Volla Phone X23 about to ship

treebeard

Update from Hallo Welt:

Quick update on the delivery of the Volla Phone X23
Good news. Our supplier has informed us that the first batch of Volla Phone X23 is ready for production. This concerns both the variant with Volla OS and the one with Ubuntu Touch as the preinstalled operating system.

We are now waiting for a delivery in the next couple of days or next week at the latest, so that we can start packing, sealing and shipping the pre-orders in the store and rewarding the donations on Indiegogo. We will start with the first pre-orders from February.

You can also find the current status on our homepage at volla.onlne.

treebeard

@treebeard Can we have a Volla Phone X23 'category' set up, thanks.

domubpkm

It's a triple challenge: new UT smartphone, Halium 12, and an undefined UT version whose usability will be a discovery.

treebeard

@domubpkm I've been a keen follower of Ubuntu Touch (BQ E4.5) and then UBports since 2015, and more recently bought the original Volla Phone. I'm about to have an X23 arrive which is very exciting.

I'm ready for the ups and downs, it's all part of the excitement. I'll contribute what I can in feedback on issues once it arrives.

Thanks to everyone involved at Hallo Welt and UBports. Thanks to the Waydroid team too. Its a sad fact that a growing number of thoughtless businesses require customers to have either an Android of IOS app rather than provide a website these days, and it's getting worse. I think a backlash will build at some point but for now its an amazing fact that its nearly impossible to get through each day without apps running on platforms from just two american corporations. Waydroid gives freedom lovers a way forward.

wgarcia

@treebeard It's even worse that public institutions also require the use of Android or IOS for the most basic tasks. My municipality has a lot of services like the public bike system or the street parking payment system that cannot be run on a web page, only with a phone running the duopoly.

domubpkm

This post is deleted!

treebeard

Volla have announced a hopefully short delay in shipping the X23 due to a contractual issue with hardware supplier Gigaset. Read more here:

https://volla.online/en/delivery-delay/

MrT10001

@wgarcia That is becoming the annoying norm. I have to have an iPhone for just one app , my main phone is Android for three/four apps and I use UT for mainly demonstrating and testing!

Keneda

@treebeard
Wow !

Gigaset is withholding delivery of the product. This is to obtain payment for another product that is not due, contrary to a contractual delivery agreement.

That smells not good...

stanwood

It would be very worrying indeed if Hallo Welt System were to get into a dispute with Gigaset (and it seems it is), as this is their only partner supplying them with handsets. (since 2019).

Let's keep our fingers crossed for a favorable outcome soon.

Moem

@stanwood said in Volla Phone X23 about to ship:

Let's keep our fingers crossed for a favorable outcome soon.

domubpkm

The origin of the disagreement (or the difference in interpretation of the agreement) is not clear to me in what I have read.

treebeard

@domubpkm Volla have taken out an emergency injunction against Gigaset so I guess they are being careful what they say at this point.

Things should unfold quite quickly over the injunction. Meanwhile my birthday present is sitting in a Gigaset warehouse.

Pure speculation on my part but it sounds to me like a new manager somewhere in Gigaset is too keen to prove their worth and over-reached themselves. Hello Welt appear confident they are in the right so hopefully all will be well quite soon.

GT

@treebeard The issue seems to be solved. Today, I have seen the following on the Volla website:

*02.06.2023 - UPDATE on the delivery of Volla Phone X23

The mass production of the first batch of Volla Phone X23 has been completed. With it, all pre-orders are covered. We expect the delivery from Bocholt in the NEXT WEEK. We will then immediately pack and seal the smartphones to send them worldwide via our logistics center in Wuppertal. The dispatch is prioritized after receipt of order. We will keep you informed about the further progress at this point and look forward to seeing you soon holding your Volla Phone X23 for double security in your hands. We apologize for the delay in delivery by our supplier and thank our customers for their patience.

Read more about the background of the delay ...*

treebeard

A further update from Hallo Welt (https://volla.online/en/delivery-delay/) on Gigaset sitting on the X23 handsets:

UPDATE: The Regional Court of Münster has granted our request for a temporary injunction. We are currently checking whether the decision maker of our supplier is cooperative or whether the delivery has to be made by a bailiff. Due to the previously good cooperation, we hope for an amicable settlement.

It may or may not be related but Gigaset just entered a new financial year (after a very lacklustre one) with a new CFO. Not for me to speculate beyond that.

treebeard

The latest from Hello Welt is good news:
The major part of the Volla Phone X23 are now delivered [from Gigaset to Hello Welt], so we could start with the packing and sealing of the devices. The delivery will start NEXT WEEK.

I'm fairly optimistic there will be X23's in the wild by this time next week. I'll post further updates soon.

treebeard

Vollaphone X23's being packaged up for dispatch from Hello Welt today (Friday)

treebeard

An X23 has cleared customs and is flying over Western Europe right now, due to land in Manchester UK in a few hours time. With luck it may reach me mid morning Friday. I'll post an update when it arrives

domubpkm

@treebeard I wish you a good discovery of user experience.

treebeard

I now have a working Volla Phone X23 in the UK

I'm very pleased how smoothly everything went, and its now my daily driver phone (apart from not installing waydroid - see below). Here are some comments on the ordering and set-up and a few technical gremlins I will look into.

I had an Indiegogo contribution since March which was Ok as I didn't need the phone till June (birthday)
The Indiegogo world perk doesn't make clear whether duty is covered. As it stands the buyer must pay approx £98 duty to the UK (mostly VAT) but the world perk is approx £50 cheaper than buying the 'normal' Germn perk. I've emailed volla asking for this to be clarified as shipping was 60EUR so I convined myself there would be no duty to pay.
There is what appears to be a firmware bug rather than a hardware fault. When charging the phone while switched off everything is fine while the volla logo or battery %age graphic is visible, but when the screen is completely black it begins to rapidly flicker but randomly. So it looks like a disconcerting hardware problem but behaves like a software fault, only flickering when the display is sleeping.
Installing apps and updates went fine. A few of the apps on my list are not yet available for this version of UBPorts (the 'Home' tiled desktop, WhatsWeb, Instagraph, OnionSurf (Tor)). I'll be patient.
I'm hesitant to install Waydroid (i installed the helper and freezer so far) because of the dire warnings combined with only the original Volla X being officially supported. If anyone knows if it has been shown to work on the X23 please comment.
The phone has a notch and curved corners. i need to investigate whether the notch hack is safe to install on the X23. Currently the time is obscured by the corner and one of the icons. pulling the top bar down allows access so not a showstopper.

That's my issues list. The phone looks great and is very responsive. The sound is rich and the display excellent. There's a programmable button on the left side which I don't believe Ubuntu Touch supports yet, being very non-standard.

It looks a large phone but is only 5mm taller and wider than my original Vollaphone. its noticeably weighty but the battery indicator has barely moved all afternoon despite constant use.

I'm considering buying a Gigaset GX4 Case. The phone materials are different to the GX4 but the dimensions are the same. There is a wide range of GX4 cases online in the UK.

So the only pressing issue is whether to risk installing WayDroid. I believe its not compatible yet but if anyone has more infomation please comment.