1 Year Ago Today.....

[Phawx]

12 more days...

 

[migo]

no you imbecile. we are talking about the pandora, which has gaming controls already yet you keep saying that the keyboard is stupid and redundant. i was trying to say that in situations where the keyboard is used for things other than gaming, which is evidently the use on the pandora, it will be used like those on blackberries and slide out keyboards. therefore not useless. on the pandora you dont need to play them on the keyboard because we have gaming controls.

The keyboard is stupid, it gets in the way of better placement of the actual gaming controls. The Pandora is supposed to be a gaming device, it's not supposed to be a communication device, it's not advertised at all as a competitor to a BlackBerry. And look at yourself, you're saying that it's useful for games that require the keyboard, and then you say people will use the gaming controls and will only use the keyboard to type out messages?

Anyone who plays RTS games (or RPGs) on a serious enough level to need quick access to keyboard shortcuts wouldn't even consider trying it on a handheld device - many of them complain when playing on certain desktop keyboards. Nobody's going to play StarCraft at high-speeds on any handheld device. For the rest of us who would just play it (or most RPGs) at a normal pace, the touchscreen is a perfectly good input device. The keys are still accessible for certain useful shortcuts (I for inventory, C for character sheet, etc.). (I don't know any StarCraft key shortcuts, as I don't really play SC.)

EDIT: When I said "require", I MEANT "require". FPS games need the keyboard so that you can control character motion, because the mouse only controls viewing angle. For any RPG/RTS that I've ever played, it's fully playable with just a mouse. StarCraft worked decently on the N64, and that didn't have anything remotely close to a keyboard.

So your excuse is that any game that sucks with the thumbboard people wouldn't want to play anyway, which comes down to every game that requires a keyboard, which then leaves you wondering why the hell it has one, because every game that makes use of it nobody would want to play anyway.

 

[Asmo]

Without a keyboard, Infocom text adventures are marginally less fun than groin surgery.

 

[Monk]

Please do not feed the trolls

 

[Shaun199three]

How can you complain about the keyboard. This is one the greatest things about the Pandora. Unlike a DS or PSP the Pandora is not only a gaming device but also a handheld laptop. Its not like the only thing the keyboard will be used for is to type in high scores.

 

[lulzfish]

The keyboard is stupid, it gets in the way of better placement of the actual gaming controls. The Pandora is supposed to be a gaming device, it's not supposed to be a communication device, it's not advertised at all as a competitor to a BlackBerry.

Why, I ought to reply with a well-thought-out, well-formatted response that adequately rebutts this by showing how many of us are buying it as a UMPC / programming tool / PDA, not just as Game Boy-like device.

 

[Sonict]

I personally would have not bothered to get the Pandora if it didn't have a keyboard. Using the PSP's shitty browser and typing on it sucks ass. It also helps with PC emulation since I still have an Amiga 500. At least with the Pandora, I can use it as a "portable" laptop. (Which the Pandora pretty much is in the end)

 

[WizardStan]

The keyboard is stupid, it gets in the way of better placement of the actual gaming controls. The Pandora is supposed to be a gaming device, it's not supposed to be a communication device

Again I say, if all you wanted was a game device, then the Pandora is not the device for you. The keyboard brings a lot of features that most of us are quite looking forward to, and absolutely nothing you can say will change anyone's mind. Instead of wasting your time and ours trying to tell us how stupid you think we are for getting something that doesn't serve your purposes, why not investigate all the options out there that DO serve your purpose? Buy one of them? Heck, stop being a jerk about it, tell us what you ARE looking for, and someone here might even be inclined to help you find it.

 

[musicalwoods]

If it didn't have a thumb keyboard I would be constantly draining the battery with a USB/BT keyboard. How am I supposed to decently web browse and IM without one? And I think it will be excellent to use for games with many macros. And what is this with it making the controls be put in a horrible place? I personally prefer controls that are higher up so that I can have a good grip on the system.