GPD XD


vcoleiro said:
Looks like this will be available next month. Willgoo has started taking preorders

http://www.willgoo.com/presell-gpd-xd-pocket-gaming-tablet-rk3288-quadcore-5-ips-p-637.html

GPD-XD-7.jpg
GPD-XD-10_01.jpg
..
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That person has big hands?
 
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The formfactor is nice.  I wish NVidia had used similar formfactor for the Shield Portable.  Other than formfactor, the Shield Portable beats the crap out of this one in every aspects.
 
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If either of them had a keyboard I might pick them up.  I would also be a little unhappy since they might cut into Pyra sales.  I suppose they still might, but I kinda think a big draw for Pandora/Pyra is the keyboard.  Plus the Pyra will have a lot more soul.
 
^if by soul, you mean the community of supporters, then it has more people at this point, but all it takes is the right people with the right interest and ability to back something like this from the community standpoint to change that real quick. 

From a manufacturer's standpoint, they do interact with the indy developer scene quite a bit, good even considering the language barrier. Taking feedback and improving their products to meet those requests.

If there ever was competition for the pandora/pyra, I think this would be it. The overlaps in functionality, use cases, and even form factor are strikingly similar.

There are RK3288 devices running linux in the wild so this could potentially run the same OS, just as the pyra could run android at some point. Everything else is almost identical or could be from a functionality standpoint minus the keyboard.

I know I'll be picking one up.
 
On the bus, I use the nubs as mouse because it is impossible to touch anything accurately while the bumpy bus is in motion.  But at home, I prefer to use touchscreen because it is much faster and more productive.  So for me, both of them  are equally important. 
 
SNESFAN said:
^if by soul, you mean the community of supporters, then it has more people at this point, but all it takes is the right people with the right interest and ability to back something like this from the community standpoint to change that real quick. 
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No, I was just giving a meaningless excuse for why I like Pyra/Pandora better.  I don't believe in souls.  The Pyra will have been made more out of love for the actual project/devices than to make money, so...yeah, I don't know where I was going with that.
 
rygD said:
SNESFAN said:
^if by soul, you mean the community of supporters, then it has more people at this point, but all it takes is the right people with the right interest and ability to back something like this from the community standpoint to change that real quick. 
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No, I was just giving a meaningless excuse for why I like Pyra/Pandora better.  I don't believe in souls.  The Pyra will have been made more out of love for the actual project/devices than to make money, so...yeah, I don't know where I was going with that.
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fair enough, I know I'll like the pandora/pyra better as well, some of that has to do with the non-tangible aspects of it.

But I felt it needed mentioning that this does look like a solid device with a lot of potential and in some ways could be more of a threat to the pyra's userbase than could be seen at first glance if the right things fall into place. And more to the "the pandora has no competitiion" argument that always comes up when something new and interesting comes out. I think back to the shield and there were lots who marked it off because of the form factor and the size/weight even if lots of functionality overlapped.
 
SNESFAN said:
rygD said:
SNESFAN said:
^if by soul, you mean the community of supporters, then it has more people at this point, but all it takes is the right people with the right interest and ability to back something like this from the community standpoint to change that real quick.
Click to expand...
No, I was just giving a meaningless excuse for why I like Pyra/Pandora better.  I don't believe in souls.  The Pyra will have been made more out of love for the actual project/devices than to make money, so...yeah, I don't know where I was going with that.
Click to expand...
fair enough, I know I'll like the pandora/pyra better as well, some of that has to do with the non-tangible aspects of it.

But I felt it needed mentioning that this does look like a solid device with a lot of potential and in some ways could be more of a threat to the pyra's userbase than could be seen at first glance if the right things fall into place. And more to the "the pandora has no competitiion" argument that always comes up when something new and interesting comes out. I think back to the shield and there were lots who marked it off because of the form factor and the size/weight even if lots of functionality overlapped.
Click to expand...
Also, is there any reason why any of these sorts of things can't have Linux installed, and, for the things that need it, use an external keyboard, wired or wireless?  For a while I was looking at this OTG cabled keyboard for Android devices.  I decided against it (and hope that the Pyra keyboard will indeed be decent).  I don't even remember the name/manufacturer, and it was pretty cheap.  Anyway, to use something like that with either the Shield Portable or the XD (why is that not a smiley?) is a tradeoff, losing portability for the ability to use the keyboard, or using a lesser option when away from the keyboard, and using the keyboard when it makes sense (but why not just use a full size computer at those times?).

