A few Colors and Packages (with a poll!)

[rygD]

What other parts are in the mold with the nub tops and other little pieces (any of the big pieces are what I am wondering about)? I might be interested in a Pyra with black and whatever other color I pick. The two-tone on the purple is pretty cool around the screen.
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A Metamouse can remove *anything*.
...but yes, it is amusing.

... nice to see the mice have gotten into ED as well. Hi guys!!! *squeek*

Dork.

Any chance of making the aluminum logo plate black? It just doesn't look good in silver, no matter what color it's paired with.

Don't be so sure. I was showing the pictures of the case colors to someone that is kinda picky about details like that, and I mentioned that the plates may get colored black or something. To my surprise, she said she thought it would look better in aluminum like in the pics.

 

[tarator]

Pyra cases and packaging look great! In m opinion the gray case doesn't need to be darker (heats more up, when uing under direct sunlight).
About the scratch resistivity: I don't care. My devices all look ugly and worn after some time. I'm using them...

I really like the way things are done in this project! Thanks ED for having an eye for details and that you think about every detail! This is exactly the way to go, when making sustainable, high quality products.
I also really appreciate the fact, that disabled people are included in the production process.

Can't wait to get the pyra!

 

[thatgui]

. Everyone probably has some USB or Micro USB charger at home, so to save the environment a bit more, we decided to only include a MicroUSB Cable.

Good choice on leaving out the charger, but as already mentioned > make that very clear in the shop description. Did you already choose a cable type ? I would suggest a MicroUSB3 type plug.

Things that could be considered to further the idea to reducing the "harm footprint" of the device:

• do not paint the whole thing (like it was with the Pandora), just some unform colored text and maybe some logo(s) on a uniform, simply colored box (maybe even just white). The Pyra won't sit on any shelf in a store, so it does not have to be flashy to attract customers
• Is a case for the battery really necessary ? Never used it for the Pandora as the battery was always sitting in the device. Maybe don't order as many battery cases as actual batteries and just ship extra batteries with a case ?

There are tons of things you can do with it

And it would be even better, if they were on the front side, so you could see them, when the device is open and closed

All I can say is:

• Things tend to look bigger on camera than they really are
  
• I'm not going to throw either packaging away

And I will definately either throw it away, or use it to store something in the attic. The smaller the box, the less material is used, the less costs > you can put a smaller box equally well on your shelf

That's why you usually produce 50 - 100 pieces of plastic that you throw away after you changed the color.

Don't know if it is actually a good idea, or not:
Maybe you could tell the factory to not throw them away (unless they can't be really used as case parts, because they are warped have holes or whatnot) but instead include them in the shipment to you. I imagine some people would be happy to get one, for modding ideas: you could either give them out for free, sell them for a low price, or a slightly higher price and fund something with the return (maybe some additional dev hours for Nikolaus, to work on something that is not essential but cool to have, like porting the dial application from one ot the various Linux on mobile phone distributions)

It also seems like folks always want to nitpick all the smallest details, which seems a bit unnecessary to me.

But this is were a lot of fun comes from

Any chance of making the aluminum logo plate black?

I would vote for that too (or, probably not feasable, paint it on the same color as the case)

Totally forgot:
yes, the grey should be darker - or better skip the gray, and use dark purple

 

[mclien]

@EvilDragon :
for the "waste" cases: i'd like to have some of them for testing case mods... (especially the custom Logoplates)
For the Logo plate itself: I guess the plates are anodizised? Might be you could have some of them in bare, non-anodizised Aluminium, the we can get them in different colors (I could organize that..)

But anyway: Since the plate is mainly (laser)cutted Aluminium and the design data will be open, it shouldn't be that hard to make them ourself...

Oh and I'm in for everything cost efficiant, so small case.

Oh, and yes: black nubs!

Case color: light green (like neon), clear, black, (türkis; don't know the english)

 

[Bachstelze]

@EvilDragon

The packaging should be nice but as environment-friendly as possible. That's why I'm looking into boxes which are fully made of paper (without foam or plastic) and I also want to get them FSC certified.

Then you have to use "simple" paper, and not the shiny, glossy, coated paper you got for the prototype boxes.
A „Blauer Engel“ certified recycling carton would be much more appreciated than new FSC wood.

I am all in for a plastic free packaging, watch the usb cable firm, i heard magic Chinese slaves workers can wrap every pieces in foil.

 

[mius]

[...] (türkis; don't know the english)

Türkis would be turquoise, or, sometimes, cyan. Fun fact: The Soviets painted their aircraft dashboards in turquoise to help their pilots relax, stay awake, and of course to improve visibility under tactical lighting conditions to facilitate minimization of visual detection during night ops.

 

[AnimatedFreak]

They look fantastic! Would it be possible to make the nubs black to match the color of the D-pad and keyboard?

 

[emilio]

Still no hinge

 

[Bosbeetle]

The boxes will be produced in Germany. The magnets will be implemented by disabled people, btw, so we're helping them a bit as well

Thats cool

 

[tsh]

Presentation wise, the big box is better. Overall, the smaller box feels right because it better reflects the form-factor. Imagine seeing them in a store, you wouldn't want people to confuse it with a tablet device.

It might look better with the battery section reversed - even if that needs a layer of card to stop scratches in transit.

 

[comradekingu]

I would want the battery to be presented the other way around with both cases.
Logoing twice is is not as clear, and there is a lot of useful information on the back of the battery.
That information ties in with the no-nonsense environmentally friendly feel and presentation of the cases.

