GPD Pocket

[0x14f]

I can't understand how so many people backed this.

It's too big for a pocket device and too small for day to day use. On this thing you have to type with 2 hands as opposed to thumbs and your hands will always be in cramped position. Am I missing an intense and emotional marketing campaign by some genius ad agency?

 

[elwing]

I can't either... The GPDwin was a gaming device, more or less a one of a kind for x86. This one is just another umpc...

 

[comradekingu]

Android created a world wherein phones no longer have keyboards, so people want that, and will take anything.
Sadly, with garbage like this, this trend will die out. And then it will re-emerge, because typing never gets old.

Remember blackberry, yep, they have done the fail-over so many times their company is now catering to US-centric business minds.
It is a subset of one region, in a market where money doesn't matter.

Edit: Sony already cracked the 10finger in a handheld https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Sony_VAIO_P.jpg
And went out of the business of doing laptops.
They had the VGN-UX27GN too, having keys you can reach, but bad ones at that.
An ortholinear 12x5, with two-thumb layout, with decent keys, right around 16 cm wide, would be ideal.

The problem being nobody makes that sort of screen, nor at the resolution that would make sense.

Keyboards falling out of fashion is because they all need to be printed, giving each product 5+ variants, instead of one.
In the geek world, where we are, all you need is enough keys in the right places.

I think we will see that before any oled keys or similar.

 

[vcoleiro1]

Well it is some what pocketable in that it will fit in some pockets - such as an inside coat pocket or those deep shorts/pants pockets.

I actualy think it will be decent to type on .

There isn't that many UMPC's like it on the market anymore, I guess the alternative would be a tablet and type cover with friction locked hinge. But they are bigger, Dont remember seeing a 7" Intel z8700 or greater powered tablet. They tend to be 10" or so.

So I can see why it has taken off. Particularly in Japan where it sems the fan base for UMPCs has been and still seems to be big

That said , I did think the campaign would be successful before it started. But I thought maybe it would do around what the WIN did. It has blown it away by miles. Did not see that coming. At the moment it's the 35th most funded campaign ever on Indiegogo with another 2 weeks to go.

 

[0x14f]

I actualy think it will be decent to type on .

Obviously the manufacturer convinced an awful lot of people this is the case, otherwise, backers wouldn't have given them so much of their money and this is exactly what baffles me.

I understand Japanese and their liking of UMPCs - thumb typing is so cool and geeky, no screen real estate covered with on-screen keyboard, productivity through the roof! So awesome! But what they show in this video is not thumb typing, that's the blunt and shameless 2-hand typing on a 7" inch device. $2,500,000 and counting??? Really????


On a 7" device with a physical keyboard, you have to put your palms together at an awkward angle. You also have to keep your device on your knee(s) or on a table to be able to type which means your neck will bend under yet another awkward angle to be able to see anything. And I'm not even talking about speed typing, just using the device for more than half an hour with a physical keyboard use case.

That's why I was wondering if I missed some really nice social media campaign or appearance on national tv or something where they show how really decent typing on this device is and that it really needs to be a netbook rather than tablet.

 

[TheOldOne]

My 9" tablet fits in the pocket of my cargo pants.

 

[mius]

It's too big for a pocket device [...]

Nonsense. Not everyone longs for the "I need to feel mah gadget right next to my ballz" UMPC nörd experience. One of the reasons Sony's Vaio P series is so fondly remembered of by many is its form factor, which was perfect for purses, small hand bags, bigger pockets (e.g. on cargo pockets, hoodies, coats), a.s.o.

[...] and too small for day to day use.

Got nothing to do with size per se, but with the proper conceptual approach.

On this thing you have to type with 2 hands as opposed to thumbs and your hands will always be in cramped position.

Touch-type can work very well if the keyboard is designed well enough, e.g. IBM's PC110, Sharp's PC-3000/-3100 or Psion's Series 5.

On a 7" device with a physical keyboard, you have to put your palms together at an awkward angle.

I don't.

You also have to keep your device on your knee(s) or on a table to be able to type which means your neck will bend under yet another awkward angle to be able to see anything.

Now you're grasping at straws. Hard.

And I'm not even talking about speed typing, just using the device for more than half an hour with a physical keyboard use case.

That's why input devices (should) have a higher priority in proper UMPC/palmtop design. Obviously. Sadly, GPD hasn't catched up yet.

