Finalizing everything!

[ZXDunny]

Indeed, and this is why I haven't pre-ordered. There's no benefit to it (it's not any cheaper) other than getting a unit before there's any real software available for it - by which I mean software that has been ported with the Pyra in mind, as opposed to the usual "It builds, ship it" that we had with the Pandora in the early years. And of course, there's the very real possibility that we won't actually get one for a long time anyway. Having been burned by the Pandora in that regard, I'm hanging onto my cash until there is stock to buy.

 

[Klumpen]

Indeed, and this is why I haven't pre-ordered. There's no benefit to it (it's not any cheaper) other than getting a unit before there's any real software available for it

The benefit is, that there simply won't be any Pyra without enough pre-orders. I think we needed around 500 minimum to make it happen and this point has barely been reached.
Luckily we have enough pre-orders for a relatively small batch now, a bigger one would be more cost efficient though I guess. Let's see if it will be a 1000 units batch after all.
The main reason why I backed this project is, that I simply want to see it happen at all (and I started to miss my Pandora bitterly after having tinkered with some Android devices since of course).
The only thing I ever backed before (apart from paying a bloody lot for the 1Ghz upgrade) was "Driftmoon" and I've done it directly on the devs site without any third partry - it's a good RPG btw.

 

[Grench]

Indeed, and this is why I haven't pre-ordered. There's no benefit to it (it's not any cheaper) other than getting a unit before there's any real software available for it - by which I mean software that has been ported with the Pyra in mind, as opposed to the usual "It builds, ship it" that we had with the Pandora in the early years. And of course, there's the very real possibility that we won't actually get one for a long time anyway. Having been burned by the Pandora in that regard, I'm hanging onto my cash until there is stock to buy.

You're putting yourself first. I get that and it is a legitimate choice. With more people with that philosophy though, it would never happen. So, some day when Pyra consoles are in stock and you can order and receive yours in short order, be sure to thank ED and the rest of the dreamers for putting their money down so that it could happen.

I see the project as getting 'less risky' by the day. Back when ED was doing the primary development work and paying money out of pocket for board and case designs, his risk was very high. When the pre-pre-orders and Prototype purchasers chipped in 70,000+EUR to support the prototyping process, the risk was somewhat lessened, but still very high. Now we're in a general pre-order. A few prototypes have been made and tested. IMHO at this stage with how it's been run, this has better chance of success than the majority of Kickstarter programs. If you want 0 risk, though, maybe waiting until general stock-on-shelves is ready for immediate delivery. However, I hope that demand is so high by that point that ED can raise the prices.

 

[FBnil]

it would never happen

Ditto here. I did not pre-pre-order, as it both lasted very short AND there were enough fanboi's stepping up. But I did preorder now to "make it happen" (sold my kindney amd stuff), as we are now talking big figures to start production...

edit: Also chose the 4Gb option. Just because the GPD Win has also 4Gb. Specs rule, unfortunately...

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

I personally find it exciting to be in at the very start. (well earlyish in the pre-orders) I'll enjoy using software and giving feedback, tinkering with the pyra and mucking about.
I reckon we will have good DC emulation pretty early on- some damn fine shmups to be played.

 

[Caine]

Ditto here. I did not pre-pre-order, as it both lasted very short AND there were enough fanboi's stepping up. But I did preorder now to "make it happen" (sold my kindney amd stuff), as we are now talking big figures to start production...

Same for me. After the Pandora journey, I decided not the pre-order again, so I skipped the pre-pre-order.
However, I really want this project to happen. So in an impulse I pre-ordered anyway.

I am a bit surprised by all the "sell-my-kidney talk" though. It's not a bargain, but I would not call it really expensive either.

 

[Klumpen]

I am a bit surprised by all the "sell-my-kidney talk" though. It's not a bargain, but I would not call it really expensive either.

It's a big chunk more than a month's wage for me and some others, the final price at least.
Still decided to back it just to make it happen.

 

[Grench]

Same for me. After the Pandora journey, I decided not the pre-order again, so I skipped the pre-pre-order.
However, I really want this project to happen. So in an impulse I pre-ordered anyway.

I am a bit surprised by all the "sell-my-kidney talk" though. It's not a bargain, but I would not call it really expensive either.

I still don't understand this either. I actually consider it to be a bargain for what it IS.

People have tried to compare it to the $500 ($300 if you made the preorder) GPD Win, which is missing mobile data and phone capabilities, has only the 1 uSD slot and 1 USB port - falls far short. There is a lot of doubt about ongoing support on this one too.

People have tried to compare it to a smart phone. The nearest equivalent would probably be the 525 EUR FairPhone 2. That is missing the keyboard, slots, etc. It falls short too.

So, what we have is the combined capability and value of those TWO devices PLUS additional capabilities that neither has such as storage capabilities to rival full sized laptops and a logical keyboard and solid game controls and... A solid but cheap laptop would run in the $500 range, but good luck sticking it in your pocket or replacing the phone that's already riding there.

If the nearest devices are those above, we'll have the capabilities of around 1200 EUR in equipment capability converged into a single device that is selling for under 750 EUR fully spec'd that should fit in a baggy pants pocket. For what we're getting, I don't think it's particularly expensive.

It is priced where it needs to be.

 

[Caine]

I would say that the Pyra is a hybrid of a laptop (or ultrabook), smartphone, gaming handheld and media player (or perhaps tablet).

The saying goes "Jack of all trades, master of none", but for the Pyra it should be "Jack of all trades, master of some".

