The Windows 10 2-in-1 market has exploded in recent months, with manufacturers of all stripes making a variety of versatile machines that morph from notebook-like to tablet-like with the flip of a screen or snap of a keyboard. The detachable tablet, epitomized by Microsoft’s Surface Pro, has a number of strong contenders, and now there’s a unique crowdsourced version on the way as well.
At least, that’s been the intention with the Eve V, which was supposed to have shipped by now after a lengthy development process that was informed by copious amounts of community input. Unfortunately, the Eve V has been delayed due to some supply issues, as Pocketnow reports.
The news came via the Eve Community, which has long served as the place for Eve employees and excited future buyers of the 2-in-1 to engage in extensive back and forth on exactly how the Eve V should be designed. The community is also the best place to stay up to date on the tablet’s status, including the current situation involving the display that was originally sourced for the machine.
The issue is simple and not uncommon for nontraditional development and distribution concepts. The original display supplier failed to produce displays that met the community’s high standards, specifically high-resolution IGZO panels meant to challenge the excellent screens that Microsoft uses for its own Surface line.
“As you know, having struggles with our screen distributor (first quality issues, the followed by unforeseen delays on supplier’s side, confidentiality agreements) we decided to consider other screen options out there,” said Eve co-founder Konstantinos Karatsevidis. “Weekly, we have had conversations around this topic with the manufacturers. We have constantly been searching for plans B, C, etc. And with Computex electrifying the industry about the V, screen manufacturers have started to listen!”
Eve is currently looking into options for replacing the supplier, including Sharp and AUO, both of which, according to Karatsevidis, would represent an upgrade to the current display. The company is receiving samples and will evaluate them for any changes that might be needed to align with the machine’s existing design.
Shipment timelines range from the end of July if the current supplier is retained and can produce the required displays to sometime in the August to September time frame if a new supplier needs to be selected. The machines won’t ship until Eve can get the right displays. And, if you’re an Indiegogo backer, you’ll get the new display in spite of any component price increases, although future buyers could pay a bit of a premium.
