We were told the use of a QVGA rather than HVGA screen on the Wildfire was a major saving in terms of cost, and we didn't feel like it was too big a sacrifice to make.
To our surprise, Kupervas told us that the First Else was eventually ready and he even had two customers, but by that point it was too late and "it didn't feel right" to launch the comparatively limited phone, despite its great user experience.