Planet Computers Reviews 74

PC has been misleading their customers.
They sell hardware by announcing an availability date that they know for sure they cannot achieve (by a year+: in my case, I was promised march 2021, and still not delivered by 2024).

I have ordered "Astro Slide 5G Transformer" and never received it, it's been almost 2 years now. My multiple request to refund ware completely ignored.

This story has taught me to avoid crowfunding for the rest of my life. I am one of the first contributors: we've gone through a downgrade in the specs, but it's almost two years that there's no precise info on what is going to happen. I bet they are selling the kit on their website and just robbed the money of who believed in them at the beginning. A mistake that I will never do again.

Scammed me! Received the phone and it didn't work, keyboard was broken. I returned the item after speaking to customer service and they've signed for the item over 6 months ago and still not refunded! Unfortunately there is almost zero consumer protection with this company as there's no retail ombudsman.

now that i am reading this im not surprised........... i too am having problems receiving a paid for product. have been reaching out for a tracking number and am getting the run around by support. Im surprised amazon would attach to this group with such poor customer service. I will also follow up with a complaint to amazon. I am definitely going to dispute this on my credit card. this company is a fraud

First it took ages before I received my € 900,- product, only after my bank threatened to reclaim the money. Later I sent in the product for repair, I hear nothing since than. Looks like they just stole my product.

Same, as for many others, I never received a product nor any responce on my emails questioning refund. Terrible experience

I invested over $700 on their Astro Slide project on Indiegogo in 2020 and never received the product. The promise for backers was they were to receive one of the first phones off the assembly line, yet it's been three years and I've received nothing. Read up on Janko Mrsic-Flogel and you'll see a long lineup of this sort of thing. Shame, shame, shame.

Like many of the reviews below, I supported the Astro-slide campaign and had nothing received. They refused to refund my money. Don't trust them with any sale or investment. The only option is to go to the court.

Like many of the reviews below, I supported the astro-slide campaign only to be £500 lighter and nothing to show for it. The refused to refund my money. Don't trust them with any sale or investment.

Avoid Planet Computers and Janko Mrsic-Flogel.

I've been waiting two and a half years for my Astro Slide now and by all accounts Janko doesn't actually know how he's going to complete the order despite the fact he's still selling the product from his website.

I didn't realise he'd been involved in failed business before or I'd not have bothered. He won't be getting any more of my money, though, that's for sure, and for anyone considering buying anything from him, just don't.

The Astro, Cosmo and Gemini devices are beautifully designed, well made products designed for a niche market. Those who remember Psion's superb Series 3 and Series 5 devices will really appreciate these keyboard based phone/pda.

Sadly, the whole experience has been coloured by poor marketing and delivery, particularly for the Astro, and the flawed crowd funding approach to financing these devices. Many would be purchasers were hoping to get a device at a much reduced price as ‘early adopters’ when the devices finally appeared. This worked satisfactorily for the Gemini and Cosmo, but was a disaster for the Astro when combined with Covid, lockdowns and shutdown of the Chinese factory that builds them.

I am aware of many traders who ordered several of these devices 'cut price' on the crowd funding site, Indigo, with a view to selling them on Bay and overseas at a much higher price when available. With a two year delay, loss of potential profit and being stuck with old stock made buyers very angry. As a result, a lot of bitterness and negativity has built up against Planet Computers. I suspect that most of the negative feedback here is linked to this anger. Some customers have still not received their ‘cut price’ Astros two years later than promised, which is unacceptable.

Personally, I have had no issues with either this small company or the three devices that I have purchased. They are well made, innovative products that I am delighted with. My only criticism is the crowd funding model used - many start ups do it, but Planet’s experience is one that demonstrates what can go wrong when unfortunate circumstances collide. I just hope that Planet survives the current storm; it certainly deserves to, and we will all be worse off if such innovative design is lost.

Fantastic company, but widely misunderstood, people seldom appreciate built-to-order devices that appeal to a specific experience (Psion series 5)

The mechanical keyboard that takes time to break in requires clean fingers and is not waterproof are a few experiences that differ from your average smartphone. This device, while maybe running Android, is NOT a smartphone but a PDA which can run Linux, and comes with custom modification to its Android tailored to the advanced user to tweak it to their needs before starting to use it.

That said, I am such a user, and I'm extremely happy with my purchase I got what I wanted a device that substitutes for a 50wpm typing experience when I'm away from my laptop.

Planet Computers is fraudulent. They offer Astroslide 5G on 'pre-order' for (generally current month, which rolls monthly) delivery on their website, but if you read their campaign page on Indigogo for the product, they are unable to source manufacturing of ANY at all and have many thousands of phones owed to Indigogo backers (me included). See the Comments page and their own Updates on their Indigogo page for details of their duplicity.

Backed them on Indiegogo over a year ago. Turns out they were lying all along about how far along they were with production. They also lied and provided devices to a different backer service before Indiegogo backers, and they have even sold off some devices before fulfilling backer orders. At the time of their last post they said they only had about 2000 made last year (only 1632 made it into backer's hands) and since then their ODM has stopped working with them. They've said that they will be seeking further investment and that they see the Astro as needing a full project reboot. So they've basically lied to their backers for well over a year.

Personally I think the Astro Slide is a wonderful device. Any such device produced in small numbers (1,000s as opposed to the big players that produce millions) has to have some compromises but for someone who likes the form factor there is nothing on the market to beat it. The closest thing is the Cosmo Communicator also from Planet. I had one of those too. I had a new battery fitted to the Cosmo earlier this year and had it back from them in a week. Clearly development and bug fixes are slower as they do not have the manpower. I Understand there are problems with the manufacture in China and this is disappointing as there are many more out there that would appreciate the amazing form factor.

Do not buy the Astroslide 5G… they will take your money but company is on the verge or bankruptcy…. They do not have any in stock and the manufacturer in china is withholding stock on disputed payment issues. I have the Astroslide and keyboard is not good, way worse than the Gemini

They promised delivery in february.
Now is mid april. NO delivery. I sent many emails with no answer.

I will now report this to the police as a fraud case.

I also participated in the indiegogo campaign in 2021. They have continued to postpone delivery times but they have my money in hand.
I don't understand how these companies can operate undisturbed, I don't even understand the Indiegogo policy that allows such behavior

Ordered (and paid) an Astro Glide phone in March 2022. Nothing has been delivered since then, no updates on delivery status, company does not answer emails since several weeks. Likely I will never see a reimbursement or the phone in my hands.
Draw you own conclusion whether you want to trust this company or not....