GPD XD2

[vcoleiro1]

GPD are planning their successor to the GPD XD at the moment and have released some renders of it as shown below

http://liliputing.com/2016/03/gpd-xd2-handheld-android-game-console-coming-soon.html


It will have a hinge that allows the 6" screen to rotate back 360 degrees so that it can also be used as a mini tablet for touch games. No further details as yet, they are still deciding the SOC etc. They did mention 4GB of ram in one thread.

It will be interesting to see what they release. What the story above doesn't tell you is that on the chinese Baidu forum , GPD had at one stage planned to have 4 joysticks on it. The extra two sticks were going to be used more as a 8 button switch (rather than having 16 buttons) to support MOBA games which are very popular in china. I think they went back on that spec in the end as a lot of people thought it was crazy. But the funny thing though, look at the bottom right of the first image. You can see the top of the joystick crater for the third stick. Now look at the screen, you can clearly see the reflection of the third stick. Looks like they were not meant to show that and tried to hide it but forgot about the reflection etc

 

[alxm]

Looks like someone at GPD is a Thinkpad fan!

 

[EvilDragon]

6"...?
Is it just me or are mobile gaming devices getting less mobile each year?

 

[WizardStan]

It will have a hinge that allows the 6" screen to rotate back 360 degrees so that it can also be used as a mini tablet for touch games.

My memory is flakey on this but I thought the reason EvilDragon didn't do this was because of patents.

 

[vcoleiro1]

I don't remember ED ever contemplating a 360 degree hinge. The community had proposed it though many years ago

 

[Klumpen]

GPD's shovelware approach is getting more extreme every month.
They haven't even got a prototype of the GPD Win which is rushed in every aspect and are already working on something else? oO
It would be nice if they properly supported one thing instead of trying to sell as many different things as possible.

I don't remember ED ever contemplating a 360 degree hinge. The community had proposed it though many years ago

Yeah, I wanted that because it would make using the touch screen a lot easier, not that I think most people would use the touchscreen a lot since it has proper physical controls.

 

[lukey]

My memory is flakey on this but I thought the reason EvilDragon didn't do this was because of patents.

No this is an different Hinge. I think this one is Patented:


XD2's Hinge wouldn't work on the Pyra because there's no space.

 

[vcoleiro1]

Now I remember . Nope , not going to say anything.

 

[Mr_Loon]

GPD had at one stage planned to have 4 joysticks on it. The extra two sticks were going to be used more as a 8 button switch (rather than having 16 buttons) to support MOBA games which are very popular in china. I think they went back on that spec in the end as a lot of people thought it was crazy.

If that was the reasoning then what seems crazy to me is that they didn't propose additional DPads rather than analogue sticks.

 

[fusion_power]

6"...?
Is it just me or are mobile gaming devices getting less mobile each year?

A little bit unfair when you count in that this device may have half the thickness of the Pyra-brick.

My memory is flakey on this but I thought the reason EvilDragon didn't do this was because of patents.

Somehow everything is possible when a chinese company wants to do something. Patents are only counting for ordinary western companies. XD
Well, I guess the main reason was more that there are not many suitable 360° hinges for such sall devices. Actualy, I've never seen such an hinge for such an mobile device at all. I wonder if they have developed that hinge of their own. I would really like to have something like that for an Pyra-style Device.
Overall, I'm always impressed how fast these GPD guys seems to be, they throw out one device after another, there must really be a market out there. Any ideas of their production numbers for these devices?

 

[Caine]

A little bit unfair when you count in that this device may have half the thickness of the Pyra-brick.

That does not make his statement untrue. In fact, the Pyra is also less mobile compared with the Pandora (assuming mobility is primarily about size, as implied here).

 

[EvilDragon]

True, the Pandora is a bit more mobile, but the Pyra, even with increased thickness, still fits most trouser pockets.

With a 6" screen, I somehow doubt that - even the 5,5" GPD Win barely fits my pocket, 6" will be too much.

Also, a 15" tablet can be a lot thinner than the GPD or the Pyra, and still would be less portable

Comparing the pure volumes, the Pyra might have more than the XD2, but unfortunately, pockets have a certain size, not volume.

 

[vcoleiro1]

I think I read somewhere, probably on the chinese forum, that the XD2 would be the same size as the current XD.

Even though the XD2 uses a 6" screen, there was room for it without making the device bigger.. Could be wrong, we'll see I guess

 

[kuru]

Due to the design of this - you can prop it up without extra stuff, I'd use this to watch movies in the bathtub and not much else.

 

[_jr_]

It is also possible to license patents. With large volume manufacturing it probably isn't even expensive.

 

[vcoleiro1]

I'm not sure what the common name for them is, but double barrel hinges like that have been around since forever. It's pretty much the wheel. So it's basic essense wouldn't be patented.

What could be patented is the internals of the hinge that set certain position locks and control friction locking. Different technical ways this could be done may be patentable - although a number I suspect of previous ways this was done are probably out of patent given how old the basic concept of the hinge is and the many solutions to the locking that must have been released.. Of course all that other stuff is needed otherwise in it's most basic form , a double barrel hinge would just have the screen flopping around.

 

[erico]

...
Overall, I'm always impressed how fast these GPD guys seems to be, they throw out one device after another, there must really be a market out there. Any ideas of their production numbers for these devices?

Market? Release one game tablet, give no support, next year release another game tablet to supposedly address the problems of the first one, keep things as cheap as possible, the solution is getting closer at 50% a day, loop forever.

Yep, their needed production run so that the product is worth doing is something I´d like to know too. Certainly they need higher sales numbers then Ed? but life is a lot cheaper in China than Germany, they may need less profit.

 

[rygD]

As you pointed out, a major difference between GPD products and the Pyra is they are making throwaway devices, while Pyra is intended to last a while, and is easy for users to open up for mods, upgrades, and repairs.

Edit: this sorta reminds me of certain other companies that produce long lasting reliable products that can be repaired, and if they don't do something to keep people coming back to buy more they will put themselves out of business. Zippo is one of the lucky ones, where people like to collect them, and even if they only want one or two there is a good chance they will lose it and buy another.

 

[kuru]

Pyra is intended to last a while.

Is ther ANY handheld device out there, that has upgradable hardware - as in possible CPU replacement?

 

[Klumpen]

Is ther ANY handheld device out there, that has upgradable hardware - as in possible CPU replacement?

Or DRM-free games on non proprietary data storage?