Very true. If it is ever me, ask, and a link ye shall be swiftly granted.
Respectable.
And fair enough.
I understand that reviewers are different in that they might not have to pay for their unit (do they give it back?), but how is the review unit any different?
First off the assembly line but before final packaging/general distribution?
Does this mean that these review units will be beta-tested by these reviewers, who will provide feedback for final firmware tweaking? And then the assembly line will roll for real?
Yes. But, no.
And of course there are no "*RULES*" so diff companies can do different things, but generally reviewers will get pre-production copies. As stated, different companies will have different approaches, but it is not uncommon to have "near finished" copies go out to reviewers, with that understanding. (Not just talking vapes here, but a lot of the industries I have been involved in).
In a way, the reviewers are -- indeed as you put it -- "beta testers" (although perhaps "alpha testers" is more accurate, but you get the idea) with the understanding that they are forgiving of non-fundamental issue in review (eg, cosmetics) and will confirm that the underlaying technology is sound. The company will take input and further enhance the product prior to the HUGE commitment of the first consumer run.
There will most likely be more revisions and more limited test runs, prior to that all important first production run. You (@
grokit, but I'm sure other people here) and I have personally seen this in a few vapes.
In terms of whether or not the reviewers pay... That's not really the defining definition of reviewer. Generally, it is almost always free. Some companies ask for the product back. Some make you sign statements of desctruction. Some done't care if you ebay it (well.. okay... they *CARE*, but they won't go out of their way to stop you (I've seen a few "unreleased" units wind up for sale on Craig's List in UNNAMED CITY for example. I think I know EXACTLY who that "reviewer" is, but I'm keeping that to myself."))
So the review units are (generally) not the final production units. But they are close enough to actually be reviewed. Who cares if the fit and finish improves, or a button moves a few mm? As long as the functionality is sound, that is all we care about.