Towards the end of May, a new Marvel was presented to gadget lovers everywhere by Andy Rubin, co-founder, and namesake of the mobile operating system Android. He called it the Essential smartphone, the flagship product of his similarly-named startup outfit, Essential Products. Many were taken in by its built-tough titanium and ceramic casing, its edge-to-edge touchscreen, dual cameras and the possibility for modular options. Having the device listed in the database of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a week before its expected release was reassuring about its chances of release.

However, a week has already passed by the deadline. Not only are the phones not out yet, but Rubin and Essential Products have kept mum over it.

No official word

The Essential smartphone of Andy Rubin’s Essential Products startup was supposed to start shipping out to pre-orders at the end of June, a full month after the device was first presented at the Recode Code Conference. But now the second week of July has started and pre-ordering customers have yet to see their phones arrive. The week before, when it became obvious that the delivery deadline of Rubin’s gadget has come and gone, news organizations began sending questions to Essential Products about what had just happened. None of the inquiries were replied to.

So far there has not been a major uproar going on with the delay of the Essential smartphone and its manufacturer’s complete silence as to the reason why. One primary reason perhaps has been the short timeframe of the product’s initial introduction, availability for pre-orders and release to the market. Another factor is the fact that Rubin’s company behind the device is no major brand like Samsung and Apple, which are also its primary targets to present an alternative to.

Regardless, the fact that there was such a delay from when it should have been available is been construed as a hint that the initial batch of their phone units may have significant and complicated problems.

The startup mobile device that could

Andy Rubin’s Essential smartphone is – naturally – an Android-using device that is the initial offering of the plucky tech startup Essential Products.

Just as the phone is being touted as trying to turn the Apple-Samsung mobile feud into a three-way contest, the other products being cooked up by the outfit are being prepped to get into some of the hottest device markets nowadays. One is a smart speaker with a new mobile OS called Ambient; the other is a home intelligent assistant called Essential Home, to be pit against Amazon’s Echo once it is ready. Rubin’s delayed smartphone meanwhile is being made available to the US both through major telco Sprint and direct from Essential..
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