Aesthetic Appeal/Presentation...

[crimsonnight]

I just wanna start off by saying that I have pre-ordered the Pandora, and I'm counting down the days until I actually get my hands on it - whatever the case I'll be happy ^^
But the area I feel the Pandora is the weakest in is the old looks department - I know they probably wanted to save money, and I also know this isn't the case - but think if the pandora and (for example) the new gp2x wiz were in the shop next to each other - most people wouldn't even look twice at the pandora - i mean check out the pics on this site: http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-d1- ... -2z59.html - even the box is really cool!
I know we haven't seen a console from the final batch yet, but to my understanding there arn't going to be any cosmetic changes, which i feel is a shame really... i think they would have benefited from investing a little more money into the aesthetic side of things...

*EDIT* Also, I'd happily pay a little extra if it resulted in a cleaner, more polished look

 

[gruso]

This will go well. Are you basing your judgement on this render? It looks pretty shiny and polished to me. Perhaps the area surrounding the screen could be slicker, but do bear in mind that the screws won't be exposed like that.

Considering they don't have Sony's millions, I think they've done a wonderful job. It looks great to me. They haven't gone the seemingly mandatory "piano black" route, which I'm thankful for.

GPH deserve credit for the Wiz, too. A nice step forward in aesthetics.

 

[PoisonedV]

EDIT* Also, I'd happily pay a little extra if it resulted in a cleaner, more polished look

Well I wouldn't.
First of all, this is all a matter of opinion.
Second, it works perfectly for it's market. Most people who complain about it's design are NOT the people who are going to end up using it thoroughly or contributing to the community. The design is rugged, sturdy, and there are no ergonomic flaws. if you want to impress your friends back in the 8th grade, maybe you should just get a psp.

 

[mali]

Personally I prefer a little understatement, with the real goods under the hood, than looking like a bloated toy.

 

[Pandorous]

I know we haven't seen a console from the final batch yet, but to my understanding there arn't going to be any cosmetic changes, which i feel is a shame really... i think they would have benefited from investing a little more money into the aesthetic side of things...

*EDIT* Also, I'd happily pay a little extra if it resulted in a cleaner, more polished look

To be hoenst, this is already costing me a buttload of cash. Had they released it two months earlier, before my currency crashed vs the USD It'd've been a lot happier (thank you idiot investment professionals). Still, it's on preorder so what's done is done.

Onto the Wiz. The addition of colour is a nice touch but overall, I wonder just how soft that plastic is. Shiny things tend to scratch a fair bit and wind up looking like arse unless you're anal about protecting them.

All up the decision they took was probably the best one to take.

P.

 

[hells_dark]

Yeah.
I'm just waiting for an actual photo.
But i know it will be "at least" ok.

 

[Sphinxter]

Form follows function.

 

[Prometheus]

I like how it looks - and it's exactly how I'd have expected such a device to look, even when such a device was more firmly in the realm of science-fiction than reality. And function comes before fashion, anyway.

 

[crimsonnight]

if you want to impress your friends back in the 8th grade, maybe you should just get a psp.

alright, calm down <_< i haven't said anything negative, no need for a personal attack lol, i hardly brought your mother into it :wink:

I 100% agree with you Prometheus, function really does come before fashion - and Im guessing that the fact that the wiz is like 4th (if im correct) down the line of GP32/GP2X consoles has something to do with it's polished look; and it really does it justice... I guess that's what Im trying to say; i feel that the console's look doesn't do it's awesomeness justice - in my opinion, it does look a little outdated - im not saying it looks terrible or anything, just could be better...

 

[CronoTriggerfan]

Guys, keep in mind that the only thing we know about it now is the shape. Craig has said some things that could be interpreted as it being more glossy, which of course isn't shown at all by any renders. Just hold your horses, when the final cases are shown this month we can have a solid verdict. I'm just saying, like the others, don't let those renders fool you. Or do, and then be pleasantly surprised.

 

[FireHazard51]

I don't care too much how it looks. I want the ability to put my own boot screen on it like my Cowon D2. Also I want to be able to play it for an hour and not have a hand cramp and be forced to carry around a USB game controller.

 

[Chip]

Just as function is more important than appearance for a computing device, quality is more important than quantity when building a community. We don't necessarily want the sort of people who are more concerned with looks that capabilities to be buying Pandoras. They are not likely to contribute anything to the platform, and they are more likely to have/cause problems. We don't loose anything as a community by not catering to the fashion obsessed.

