Factory Fire Delays First NexDock Shipments by Three Months

Bad news, NexDock fans: The company reported today that a factory fire has destroyed or damaged their entire first production run, so customers will need to wait three more months for their Indiegogo purchases to arrive.

I wrote about this intriguing project in April, in First Look: NexDock with Windows 10 Mobile and Continuum. As I noted at the time, NexDock is a laptop shell that can transform a modern Windows phone into a real portable PC. In fact, I was so happy about this device that I ordered one, and I was hoping to receive it soon.

Not so much.

“We woke up to some terrible news this morning and we are still trying to get to the bottom of it,” an email from NexDock reads. “A fire broke out in the manufacturing facility last weekend. We do not know the extent of the fire because the entrance to the facility has been blocked by the police.”

To be clear, this facility is in China, which partially explains why it’s taking so long to get information.

“According to our conversation with the [company building the devices], the fire broke out near the assembly line,” the email continues. “Most NexDocks that were going through the assembly process are damaged or destroyed. At this time, we don’t know the state of NexDocks, which went through the assembly and were stored in another section of the facility, if entire or partial quantity is affected by the fire.”

The company building the devices will be replacing any destroyed or damaged NexDocks. But given the various lead times on parts and so on, the delay could be three months.

What’s really sad is that NexDock received some nice photos of the devices coming off the assembly line right before the fire broke out. It looks like this thing could really deliver on the promises.

Unless of course a NexDock was responsible for that fire. Now there’s a terrible thought.