Aesthetic Criticism of the Pandora (split from What would you like to see thread)

[AirplaneRandy]

Hey, take my criticisms and suggestions with a grain of salt. All of this is coming from a Nintendo fanboy (me) who loves the design of the 3DS XL, and the new 3DS.

Everything I would like is covered in the image. Thank you. :rolleyes:

 

[WizardStan]

Hi AirplaneRandy, I'm going to try to help answer your questions. For more complete details, go to this section of the forum, specifically you may be interested in this thread.

Sound holes: On the bottom now. The LCD has been expanded to basically take up as much space as possible in the lid, meaning no room for the speakers. You can see them in that other thread I linked just above the nubs.

The ridge: it helps keep the LCD from touching the keyboard and stuff. The 3DS XL doesn't have one, just those rubber feets, but as a result, when it is closed, it leaves this gap that is easy for stuff to jam into. It's an aesthetic trade off and while I can't officially speak for EvilDragon I'm pretty sure he's going with the "solid when closed" look similar to the Pandora. You can see it in the video in that other thread.

4 Shoulder buttons: yas, it do.

D-Pad: I don't know if you've used a Pandora before or are just going on looks, but if you have then I think you're in the minority for not liking it. The Pandora's D-Pad is the most comfortable one I've ever used and it would actually make me happy (in a way) if Nintendo stole its design. I know there's a lot of people that have said similar.

Keyboard: I can't find the post now, it's buried in the Pyra News section (or possibly I am misremembering) but I'm pretty sure ED said it would have a matte finish. The keys are translucent to allow LED backlighting, it would kind of defeat the purpose if they were also very shiney.

ABXY game buttons: topic of much debate here. I don't think ED has decided what to do yet but there's no end to suggestion threads around here.

The oval indent: gone.

 

[AirplaneRandy]

Glad to know that there is an answer for nearly everything I asked for. But really, the only reason I created this account is to suggest my main gripe with the Pyra design, and that's the D-Pad. I just love the +D-Pad. If there was some way to have two seperate versions of the Pyra, one with a circular d-pad, and another with a +dpad. All would be good in the world. And that ridge problem is totally understandable, considering that the 3ds is able to not have it because the bottom screen is raised, something like that is not possible with the pyra. On second thought, it may look okay on the pyra as it will better border the top screen now that the lcd is bigger.

Thanks for the detailed reply WizardStan!

EDIT: Okay, i checked out that video with the blue 3d printed prototype case.

Those sound holes. they don't look good to me.

Not liking that curvature there, it doesn't look flush with the rest of the console. Take the 3ds for example, nice and flush. It's probably justified because of the ridge.

I like that there isn't any sort of concavity in the case at all. Looks minimalist and nice! But the circle pad though, those inner rings, they don't look "cool" to me. But it's a good thing they are easily customizable and replacable unlike the case.

Wait wait wait, instead of two versions of the Pyra, just allow us to purchase a replacement case/shell that features the Cross D-pad. Now that would be fantastic and more reasonable.

 

[rygD]

You do need to use the Pandora D-pad to appreciate it.  I prefer the Nintendo D-pad for looks, and, in the past, for the feel.  The Pandora D-pad is great, and unless there is a more valid reason than "it looks different" I am all for keeping it.  I know I can get better precision with diagonals on it than I can with the Nintendo cross.

 

[elvissteinjr]

Don't ask me for the exact news this was mentioned, but ED said the speaker hole design is pretty much fixed as it's designed from the speaker manufacturer specifications to get the best sound out of it.

 

[AirplaneRandy]

Don't ask me for the exact news this was mentioned, but ED said the speaker hole design is pretty much fixed as it's designed from the speaker manufacturer specifications to get the best sound out of it.

If that's the case, don't change them at all. Function over Aesthetics (EXCEPT FOR THE DPAD!!! B) )

Oh, and I just realized, we can just bloody open up the case ourself and rearrange the ABXY buttons! Stupid me, why didn't I think of that. Just be sure that the software has some kind of option to have that work out better.

