Waiting on My Chinese Archos Knock-Off

On Sunday, I saw this post over at Engadget:

I thought, "Wow...plays the right formats, has a good resolution, and is cheap!" So I checked it out at the drop-shipper's website, Ownta.com:

Hottest Free Shipping MP5 recommendation: Teclast T51 PMP Audiophile Quality MP5 Player - 8GB

Gemei HD8800 Full HD PMP Player with HDMI TV-out and OTG Function - 8GB

The HD8800 is that it offers true 1080 HD (1920×1080 screen resolution) in a PMP format, has up to a 50mbps video stream and the 8GB version. It has HDMI output and can play audio (MP3 and iTunes) and video (AVI, DVDA, MKV, MP4, MPG, Realtime, MOV, Flash and WMA).

Gemei HD8800 MP5 Player Specification:

Model	HD8800(8G)
Memory	8G
Storage Media	Flash
Battery	2000 milliamperes lithium batteries
Life	Plug headphones 5 hours movie playback, 10 hours music playback
Expansion Card	Maximum support 32G TF card
Transmission Interface	USB 2.0 interface
Display System
Screen Size	4.3 inch
Screen Features	800 × 480 resolution, high-definition screen LTPS
Supported Languages	Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, English
Synchronized lyrics display	To support synchronous lyrics display function
Photo View	Support JPG, BMP, PNG and other image formats to view and support the Rotary / Slide Show
Text-reading	Support the text-reading capabilities in support of TTS voices in Chinese and English reading, support change font, font color, background color, the Bookmarks feature, support while listening to music, watching pictures look e-books and other functions
Video system
Support video formats	Support for RMVB, RM, FLV (H.263, H.264), AVI, DAT, VOB, MKV (H.264), WMV, TS, TP, MP4, PMP and so on for more than 30 formats, network all the video files of the next -play
Video playback	480P to 1080P Full HD support for any video encoding format
Video Output	HDMI 480P to 1080P Full HD output and normal AV Output
Other video parameters	Decoder chip: Chinachip CC09
Audio system
Support audio formats	mp3 , wma , ape , flac , wav
Audio	Unique 3D virtual sound field, a variety of EQ sound modes
Recording	MP3, WAV audio format
Functional FM	Support FM function of the frequency range 76-108MHZ
Speaker	Pairs of left and right channel speaker outposting
Additional features
Camera	Non
Digital companion function	Supports
Additional features	Support for song search; support for dual-threaded operation; support firmware upgrade function; video break added broadcast are free to change the background themes to customize your desktop, change the font color, picture browsing / rotation, radio stations a list of unique features such as timing off set
Other parameters
Headset Description	3.5mm stereo headphone output
Specifications	111.7×75.2×14.3mm
Accessories	USB cable, headphones, manual, warranty card

Gemei HD8800 MP5 Player Package Contains :

• 1 x Gemei HD8800 MP5 Player
• 1 x USB cable
• 1 x TV-out cable
• 1 x HDMI cable
• 1 x remote control
• 1 x charger
• 1 x Earphones
• 1 x case
• 1 x Instruction manual

It looked good, and cheap, so I bought one.  Or so I thought.

After Ownta confirmed my Paypal payment, they said the unit would ship within 2 business days.  At the end of the 2nd day, I'd not gotten any word about a tracking number, so I inquired about the status and got this reply:

Hello, Dear Craig, Gemei factory has been upgrade the HD8800 chipset and firmware, this caused the delay of the shipment, the estimated shipping date is 25th, Oct, we are so sorry for any inconvnience, you will receive the player as soon as possible. Kindly regards.

OK, I thought...that's fine.  I can wait a few more days. Then I rechecked Ownta's product description page and noticed that the price had been changed from $122.39 to "[Contact us for a price]".  Hmmm.

Then, today, I got this email from Ownta:

Dear Customer:

       Our manufacturer gemei has been received your orders, and all of them are in schedule to ship out in the soonest time. We are upgrading HD8800 firmware and fix some bugs to ensure the good quality of products, so, the latest shipment will expect to arrange on 30th, Oct. We will also try to ship them out as soon as possible.

       For all our Gemei HD8800 customers can receive a free strap gift together with the player, and also, you will get a free reseller membership on ownta.com once we shipped out it. So, you will get reseller prices for all your future orders.

       We are so sorry about the unexpected delay, and rely on your understanding. Ownta.com will always dedicate to provide the best products and best service, if you have any  problems, please feel free contact us at any time.

       Thank you so much & Kindly regards,

 

Arlene, L

Customer Service Department,

http://www.ownta.com

Now I'm starting to wonder if this is a scam.  Will they keep delaying to try and get me beyond Paypal's 45-day dispute window?  I can guarantee you that if it hasn't been shipped by day 44, the payment will be canceled.

We'll see, though...I'm kinda excited to see what crazy bit of kit the Chinese have cooked up now.