Well I remember sometime earlier last year they had a few issues that were contributed to their failure from assembly. They did not come out and say what the issue was, but I'm sure these units have some tight tolerances. Case in point, I've seen internal fuel pump assemblies requiring the most serious tolerances go side ways after the 10th piece comes out of the cnc machine... Meaning, tolerances have to be constantly checked and reset when they get off track.
I'm sure these units have pieces that come out of china and that is where quality control can get out of hand if you aren't physically standing there overseeing it.
I've seen my share of failures during my wait period. I've had mine for about 6 months damn near and its been great. Granted, we only use at night when the kids go down. If I were to guess what I felt the issue was, its gotta be the amount of hours people use the unit at the ready. Being hot 6-8 hrs a day is a lot to ask to be honest.
My wife and I will blow through two bowls within 30 mins after the unit has been on for 40 mins. I then allow it to go in stand by. I'll reset it and hit another bowl before turning it off completely until the next evening. So, my relation to the failure rate may be attributed to the daily usage rule... Plasma tv's have a daily usage rating up to 6 hours a day before they need a rest period. I think the cloud may fit into this category as well.
I've recommended about 13 units so far to friends and they are now cloud owners. None of their units have failed but they aren't using them all day long. I think its a great product, but like any first generation product, improvements are needed. Take my extreme q 4.0 for instance.. It's an absolute weak hitter and was a waste of money... And it's 4th gen to boot.