Honeycomb...the end?

[martinboehme 577]

20 minutes ago, micstatic said:

I wonder if they even have patents at this point?  

IANAPL, but I'm not sure how. much they even have that's patentable and how important it would be for them to patent things.

IMO their greatest assets are that they have a great brand and great product designs. Hopefully, they'll be able to salvage these assets through the current turmoil.

[micstatic 4,354]

The design. The point I’m making is I wonder how long until another company just rips off their design.  

[martinboehme 577]

9 minutes ago, micstatic said:

The design. The point I’m making is I wonder how long until another company just rips off their design.  

That's a concern for sure. My point was, design isn't protected by patent law. It is, however, protected by copyright law - if they do see infringement, hopefully they'll have the capacity to protect their copyright amid the current turmoil.

[Fiorentoni 4,475]

Well that's unfortunate. There's a total lack of (affordable) hardware developers compared to how big the flightsim business has become.

[micstatic 4,354]

Yeah.  To me the Bravo was pretty much one of the few mid range throttles that was really good.  Seems like the whole market is now the low end stuff and the high end stuff. 

[enright 497]

It's crazy to me how a company can be in EXACTLY the right place (selling peripherals) at EXACTLY the right time (the launch of MSFS) with innovative products that sell like hot cakes and get great reviews... and yet still somehow manage to fail. 

Whatever the truth is behind the situation, it's a cautionary tale for anyone looking to start a business: even if the stars align, you need to pay attention to the details. I hope the company emerges from the abyss - sounds like that is a real possibility - good products deserve to live on.

[martinboehme 577]

48 minutes ago, micstatic said:

Yeah.  To me the Bravo was pretty much one of the few mid range throttles that was really good.  Seems like the whole market is now the low end stuff and the high end stuff. 

Same. I was considering getting a Bravo as an upgrade from my ancient CH Products throttle quadrant. To me, Honeycomb really hit the sweet spot on the price / quality spectrum. 

Edited January 27 by martinboehme

[Patco Lch 1,485]

It would be good if a company like Logitech would buy him out and continue the design.

[eslader 1,822]

1 hour ago, martinboehme said:

My point was, design isn't protected by patent law.

There's a whole branch of patent law dedicated to design patents. You commonly see design patent lawsuits crop up when shady outfits make fake car parts, like here:

https://www.carscoops.com/2017/01/bmw-sues-american-parts-company-for/

Honeycomb could absolutely get design patents on its controllers. Whether they did or not, considering their approach to other aspects of business, is another question entirely.

 

[regis9 4,049]

Really unfortunate, and like Fulcrum, seems to be a case of someone who has excellent technical skills and knowledge but lacks the business acumen to be successful.

Hopefully things work out so there are mid range hardware options available for simmers.

[RobJC 2,073]

If they had been charging more it probably would have made a difference. At this point many will view the brand tarnished, and support is now gone. Too bad. 

[orchestra_nl 975]

 

3 minutes ago, RobJC said:

If they had been charging more it probably would have made a difference. At this point many will view the brand tarnished, and support is now gone. Too bad. 

For me it was already tarnished by their poor quality control. The idea behind the products is pretty good but there are several reports of the quadrant developing issues after a few years.
Pity, because these issues could have been avoided with a few design tweaks and/or better components, like more rugged internal wiring.

Combined with hall sensors, these products could then even have competed with the high end gear at 5 times the price.

[bobcat999 8,537]

The fact that he talks about customers still getting their free hats shows an astounding lack of perception, and maybe due to that state of mind, why the company is in this situation.
Hands up if you are worried about receiving your Honeycomb Aeronautical free hat?  

I saw talk that if the manufacturing facility in China do not get paid, they may be able to assume all rights to the product. 
Then again, these type of things (Copyrights / Patents etc.) do not always stand for much in certain parts of the world anyway.

Edited January 27 by bobcat999

[flieger28 34]

58 minutes ago, Patco Lch said:

It would be good if a company like Logitech would buy him out and continue the design.

Didn‘t he came from Logitech before he founded honeycomb 

[martinboehme 577]

1 hour ago, flieger28 said:

Didn‘t he came from Logitech before he founded honeycomb 

He was at Saitek previously.

Edit: Saitek was bought by Logitech in 2016 - IIUC this was also the year that he started Honeycomb.

Edited January 27 by martinboehme