I dunno, I use my Pandora at times when it would also make sense to use a laptop or desktop, but the Pandora is more convenient (size and weight are great, I can walk into another room and type while someone is talking about something, then shove it in a pocket and do whatever, etc).  Most of those times are not related to gaming and rely heavily on the keyboard, so, if anything, Pyra/Pandora sales to people wanting to do that wouldn't interfere with the sales of the other options, but these others can interfere with Pyra/Pandora sales when it comes to gaming.


Edit:  What I was really getting at is they both have their audience, and there may be some overlap with Pandora users.  I only need one, and it must have a keyboard AND gaming buttons.
 
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rygD said:
Also, is there any reason why any of these sorts of things can't have Linux installed, and, for the things that need it, use an external keyboard, wired or wireless?  For a while I was looking at this OTG cabled keyboard for Android devices.  I decided against it (and hope that the Pyra keyboard will indeed be decent).  I don't even remember the name/manufacturer, and it was pretty cheap.  Anyway, to use something like that with either the Shield Portable or the XD (why is that not a smiley?) is a tradeoff, losing portability for the ability to use the keyboard, or using a lesser option when away from the keyboard, and using the keyboard when it makes sense (but why not just use a full size computer at those times?).

I dunno, I use my Pandora at times when it would also make sense to use a laptop or desktop, but the Pandora is more convenient (size and weight are great, I can walk into another room and type while someone is talking about something, then shove it in a pocket and do whatever, etc).  Most of those times are not related to gaming and rely heavily on the keyboard, so, if anything, Pyra/Pandora sales to people wanting to do that wouldn't interfere with the sales of the other options, but these others can interfere with Pyra/Pandora sales when it comes to gaming.


Edit:  What I was really getting at is they both have their audience, and there may be some overlap with Pandora users.  I only need one, and it must have a keyboard AND gaming buttons.
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There's no reason why it *CAN'T* have linux installed. The reasoning is purely on the market. From the manufacturer's perspective, they make the hardware, source out the OS port (something they normally do anyway) and then they have access to an entire ecosystem of applications that "just work". A "turnkey" solution if you will. Due to the popularity of android, finding a 3rd party that specializes in porting android is easlier/cheaper. 

On the other hand, with linux, you have to port the OS, fix the bugs you introduce, and it takes a lot more effort to maintain. With Android, you basically hook the premade source from the SoC manufacturer, port the modified linux kernel to your system specific hardware and you're done basically forever. Then with linux, you also need to port applications over to your platform. Each application needs ported and QA to make sure it works flawlessly with your system, and then licensing becomes a nightmare if you want to bundle or officially support an app or emulator. Or you need to rely on a community that may or may not meet your user's requirements. You then need to setup a software distribution network you must also maintain (like pandora)

So yea, it's been done before (dingoo, gp2x, caanoo etc), but the people have voted with their wallets, android seems more popular for the mobile devices for end users, not to mention the lesser cost on the manufacturer.

The area they could improve is making it easier for the significant market that is the indy developer community to allow them access to their hardware specific source code for linux/android so those that want linux and all the hard work involved, can have it.
 
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ekianjo said:
SNESFAN said:
and then licensing becomes a nightmare if you want to bundle or officially support an app or emulator
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Why would that be a nightmare? Licensing issues have NOTHING specifically to do with Linux, they exist on every single OS out there.
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It's nothing specifically to do with linux. But it ends up being the nature of the beast due to how software ends up on the device. Porting must be done by hand rather than through a compatibility layer like other mobile OS's.

1 example is snes9x, legally, you couldn't bundle it with the hardware you're selling flat out because that's without a doubt commercial use and is being sold as a complete package. Then if you as a company officially made a port specifically for your piece of hardware having it as a selling point it enters the question... is that commercial use? It happens, snes9x has been ported to all types of those older linux based handhelds, but if you start cutting hairs, they were technically breaking copywrite laws, often not even including the license they were breaking.

https://github.com/snes9xgit/snes9x/blob/master/docs/snes9x-license.txt

another is picodrive from our very own notaz, similar license.

https://github.com/notaz/picodrive/commit/cff531af94bd9c9c89ae162e80f48ddc26a4e504

For an example of a peice of hardware and the actual nightmare that transpired, look at the retron 5, running emulators not for commercial use. (heard they have since fixed this but I don't know, when released it was the case though)

http://www.engadget.com/2014/09/28/retroarch-authors-retron-5s-emulators-code-violate-licenses/

The reason you can get around it in android is the applications from the app store are accessible without porting by hand and the user can just go and get the software they want themselves. No need for a community dedicated to your specific hardware to do the unofficial port, as it's done already, and readily available.

Agian, it's not a "linux problem" the OS is open and free, it's the software you would want to bundle with your hardware to be attractive to the market you're targeting that becomes the problem.
 
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