Smach is on the verge of calling time on the Smach Z, nearly five years after taking it to Kickstarter. According to its founder, Smach is on the verge of bankruptcy, despite receiving over US$1 million from two crowdfunding campaigns.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Smach-Z-on-the-road-to-becoming-vaporware-as-Smach-claims-to-be-on-the-verge-of-bankruptcy.539598.0.html
Gotta be foolish for anyone to continue believing their delay excuses. Batteries are no biggie because Smach Z uses off-the-shelf batteries which can be user replaceable. Then earlier there was button paint job or the dented plastics excuses, both of which doesn't hinder the device's normal operation but yet refuse to ship them.
Smoke and mirrors job. Hire companies to build rough prototypes for parade in crowdfunding and get preorder money. Was never able to finalize and mass manufacture anything. Hence those strange delays upon delays, not to mention false delivery estimates which eventually cannot estimate anymore..
But with years of no results and delays (plus successful competitors already shipping) pretty sure eventually the investors knew something was wrong (likely cover-ups) and finally abandon the project.
Heard of this handheld from a youtube ch. and it seems to be trouble from the get go. All of those promises which could be delivered at a rather nice price if they kept on their tracks. But alas, another kickstarter that didn't deliver.