Right, I already had quite a couple of broken ribbon cables there.... but the first Pandora batch wasn't any better
GPD would gain even more quality (of life) when they just switch to removable batteries instead of built in ones. I'm sure they have designers and engineers thatc ould eaily do this. So a broken battery would not be a real issue anymore.The case quality of the GPD Win 2 is awesome, but so far, it seems A LOT of batteries fail for all GPD Devices (except for the GPD XD+) after a year or so, which is a bit concerning.
GPD has in general a fire and forget practice: As soon a device is successfully launched in the market, they forget about it.GPD would gain even more quality (of life) when they just switch to removable batteries instead of built in ones. I'm sure they have designers and engineers that ould eaily do this. So a broken battery would not be a real issue anymore.
But it looks like this is not the GPD philosophy, maybe they can be convinced some day.
Like they care...environmentally harmful
I don't own any GPD devices. I just hope they are not the typical chinese fire and forget company. Of course things like long-term-support would also gain them even more credit. These companies in general should start to learn what a good reputation can bring (in the western world).GPD has in general a fire and forget practice: As soon a device is successfully launched in the market, they forget about it.
Show me something mainstream that isn't these days. Even Apple devices (which I excluded, as those are to a greater degree able to run the newest updates for longer apparently) are built in china.
They get at least security patches over 2 years and Google also want to expand full Android update support even further. The recent Nokia Smartphones for instance get full updates for at least 2 years, not only security patches. So this improves right now. And Apple's long time support for their devices is even better.Yeah, just look at how western products like android phones can run the latest patches for years from their initial release date. Oh, wait.
The Pandora wasnt made in China, only the Plastik Case Parts,
The SOC was made by Circuitco in Texas for the first Batch and by Global Components in Germany for the later Batches,
Some where assembled in Britain, and most in South Germany (Ingolstadt)..
Sure lots of Parts where made in China, but the Pandora wasnt made in China..
You speak to Alice about this lately?That's good to know and hopefully true. I know many of my customers refuse to buy any more GPD products from me as they had that problem with the GPD Win 1 and GPD Pocket... and batteries aren't available anymore.
It's also an issue for distributors - I had to fully refund quite a lot of units as I couldn't return them to a working state again due to the lack of replacement batteries
We're using the same company as before, and most Pandora batteries from 2013 (some even from 2011) still work fine
That's good to know and hopefully true. I know many of my customers refuse to buy any more GPD products from me as they had that problem with the GPD Win 1 and GPD Pocket... and batteries aren't available anymore.
It's also an issue for distributors - I had to fully refund quite a lot of units as I couldn't return them to a working state again due to the lack of replacement batteries
I have a Win 1 and a Win 2. I run Arch Linux on both, and both far surpass any and all expectations I'd ever have for a Pandora/Pyra. The Win 2 also makes the Win 1 look like a very rough prototype in its improvements... not to mention who needs dual SD when you have something like M.2? The assertion I see flying here about quality/quantity here is absurd. Then you have these "environmental" arguments that are nothing more than a distraction, also complaints/fearmongering about battery life... What a joke. Battery problems are the kind of privilege that falls out of actually having a product out. Not to mention you can replace the battery on the Win 2- get a screwdriver.
How easy is it to get Linux running on Win 2?
Do you have any loose GPD Win Motherboards in good working order? Mine has an issue with the microHDMI port and I am not dexterous enough to desolder/solder a new one on. Also, any of the keyboard PCB's? Mine has some slight weirdness with boot sometimes and I have a suspicion that the power button may be slowly breaking down.
Install mednafen, and plug in your favourite USB joystick.Well, I did the same, installed ArchLinux on my GPD Win 2 and found it awesome... but since then, I haven't switched it on, since I have no real idea what to do with it.
I'm not into Windows games, I'm more into console games, and for ease of use, I still use the Pandora for that.
I also find the gaming controls of the GPD Win 2 not that good... yeah, it's nice for Windows games which mostly use analog controls, but if you want to play mostly DPad games, then they're not that comfortable (because of position and the DPad itself).