 

[slaeshjag]

I'd rather have a usable d-pad over one that looks good

 

[Binky]

Wait wait wait, instead of two versions of the Pyra, just allow us to purchase a replacement case/shell that features the Cross D-pad. Now that would be fantastic and more reasonable.

I highly doubt that would be financially feasible. Plastic injection moulds are very expensive to make, and this is a small project with a small budget.

As others have said, the pandora's dpad is fantastically good already. There are for more important things to improve.

 

[TrashyMG]

3DS looks sterile and bland.

Also Split this into it's own thread as it's way off topic.. Flame on.

 

[fusion_power]

3DS looks sterile and bland.

Maybe, but fact is that the Pandora Case looks much cheaper than an average 3DS case, that's the problem. Especialy when you remember how much more expencive the Pandora actualy is in comparison. And yes, the "ridge" could need some serious redesign to look better. I fear that the Pyra will not have much progress there, since the new case is based onto the old one almost 1:1. To ged rid of the overall "brickness" of the pandora case, it would also need some redesign of the underside with more rounded/sloped edges for example.

 

[ekianjo]

I'm not a fan of red text over grey background. Just saying.

3DS looks sterile and bland.

No, it looks like a fucking toy. That it is.

 

[ekianjo]

Maybe, but fact is that the Pandora Case looks much cheaper than an average 3DS case, that's the problem.

Maybe, but the fact is that the target population for the Pandora/Pyra is not 5 years old kids. We all want a better looking case, but good casing design is something that even massive companies do bad, and it's not like ED has the budget of Nintendo to spend on case design iterations and hardware integration either.

 

[bzar]

No, it looks like a fucking toy. That it is.

I've never seen it used that way

 

[Hồng Thất Công]

Whoever want to change the dpad, must go thru my dead body

No, it looks like a fucking toy. That it is.

I've never seen it used that way

Must be painful ...

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

Quite so, the d-pad is the best I have used since the super nintendo days. No need to change it. It has It has perfect responsiveness, the right amount of travel distance and is precise.

 

[FBnil]

Flame on.

The only gripe I have with the pandora is the ridge (yes, it protects when it is closed AND it allows you to drag it along grabbed from one edge of the screen, which I do quite a lot), but when you try to draw with the stylus, you scrape your hand continuously on it (I was using the OCR software a lot).

The other things are great, even stuff nobody talks about until they are different, like the center of gravity of the device, weight. Location of the dpad and keys relative to your shoulderbutton-fingers. They fit better than the 3DS, which does feel smaller.

 

[fusion_power]

No, it looks like a fucking toy. That it is.

I agree that the 2DS looks like a toy (and the first GBA). But the overall appearence and haptics of todays 3DS are pretty decent and have a nice surface quality, I wouldn't call that "toy". OK, if you choose pink as colour than maybe but a nice flat black makes even an Nintendo handheld look good. I know that the Pandora is also black which covers some of it's problems. But all the rough, sharp and uneven edges just destroy the "illusion" of a quality case. Nintendo (and Sony) does that right imho of if you don't like that example, look how apple makes it#s designs and cases for their devices.Or even better, just take a look at my Philips Shaver, very impressive multy-component-surface "composition": http://www.amazon.com/Philips-Norelco-8140XL-SpeedXL-Shaver/dp/B0009MFUOA

No gaps, all matches 100%, Design + injection molding at perfection. And it's basicly still made out of "cheap plasic". But you can make it look expencive.

 

[klapse]

Anyone complaining about the lid "ridge" doesn't understand what it is for.

 

[Ian J]

I have a DS and the D=Pad is painful to use after a short time.

The Pandora D-pad is one of the best I have ever used, the only other pad that compares was on the TurboExpress.

 

[b_o_b]

Looks are less important than functionality and I am sure ED will make functionality his priority. I have mentioned it before, and I am mentioning it again: don't use colors for the game buttons. It will look less toyish then.