 

[levi]

But what they show in this video is not thumb typing, that's the blunt and shameless 2-hand typing on a 7" inch device. $2,500,000 and counting??? Really????

Assuming that's an EeePC a little like mine that I'm using for my post, and the vast majority of the ones I've made on these forums, that's a 9 inch chassis, not a 7 inch one. Now I'm a touch typer, but a self taught one, not one who finds the home keys and works from there, so it took me a little adaptation time, but not so much really. I've used it that much that all of my keys are now shiny while 'Q' and the number keys remain matte, and I've actually rubber the letter of the A key, left shift and pg down. I've actually erased the 'tr' out of 'Ctrl' on that key, but that may actually be the knuckle of my shift thumb doing that somehow I guess.

Now, I'm concerned that a 7" keyboard is going to be just too small for me, but I know that a 9" keyboard isn't. YMMV of course.

 

[benoitb]

On a 7" device with a physical keyboard, you have to put your palms together at an awkward angle. You also have to keep your device on your knee(s) or on a table to be able to type which means your neck will bend under yet another awkward angle to be able to see anything. And I'm not even talking about speed typing, just using the device for more than half an hour with a physical keyboard use case.

I used a HP Jornada to take notes in classes (2h). It required a desk but was comfortable enough. It's not about the size only, but about the quality of the keyboard.
And I agree with above comments, the keyboard doesn't look good on that gpd.

 

[oskda]

I can't understand how so many people backed this.

I suppose crowdfunding and advertising are two big reasons.

If Pyra was crowdfunded, it would sell more than now, but it ma be even that would be a problem for ED.

 

[levi]

FWIW, ED's said that he plans to crowdfund the Pyra once production is up and running, and he knows how many units he can produce each month I guess. It was in an interview not on these boards, but linked from here somewhere (I forget where exactly).

 

[0x14f]

I suppose crowdfunding and advertising are two big reasons.

If Pyra was crowdfunded, it would sell more than now, but it ma be even that would be a problem for ED.

FWIW, ED's said that he plans to crowdfund the Pyra once production is up and running, and he knows how many units he can produce each month I guess. It was in an interview not on these boards, but linked from here somewhere (I forget where exactly).

This makes a lot of sense.

 

[elwing]

It's really wise not to try crowd funding right now... Lots of people sees ks just as a store and have no patience... Just a few 2month ™ delays and you would see requests for refund and possibly even legal actions.

 

[benoitb]

I'm not even sure a KS for Pyra would do too well. People would not understand the price VS the hardware offered. I see KS as a land of dreaming and broken promises, where you sell more than you actually deliver. This doesn't seem to fit with this project honestly.

 

[Pyrate]

I think a crowdfunding campaign does make sense after all the backer units are out for publicity. And the funding goal would not need to be as high as any of the dreamed up devices, which won't turn up in the end.
Even if only a thousand backers will come on board I see it as a win-win for the Pyra.

And if the campaign should fail, it would still get some publicity on the device.

 

[elwing]

Yep, once production is running KA will be win/win....

 

[ArchiMark]

Have a WIN now (works well...) but toying with getting a Pocket as I'm not a big gamer, more interested in a small carry everywhere (or most everywhere...) mobile computer, with reasonable performance and keyboard.

Like others have mentioned, I'd probably go for the Win10 version and install linux later.

Recently learned of the Gemini PDA. The portability/pocketability of it is very attractive, but have some concerns about what the linux side of it will be like (not interested in the Android side of it...), display proportions and really high res, and how usable the keyboard will be.

Anyone else comparing these two?

Mark

 

[levi]

I don't think many of us here are comparing a likely product to a probable scam, no.

 

[EvilDragon]

BTW: I'll most likely be the one running the Kickstarter for the GPD Pocket for GPD (as they can't do Kickstarter in China).

 

[ArchiMark]

I don't think many of us here are comparing a likely product to a probable scam, no.

I did read comments on another site about this concern......

Sounded like it was more about 2 other people involved with another campaign that walked away from it. Not so much about the guy involved with Gemini that as I understand it joined up with the other 2 guys late in the game in that venture........

Anyway, don't want to get this thread sidetracked.......

So, back to the Pocket........

When I laid out the outlines of several small devices on one sheet of paper to easily compare sizes, I noticed that the Pocket is about same footprint (length x width) as my Fujitsu U/G90 (same size as UH900...) except that it is about 3.1 cm (1-1/4") shorter in length. Yet the Pocket has a 7" display vs the 5.6" display on the U/G90.