A few Colors and Packages (with a poll!)

Which packaging would you prefer?

  • The smaller one (with the battery below the Pyra)

    Votes: 282 94.3%
  • The bigger one (with the battery and the Pyra at the same level)

    Votes: 17 5.7%

  • Total voters
    299

EvilDragon

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I don't know the exact reason, but I only received two colors (out of 6 we wanted samples of) this week, but maybe the others didn't make it in time.
It's quite time consuming to clean the molds after usage in order to make a new color, so it's very likely they didn't make it in time for the courier.

No big deal, as I'll visit Greece again soon for the final case tweaks, so I can take the remaining color cases with me then (if I don't receive them until then).

Okay, before looking at the pictures and the video, here are some VERY important informations:

  • The cases are almost done, but not 100%. So some areas still have some gaps. Don't mind them, they will be gone in the end.
  • Especially the front looks bad (with the bent case and a huge gap): This is because the protoype PCB of the CPU board is colliding with the Wifi chip (an edge needs to be cut out there), so that additional height pushes the whole case open. This will NOT happen with the finalized PCBs :)
  • You can see shrinking marks and discolorations on the cases. This is because the mold is not yet hardened and the machine has not been adjusted. Want to know more details? Read the spoiler. Otherwise: Just be assured that the cases will NOT look that ugly when they're finished :)
So you want to know more about finalizing the mold? Okay :)

Once everything is physically 100% correct, the steel will be hardened.
That means: It cannot be changed anymore afterwards but it also will not wear out during production (the hard plastic affects the steel as well). It will be a lot more robust.

Because the molds are not yet hardened, you can see some discolorations. They're not fully cleaned yet and the plastic doesn't flow into the mold as good as it should. Also, the temperature is not optimum to not affect the mold too much. This leads to small density issues and therefore also has discoloration.
This will not happen for mass production.

Now about the shrinking marks:
Shrinking marks are areas where parts of the plastic sinks in (most often when there's a peg on the other side), because the weight of the peg pulls the still warm plastic down a bit.
Thinner areas of plastic cool down faster - and so the area with the peg needs longer to cool down and therefore can sink in.

There are various ways to fix that:
  • Leaving the plastic piece in the mold for a longer time, until everything is 100% cooled down (this increases the prodution time and therefore the price)
  • Change initial temperature of the plastic as this affects the mold flow
  • Adjust cool-down termperatures in certain areas (the mold does not have to be evenly cooled down, you can set up the machine to cool certain areas stronger than others)
So there are quite a few parameters in the machine that can be used to adjust and optimize the production process.
As you can imagine, this takes quite a bit of time, so it won't be done before the mold is 100% finalized.

Here are some pictures of the two cases I received. One is gun-metal grey which doesn't look too bad, but for my opinion, it would look better if it's darker.

GMClosed.jpg GMOpen.jpg GMSide.jpg

The second one is a violet one. That's not a color I actually wanted to use, but it was the color one of the Pyra Prototype orderers wanted to get :)
It will truly be a very unique device :)

VioletClosed.jpg VioletOpen.jpg VioletSide.jpg

Now some more information about fingerprints and the scratch resistant case.
The best way to describe that is a video.

Here you go:


The packaging

As mass production is coming closer, it's also time to think about the packaging for the device!

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.

We started creating two different packagings so far:

  • One smaller one where the battery is kept below the Pyra
  • One bigger one where the battery and the Pyra are on the same level
Here is a small video introducing both of them:


Now it's your turn: Which packaging do you like better?
Vote here at this thread :D

I hope you liked the news today.
I'll keep you updated as usual.
 
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awesome post!

i think you have a spoiler issue in the post, since most of it is in the spoiler... (there's a [/SPOILER] halfway through that doesn't seem to be heeded... oh, because it's closed with a squirrely bracket }.)
 
...will any of those boxes have space for a charger?

Would be possible, but we don't plan to include one. 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.
We will sell USB AC Adapters as well, in case someone needs one.
[doublepost=1465868631,1465868597][/doublepost]
Very good news but... Am i the only one that highly dislike the colored nubs?

I plan to have the nubs black regardless of the case color :)
 
I know these are merely test samples, and I know this is one persons extreme viewpoint; but I will be very disappointed if I am forced to endure ANOTHER faux metallic plastic finish whatever the shade. I really just loathe plastics that attempt to be something they clearly aren't like wood or metal. That being said I can live with it, maybe it wouldn't be so bad and there are probably many that disagree with me.

I really just think you can't go wrong with matte black, or failing that transparent.


All that said I think these cases look fantastic and I like the small box.
 