 

[Kyosys]

Very good summary Chip, I completely agree.

I like the pandora's design, I think it's quite beautiful. Many think it's ugly, why, I don't know. But even if it was ugly, I wouldn't care one bit. I love the pandora because of what it is and what it can do, not because it's shiny. In fact, I hate the fact that my DS is shiny, there's fingerprints _EVERYWHERE_

 

[crimsonnight]

Just as function is more important than appearance for a computing device, quality is more important than quantity when building a community. We don't necessarily want the sort of people who are more concerned with looks that capabilities to be buying Pandoras. They are not likely to contribute anything to the platform, and they are more likely to have/cause problems. We don't loose anything as a community by not catering to the fashion obsessed.

Cheers for not putting words into my mouth guys <_< i never said i thought looks were more important than capabilities - quite the opposite in fact... all im saying is, don't skip on them all together. As i said in my first post, it's because i personally have no qualms with the hardware that i even pointed this out...
Although good points chip, if referring to me, i feel that none of what you said applies.

Also im not indicating i think it should be shiney (never mentioned that anywhere either lol) just something less plain, at the moment, it's just literally just a casing - nothing that makes it unique... or recongisable - something that could contribute heavily towards sales - see how's that for a contribution
By the wiz adding a few extra details such as the white outlines, orange strip, and cool logo it achieves both those things - and i personally feel the pandora deserves something simular to compliment it's internal greatness.

 

[emcp]

Just as function is more important than appearance for a computing device, quality is more important than quantity when building a community. We don't necessarily want the sort of people who are more concerned with looks that capabilities to be buying Pandoras. They are not likely to contribute anything to the platform, and they are more likely to have/cause problems. We don't loose anything as a community by not catering to the fashion obsessed.

Cheers for not putting words into my mouth guys <_< i never said i thought looks were more important than capabilities - quite the opposite in fact... all im saying is, don't skip on them all together. As i said in my first post, it's because i personally have no qualms with the hardware that i even pointed this out...
Although good points chip, if referring to me, i feel that none of what you said applies.

Also im not indicating i think it should be shiney (never mentioned that anywhere either lol) just something less plain, at the moment, it's just literally just a casing - nothing that makes it unique... or recongisable - something that could contribute heavily towards sales - see how's that for a contribution
By the wiz adding a few extra details such as the white outlines, orange strip, and cool logo it achieves both those things - and i personally feel the pandora deserves something simular to compliment it's internal greatness.

precisely
function comes way before looks

BUT LOOKS STILL MATTER,
i dont want it to be shiny or glittery, i just want it to be plain matte black
but one thing that scares the hell out of me, is the videos on youtube i dont like that material, the glittery kind, looks very cheap.

also people where saying people who choose looks over functionality wont contribute to the community, which sort of confuses me, is their money not as good as ours, i know a lot of my friends wont buy this if it doesnt look decent enough, but their money is still good for the devs fund and for supporting the pandora by simply buying it.

im persuaded them to buy one, but theyre probably want to see mines first, so theyd be getting theirs in the second batch

looks matter, they shouldnt be chucked out, an extra tenner, 20, id pay without a second thought if it got better material

people on this forum are like parrots they copy what others say without even thinking about it, to make themselves seem superior when you just isolating the community, get a grip

as long as the material is plain, im happy, jus not that glittery very very cheap fragile plastic look on youtube, which im told it wont be.

 

[Username]

All I want out of the outer design is for the edges to be rounded.

 

[PoisonedV]

All I want out of the outer design is for the edges to be rounded.

will happen on the injection molded model.

tell me: why does it matter if the look changes?

 

[crimsonnight]

thanks emcp, you really get what im saying ^^
thats a really good point as well... i showed my best friend the pandora yesturday, after going on about how awesome it is over the phone, and after he saw it he said that everything it could do was really cool, but he said it's look didn't do it justice, and even though i never said that to him, i'd thought exactly the same thing myself - and that's a large part of the reason i started this thread

 

[PoisonedV]

it's looks don't 'do it justice'? and how exactly would they do that? I think you are missing the point of the pandora.

 

[crimsonnight]

sry, this thread is moving to fast lol

tell me: why does it matter if the look changes?

like i said before, something that would make it unique, and recognisable; and like i said, something that does it justice - i dont really understand your problem with that notion?