A video. Again. Mostly about cases.

[Arkay Firestar]

We’re talking about making the Pyra look like everything else on the market.

I like the Pyra, and the Pandora before it, because it doesn’t. It doesn’t give a shit how ridiculous a full keyboard looks on such a small device. It’s doing its own thing, it’s all about form and function.

I’ll wait for the formal poll but I definitely think grey with no paint is the best way to go. I hope to at least have that option.

 

[ClockworkCoder]

If it's only going to be the thousand units that are pre ordered right now and there's no aspirations to sell more consider my point nulled

I'm a little curious how many people value form over function. As has been mentioned before, let them pay extra to get their "perfect" "hipster"-credible version. And the rest of us get an awesome, raw and unashamed to be different Pyra.

I'd prefer an unpainted version, but if it's deemed to be more commercially viable to manufacture painted versions, then I'm also happy

 

[levi]

Is black the smartest colour choice for a portable device, for which chances are high, that it gets to see the sun every now and then?

Tell that to all of the phone manufacturers.

FWIW A lot of work goes into people taking still photos of products or even people. Basically point sources of light are to be avoided, which is why you fit all flashes with some kind of diffuser, and if you're using the sun you see those people carrying big pop up white discs, even for video reports. Those are defined to reflect the sun across a wide area illuminating the subject from many directions, but you need someone else to carry those usually. Reflective umbrellas are more designed for use with a tripod.

Personally I did is cheaply. Point the light source away from the subject and reflect the light off a sheet of paper, folded around the flashgun and secured to the flash using an elastic band in my case.

@EvilDragon
For your video use, I think you're using a kind of light array, judging by some of the reflections in that video. Using a paper reflector on something that large will use a little more ingenuity. But maybe switching the light array upwards and reflecting the light back on card back down might avoid those point light sources, cutting down on distracting reflections, and improving colour stability.

 

[Pyramancer]

On the other hand, as when paint wears off, even if it's the same exact color, wouldn't it be a different texture? A bit rough where it's wearing off with a shiny bald spot in the middle.

No. Not if it is anything like the paint on my laptop. The paint doesn't flake or peel at all, or even really wear off -- it wears through. All the wear spots on my laptop are incredibly smooth, not just in their middles where the black plastic underneath is fully revealed but all the way across the transition zones which shade gradually from black through various greys to the light silver of the paint where there is no wear. If the plastic had been the same colour as the paint the wear spots would not be visible except for the patina (which would also be there if there were no paint).

[Note this is not to be taken as an argument for paint, just a correction to the mental model of rough flaking paint. And no doubt it depends on the quality of the paint and the paint job.]

 

[RZR]

@EvilDragon one-shot video is really good, and I guess easier/faster for you.

I also agree on producing/releasing the best possible product not only regarding hardware function but also cosmetics. I think there is no point on rushing/releasing something that "is almost working right" after so much effort/development. Most products released unfinished or with a rushed release are usually a failure.

As I understand from the video, there are important areas of software development that need to be sorted before production, so I agree that's a great opportunity to explore about painting the cases. If the other companies do this then it means it's cheaper/easier for them to do that instead of producing a cosmetically perfect paint-less case.

On a side note, would we be able to buy spare cases? I am really looking forward to buy some extra cases to turn my Pyra into a bicolour red/black one or even to explore the option of fitting a switchable micro-fan

 

[elvissteinjr]

I'm a little curious how many people value form over function.

That's implying the paint would impact the function of the device. It shouldn't if done right.

As has been mentioned before, let them pay extra to get their "perfect" "hipster"-credible version. And the rest of us get an awesome, raw and unashamed to be different Pyra.

I feel like this is getting more heated than it should. I don't see how imperfections make the device better, though, especially when the original plan was to avoid these as much as possible.
Is better quality now a bad thing? Is it hipster to not mind having a functional and pretty device?

We have a RGB logo and fancy transparent plastic around the keyboard keys already. A smooth looking case is more fitting than not in my opinion.

 

[NutNut]

...

 

[remjey]

At some point ED said that if the case colour was unsatisfactory, a coating could be applied, and that paint would be last resort because a coating is much more resistant. Has coating been ruled out for some reason?

 

[ClockworkCoder]

I feel like this is getting more heated than it should. I don't see how imperfections make the device better

I don't see them as imperfections at all really, just a unique aspect of their natural design.

However, I take your point, and no animosity was intended; all of us have differing opinions and none are more valid than the other, just that some opinions will be ultimately more popular... that question I argue doesn't have a simple or obvious answer.

 

[levi]

At some point ED said that if the case colour was unsatisfactory, a coating could be applied, and that paint would be last resort because a coating is much more resistant. Has coating been ruled out for some reason?

I'm not sure the coating was because of that reason; you may be misremembering there (or I may be, I guess). I think the coating is a hard coat to make the plastic more scratch resistant, but it's a clear coat so if the plastic underneath has odd colours in it then you still get that.

There was recently some talk of adding inclusions to distract from these more obvious insertions, and I'm not quite sure what happened to that plan, but I trust Azouls and ED to work out the best solution, and therefore it probably didn't work as expected.

