Let's be honest, until you can buy it, actually buy it - with guaranteed shipping dates and everything, not just pre-orders and promises - it doesn't really matter.
And then you leave it a few weeks anyway to see if people are horrified by it. THEN you put in an order.
Until you can order it and get a tracking number in a matter of minutes, it's still just a pipe-dream whether it's a new iPhone, a piece of software or some Kickstarter gadget. Until then, the specs are liable to change, the user experience will vary, and it might still never ship, ever, at all (like some of the Spectrum stuff you mention).
I've now taken to saying "That's pretty cool, I'll come back in six months and see if it actually exists for purchase" for everything now. Never been properly stung because of such caution, but have come close a couple of times and been around for a lot of horror stories (e.g. the OpenPandora, etc.) and lost faith in these things coming out.
When I can click a button on Amazon with delivery in a couple of days, then I'll check reviews and see if it's actually any good.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