Looking good. I think I would like to see a darker grey though, and I agree that the nubs and buttons should be black. :)

Would be possible, but we don't plan to include one. 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.
We will sell USB AC Adapters as well, in case someone needs one.
You should probably make that very clear on the shop site then. I think most people purchasing an electronic device would normally expect there to be a charger included. (not only that there would be one in the package but that it would be included in the price of the device)

-Neelix
 
I know these are merely test samples, and I know this is one persons extreme viewpoint; but I will be very disappointed if I am forced to endure ANOTHER faux metallic plastic finish whatever the shade. I really just loathe plastics that attempt to be something they clearly aren't like wood or metal. That being said I can live with it, maybe it wouldn't be so bad and there are probably many that disagree with me.

I really just think you can't go wrong with matte black, or failing that transparent.


All that said I think these cases look fantastic and I like the small box.

Did you see the video? I especially mentioned the reflections there.
The cases are not metallic. They are actually normal matte plastic. The only reflections you see are from the very fine, smoothly sanded case.
 
Not a fan of that logo plate. I think a simple embossed logo (part of the mould) would have looked a lot better and have been a lot simpler to execute. Also, why would I want light emanating from the back of the machine? In addition to not looking good, I think this thing will be trouble and an annoyance -- just another thing to fall off or cause trouble.
[doublepost=1465870017,1465869886][/doublepost]ED, am I mistaken or is the Pyra thicker than the Pandora? Could you post a couple pics with the Pyra beside the GPD XD? I'm interested in seeing a comparison of the length, width and thickness. Thanks.
 
Not a fan of that logo plate. I think a simple embossed logo (part of the mould) would have looked a lot better and have been a lot simpler to execute. Also, why would I want light emanating from the back of the machine? In addition to not looking good, I think this thing will be trouble and an annoyance -- just another thing to fall off or cause trouble.
[doublepost=1465870017,1465869886][/doublepost]ED, am I mistaken or is the Pyra thicker than the Pandora? Could you post a couple pics with the Pyra beside the GPD XD? I'm interested in seeing a comparison of the length, width and thickness. Thanks.

It's already been stated it will be slightly thicker than the Pandora. The idea of the light on the back is as an indicator for the phone features.
 
Not a fan of that logo plate. I think a simple embossed logo (part of the mould) would have looked a lot better and have been a lot simpler to execute. Also, why would I want light emanating from the back of the machine? In addition to not looking good, I think this thing will be trouble and an annoyance -- just another thing to fall off or cause trouble.

I've never seen something like that fall off unless you forcibly try to remove it with a mouse.

The light serves multiple purposes: When the unit is closed, you can use it for various notifications.
SMS or eMail received, receiving a phone call (or missed a phone call), letting the compiler know you that it has finished, etc.

There are tons of things you can do with it :)

[doublepost=1465870017,1465869886][/doublepost]
ED, am I mistaken or is the Pyra thicker than the Pandora? Could you post a couple pics with the Pyra beside the GPD XD? I'm interested in seeing a comparison of the length, width and thickness. Thanks.

Of course it is a bit thicker, that's nothing new. The larger battery needs more space as well as the replaceable CPU-Board.
The GPD XD is a lot thinner, but to reach that thickness, we would've needed to make the battery non-replaceable inside the case and also use a single board (instead of a CPU-Board).
Two features I really don't want to miss.

Length and width of the GPD XD is longer though.

The Pyra is almost 100% the size of the classic GameBoy.
 
I also feel the grey would look better if it were a bit darker. Between the two colors shown the grey is what I prefer. It might be ok if a little lighter, but darker seems the way to go. Looking forward to the rest.

It is hard to tell exactly what is going on with the surface finish, but I liked where you scratched (it had a bit of texture). Regardless of my personal preference (I prefer it to be grippier), it was a good choice to go with something that isn't a fingerprint magnet. Does the grey have the sparkly stuff in it? (Edit: You answered that while I was typing. Do you still plan to use sparkly stuff in some of the cases?)

Everything about the smaller box seems better to me. I also appreciate what you are trying to do with the certified boxes and by leaving out the charger. You might be able to skip the cable with most Pyras, too.
 
Not a fan of that logo plate. I think a simple embossed logo (part of the mould) would have looked a lot better and have been a lot simpler to execute.
I like that it's a nice squareish space that could possibly be replaced with a camera mod...
Also, why would I want light emanating from the back of the machine?
Notifications while it's closed. Being able to use it as a flashlight would be nice too - can anyone confirm if they're bright enough?
am I mistaken or is the Pyra thicker than the Pandora? Could you post a couple pics with the Pyra beside the GPD XD? I'm interested in seeing a comparison of the length, width and thickness.
https://www.pyra-handheld.com/wiki/index.php?title=Comparison_Chart
 
I've never seen something like that fall off unless you forcibly try to remove it with a mouse.
I don't know what you meant, but the mental imagery of using either a computer mouse or a rodent to remove it is amusing.

The Pyra is almost 100% the size of the classic GameBoy.
I love when you say that. Fortunately, it is way more useful than a Game Boy, but I can still play games on it. :D
 
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