From my point of view, being more transparent here could only be beneficial for KnC with respect to their reputation and a kind of "shock and awe" for any competitor.
Some of them would maybe stop development completely, because they will realize that they are too late in game and that nobody will buy their products when KnC already has 28nm chips on the market for several months. But this would only be valid, if you have an realistic plan and if you are 100% on track.
Some of them would maybe stop development completely, because they will realize that they are too late in game and that nobody will buy their products when KnC already has 28nm chips on the market for several months. But this would only be valid, if you have an realistic plan and if you are 100% on track.
If you don't like it you can cancel your order and get a refund. They'll either ship on time, or they won't.
Supposedly they'll still refund your money up to the point they don't ship. So unless they are going to break the law and illegally deny a refund there isn't that much risk, other then opportunity cost if you want to invest in something else instead.
You probably know that most of their NRE costs are 3rd party costs, which they have to pay before they will have any ASICs in their hands.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but they can only refund customers with money they still have, can't they?
Presumably as can any company that accepts pre-orders, i.e. all of them, which is why you make payment with credit card for payment protection.
I like this "payment protection" argument. Is it still valid end of September when one paid mid of June?
Of course, it's why I rang my card issuing bank in June ahead if ordering. In the UK we actually technically have 6 years protection compared to Paypal's 45 days...