated with doing business with Eve-Tech. They will take your money and then you’re at their mercy. #evev #evetech
Hi, I guess I am also one of the lucky ones. I got in around August last year and managed to get one delivered to me around December. For the price it’s a bargain next to a Surface, but yes there are obviously no comparisons when it comes to after sales support and I fear resale value given the current experience. So, touch wood, so far my device had been really good. Some glitches early on with touch and the pen, but software patches fixed them. I use it for work and leisure regularly and have been really pleased. Fingers crossed that this funding issue will be resolved soon and the eve can get on with making great products.
Very unfortunate. I ordered mine in Nov. 2016, received it in early 2018. The tablet met my expectations, but the wait did not. Equally annoying is the fact that I had ordered some additional peripheral gear, second stylus and the like, and as of July 27, 2018 – still getting promises that they will ship my extras as soon as they can. I would advise extreme caution when it comes to placing a fresh order. Truly unfortunate as it is a nice device, here’s hoping they can pull off a miraculous recovery.