Like I said to me what they did is equivalent to a lie. Only because you cute up a lie by tossing in ambigious terms it doesn't become automatically not a lie to me.
Everyone has a different perception of what is a lie and what is not. To me they lied. If you are ok with what they're doing and did, I guess you are just an easier customer than I am.
Not really. First off they never gave an exact date because they weren't sure if they could honor it. This should've been your first indication that they were actively working on things and not sure when it would be out.
The language they used in all of their e-mails implied that it would be out relatively soon, but again, no exact date. I could understand people being upset if they gave a date and then failed to come through, but they did no such thing.
The main reason I assume people are upset (besides impatience, being misinformed and/or lack of English comprehension) is they purchased a card early, to get ahead of the curve or avoid shops being sold out, and now feel they may have jumped early. If another situation like this arises in the future, perhaps you'll have more patience or wait until everything is released before you make your purchase.