• For a gaming handheld it is extremely impressive hardware. Pandora shoulder buttons were worthless, but the remainder of the controls were great. Sure, it is a niche device and thus lacks support of the big game publishers, that said as an emulation device nothing else comes even close.
• As an ultrabook it is good. Great battery life (battery is also easily replaced). Perhaps the screen and keyboard are a bit small, but it is well suited for productivity and has access to a massive eco-system of standard desktop Linux software.
• As a media player it is great. Massive, swappable storage and lots of power; play media on the go or plug it into a tv & speaker setup to become the brain of a complete home entertainment system.
• A a phone, well.. it's better than nothing. Biggest shortcomings here are the lack of camera capabilities and form-factor (a headset will be required). For email and messaging it is actually better than a phone. It certainly can be a superb PDA. I suspect it will be a decent navigation system too.

For me, the lack of a camera is the only thing preventing it from being the perfect device. I still haven't found a really good external solution for this either.

All in all, that's a LOT of functionality packed into a tiny device.

 

[pmprog]

I still don't understand this either. I actually consider it to be a bargain for what it IS

But that's you...

My Pandora is pretty much an MP3 player at the minute, and an expensive one at that. Especially when I have a Sansa Clip which also plays MP3s, but boots a hell of a lot faster. The only advantage of the Pandora is the volume output, which works better when connected into my car. I do occasionally load up FBA, VICE, or DraStic, but they are rare moments these days.

I was more than tempted to not preorder and wait until production was running before ordering, but I'd dipped my toes in, hoping that I can try and bring some of my software (such as they are) to the Pyra.

So I can totally empathise with ZXDunny, and I imagine there are plenty more waiting for stable production and maybe the 2nd or 3rd round of OS updates to get things running smoothly. You shouldn't begrudge somebody for that.

Maybe if it's dragging out and ED is still shy of a few preorders to make the first run, people like ZXDunny, who want the unit but preferred to wait, might change their mind so that production can go ahead, but at the end of the day, that's their choice. The Pyra isn't "life essential" no matter how good it might be.

 

[_jr_]

I imagine there are plenty more waiting for stable production and maybe the 2nd or 3rd round of OS updates to get things running smoothly. You shouldn't begrudge somebody for that.

But is it really necessary to tell the world about such a private decision, especially when the product in question desperately needs all the positive spin it can get?

 

[pmprog]

But is it really necessary to tell the world about such a private decision, especially when the product in question desperately needs all the positive spin it can get?

You could say that for a lot of the posts on this forum, and probably on most forums on the internet. I don't really see ZXDunny's comment as a negative anyway. It's not like he's saying it's going to be crap.

One of the things I'll be interested to see is how well certain applications in the Debian repo stand up without any Pyra-specific tweaks.

 

[tsh]

One of the things I'll be interested to see is how well certain applications in the Debian repo stand up without any Pyra-specific tweaks.

Well, chroot Ubuntu on my Chromebook just works, so I guess there has been a fair amount of porting work going on for some time now. (To be fair, I don't stress the Chromebook, but it's a good reference)

 

[ZXDunny]

Thanks for not tearing my head off for not pre-ordering

It's not that I want zero risk; it's that after the Pandora there's not just the possibility that it would never be delivered, but also that it will be every bit as underpowered and outdated as the Pandora was. Many of us were highly enthusiastic about that device, we all had high hopes for this amazingly powerful spititual successor to the GP handhelds... But whichever way you slice it, the Pandora performed much more poorly than our aspirations led us to believe, and had awful hardware defects in the original design which it was up to ED to fix.

It's sad, but the Pandora has soured the whole thing for me, so I'll be watching and waiting. And it is bloody expensive.

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

Thanks for not tearing my head off for not pre-ordering

It's not that I want zero risk; it's that after the Pandora there's not just the possibility that it would never be delivered, but also that it will be every bit as underpowered and outdated as the Pandora was. Many of us were highly enthusiastic about that device, we all had high hopes for this amazingly powerful spititual successor to the GP handhelds... But whichever way you slice it, the Pandora performed much more poorly than our aspirations led us to believe, and had awful hardware defects in the original design which it was up to ED to fix.

It's sad, but the Pandora has soured the whole thing for me, so I'll be watching and waiting. And it is bloody expensive.

Once some of the kinks were sorted out the pandora was a great device imo. Yes, the first assembled units were a bit crap and my first pandora was also a bit crap but my second pandora which craig sent me when my first one died was sweet. Later the 1ghz added more juice. The perennially cracking cases never went away though.

I have the utmost confidence that ed will knock it out of the park- mainly because he takes his time and proceeds cautiously at each turn. But yeah it would be silly to begrudge you for not pre-ordering or even pre-pre-ordering or even pre-pre-pre ordering(prototype units).

 

[Klumpen]

I expect a few quirks but not nearly as many as with the Pandora since ED is quite cautious and I trust him that the prototype run will be used to iron out problems although they seem to only be on the software side by now anyway. I'm patient.

 

[rygD]

@ZXDunny Buy a Pyra.

 

[levi]

Thanks for not tearing my head off for not pre-ordering
Many of us were highly enthusiastic about that device, we all had high hopes for this amazingly powerful spititual successor to the GP handhelds... But whichever way you slice it, the Pandora performed much more poorly than our aspirations led us to believe, and had awful hardware defects in the original design which it was up to ED to fix.

It sounds awful to be such an optimist!

 

[Faust]

@EvilDragon : After how many Pre-orders are you going to launch the production?

We almost reached the 750 Pre-orders (including the pre-pre-ordered units) but it seems that the next level you want to aim is 950.

 

[vcoleiro1]

I have a feeling there's a lot of people who wont pre-order and are waiting on:

1) The Pyra to be available at retail

2) Reviews