 

[matzesu]

Still no hinge

Where dit you saw this??
They want to use the Pandora Hinge, but whit the new better plastic, it should work much better..
Also these are just prototyphs to show the new cases,
I ditnt know if the Elektronics in there are alive yet..

@EvilDragon: i would like to see the "Bling Bling" Features whit the new cases compare to the transparent cases..
Which means keyboard and logo backlight
And mybe some gamingfootage whit the shoulderbuttons..
I would prefer the smaler box

Will you sell a USB Charger in your Shop??
I only have the Charger of my Phone, and the other USB Chargers ditnt have that much Ampere..
So Pyra would need lots of thime to reload

 

[Neelix]

do not paint the whole thing (like it was with the Pandora), just some unform colored text and maybe some logo(s) on a uniform, simply colored box (maybe even just white). The Pyra won't sit on any shelf in a store, so it does not have to be flashy to attract customers

Won't it? It seems a bit short sighted to categorically state that it won't. I seem to recall that LinuxSWAT arranged to put at least a couple of Pandoras on sale in stores in Paris. Aldi sell all manner of niche electronic devices through their stores here in Australia, perhaps they'd be interested in retailing the Pyra. Perhaps not, but either way we shouldn't assume that the box art is unimportant.

That said I also think it's wrong to assume that end users will already have an appropriate charger. It's all very well to think "People probably already have spare micro-USB chargers they can reuse" but honestly I think that's taking a lot on faith. Especially for something which is being sold to countries outside of the EU where the EU standards don't necessarily apply.

-Neelix

 

[Bernd]

Perhaps I am the only one, but I don't care much about the packing.
I'm fine with an unpainted package too.

The smaller & simpler the package, the better.

I want to spend my money on the product, not on the packing which isn't used after opening it.

[Edit]
The only thing I don't want is a blister-back.
[/Edit]

 

[sulu]

The package box could be made even smaller, if the battery would sit inside the Pyra during shipping.
I'm not sure, how the battery contacts look in detail, but I guess it would be possible to electrically separate the battery from the device with a simple strip of paper. I have no idea though, if that would violate any shipping conditions.

To make it even more environmentally friendly, the magnet in the box could be replaced with a cardboard hanger. That would reduce durability of course, but I doubt, many people will open and close the box more than a few dozen times.
Using recovered paper would improve the bill even more. Corrugated cardboard would improve the stability of the box.
I guess coating would be applied mostly, to get some degree of water resistance. I don't think that's necessary. For shipping, the Pyra box will have to be put into another neutral box anyway. Otherwise the box could be labeled with "Steal me!" right away. Some German post offices even refuse to accept packages that give away that they contain potentially valuable electronics.

I'm also for reducing the use of color to a bare minimum. I feel like putting the Pyra label, logo and a URL on the box might be enough.

 

[matzesu]

A tool spezialy designt to open blister packs which came in a blister pack??
I think i remember something was in one ashens video ..

A spezial Pyra Box is a great thing to put on a shelf to show how geecky you are..

Im not against a box, but i would be also fine whit everything as only its saves the device on postway..

 

[pyrat]

Thank you for the update.

I guess it may be obvious, but why can't the battery be sent inside the Pyra (maybe turned the wrong way so that contacts don't touch if you don't want it to accidentally turn on)? I guess it's some hazard or other, but if possible the box would be smaller stil.

I like the small box better because of savings and aesthethics. I don't find the battery interesting enough to catch the eye the same as the Pyra.
But someone said there's important info on it ? What ?

I don't feel strongly on the colors. Grey is ok, darker might be better, purple is not that horrible, but I think I like black better.

Neither do I feel strongly on the charger. I kind of thought it'd be included, but it makes sense to sell it as a different item so that it's optional. Just advertise it correctly, I guess.

I'm curious about the weight (with battery). Maybe it's documented somewhere I haven't seen.

I like there seems to be some small legs I hadn't noticed before. Look useful.

Thanks for the FSC. And yes, recicled cardboard would be fine too. I don't know the environmental details. Last time I went shopping for recycled
printer paper I didn't find the darker color I was used to anymore, maybe they make it whiter now (I hope they don't use too many chemicals). I prefer whatever is better for the environment as long as it protects the product enough for its travel. I don't care for the package aesthetics (but I don't find recycled cardboard any ugly either).

 

[Bernd]

If recycling paper is bleached, there is no visible difference to non recycled one.
In D/A/CH its hard to get paper without recycled paper in it.

 

[thatgui]

Won't it? It seems a bit short sighted to categorically state that it won't. I seem to recall that LinuxSWAT arranged to put at least a couple of Pandoras on sale in stores in Paris. Aldi sell all manner of niche electronic devices through their stores here in Australia, perhaps they'd be interested in retailing the Pyra. Perhaps not, but either way we shouldn't assume that the box art is unimportant.

I remembered the pics of LinuxSWAT small shop while writing that post, but ALDI selling the Pyra - ever seen that Simpsons Episode where Mr Burns talks about flying Pigs (but interesting fact about Aldi anyway) ? And even if that where the case, they probably would order Pyras in a scale that creating a seperate packet should not be out of the question. And even if that is not the case, (not that I want to credit a certain company from cuppertino for anything) a rather discreet packaging isn't very exotic nowadays either.
But getting back into real life, the main distributors of the Pyra (EDs shop and Links to some extent) are online shops only - so no need for "fancy" packaging

 

[Neelix]

I never said it has to be fancy, but I think it does need to be designed with display stock in mind, regardless what you might think of the chances of any particular company carrying it. I think the box should also be designed with room for the charger, so that one can be included in the box if the order includes one.

-Neelix