 

[Zwerg01]

"For an item I have waited 4 years and paid 700 bucks for, it looks super cheap and unfinished. This and its not very fast outdated SOC make me think it's way over priced and not worth the money."

So, the final price tag is already anounced? In my opinion this was the price for a 2 year development time.

I am wondering what happend to the optimism here in this forum. No one said "christmas" in this thread so far.

 

[Silent-Hunter]

You can't guarantee how long something will take to develop. No one has mentioned Christmas because we're optimistic that it will be finished before then. I am, anyway.

 

[Swordfish II]

I'm amazed by all the people who want the case to be unpainted when it looks like it does...
Of course I too want function over form and I'd be happy for myself either way but when a reviewer gets hold of a Pyra it will go like this;

"For an item I have waited 4 years and paid 700 bucks for, it looks super cheap and unfinished. This and its not very fast outdated SOC make me think it's way over priced and not worth the money."

Unless the Pyra is a device just for us -The Open Pandora/Pyra community- with no aspirations to sell it to a larger crowd, I'd paint it to make as good an impression as possible.

Not saying a layer of paint will make all the difference but first impressions are lasting and will color the the way the rest of the device is reviewed..

Also, cream/off white! please don't ignore it!

This won't be widely sold so who cares about reviewers?

The Pandora sold 3,000ish with a lot more hype and far fewer competitors than now.

Additionally ED wants to redo the case and paint/fixes canbe incorporated with the slimmer case.

 

[Djoga'Ro]

Tell that to all of the phone manufacturers.

Hm, I don't see any implications for the Pyra in that statement. ?

 

[levi]

Hm, I don't see any implications for the Pyra in that statement. ?

There are none I'm afraid. I was just commenting that phone manufacturers make phones that are black that use even more high power CPUs than the Pyra has, such that they can only run a short animation before they need to throttle. I guess that's more down to the different use cases in those situations that anything you can take a value judgement on.

 

[wardred]

Ed. Thanks for the video! It's been a long road, but it's nice to see how close things are to being ready for production now.

I'm with Matzesu - I like the blue. Especially if the keyboard / nubs will end up black for a little bit of contrast.
My preferences:
1 - Blue
2 - Black
3 - Silver
4 - Burgundy (I have the kinky boots rant about the color being red, not burgundy, bouncing in my head. . . though I don't mind burgundy).

I do not mind the discoloration. I'd prefer to get my unit sooner than wait for a painting solution, or possibly having to increase the price for a coat of paint.
If I remember correctly painting the original Pandora also messed with some of the tolerances, so painting it may add some complexity in addition to finding a vendor to do it in a timely, good, and relatively inexpensive manner.
Maybe there could be an option for a "raw" Pyra now, and a painted one for those who prefer a more finished look and are willing to wait.

Eight Bit:
I agree with you that reviewers will probably ding the Pyra for being unpainted, particularly given the Pyra's cost. They probably will ding it for the relatively dated chip being used, and how thick the case is too. That said, this device isn't really a mass appeal device. It's too expensive, it runs too niche an OS, it's not Windows, Mac, a Chrome book, or even Android. This puts some fairly rigid constraints on "mass appeal" software for people.

The people who do want this device despite its cost have pretty varied interests. Some want the phone bits. Some want the gaming. Others just want a small Linux computer, etc. That still makes up a surprisingly small audience. The Pandora community was pretty impressive for the amount of software released for the device, and I hope the interest holds for a similar release of software on the Pyra. I'd see that as a success.

I hope that enough sell and there's enough community involvement that Ed can see it as a success despite the challenges getting it out the door.

 

[Silent-Hunter]

It can probably run Android if one wishes to install it though.

 

[ToastBucket]

It can probably run Android if one wishes to install it though.

Yeah it can definitely run Android. OMAP5 Android support is not very recent though (I think 6 is the most recent). The low level support for newer versions just isn’t there and is at least a year of work to fully implement. Personally I’m pushing for an updated CPU board based on the iMX8QM which would be pretty straightforward (relatively speaking, Android is no small feat, but luckily this is my specialty in the BSP industry) to bring up on Android 9 and in the future update to 10. This shouldn’t really be considered though until the current OMAP5 implementation is completed.

 

[Askarus]

I'm amazed by all the people who want the case to be unpainted when it looks like it does...
Of course I too want function over form and I'd be happy for myself either way but when a reviewer gets hold of a Pyra it will go like this;

"For an item I have waited 4 years and paid 700 bucks for, it looks super cheap and unfinished. This and its not very fast outdated SOC make me think it's way over priced and not worth the money."

That was also the feedback I got from people when I showed the prototype to them.
The housing needs to look and feel much better. I don't care but others do.
There should be at least some premium feeling.

 

[Haraldur]

I personally do not care about the paint (in fact I can sympathise with the view that it would look a little different and interesting), but I do think that it is safer in terms of reviewers and customers more generally to paint it using the same colour as the base plastic. Also, there is a tiny chance that my mind would change and that I might regret getting an unpainted case: I have had quite a bit of fun showing my Pandora around and I feel that it may become annoying if others consistently make comments about the appearance of the Pyra being cheap rather than about more important things.