Have You Encountered Any Defects On Your Pandora So Far?

[TJFBryant]

Can I add something.
I'd like to say that even though the polls show some not so great issues with the Pandoras. It doesn't mean these are faulty units. My nubs have functional issues from time to time. The shoulder buttons are not great but they work. The LCD does this flicker things from time to time (unless I press on where the bezel is and it goes back to normal.) BUT... I am not about to return this unit because for my purposes its not "nonfunctional".
Its fully functional 99% of the time. AND... that all I can ask for... I mean come on... my ipod touch and Dingoo don'tcompletely work 98% of the time.

Plus I look at it this way. Its the first batch.... and frankly.... I understand what I was getting into before I fronted the money.

 

[SomeGuy99]

The LCD does this flicker things from time to time (unless I press on where the bezel is and it goes back to normal.

Your LCD cable is about to screw up. This is how is started for me, and it only gets worse.

Fingers crossed though

 

[quartercast]

76% of Pandoras! It must be true! Apart from the returns show nothing like this.

It's not about the percentage. That is just a limitation of the boards, if I could have I would have deleted the percentage figure. It's about counting how many actual people have problems with their Pandoras. The second question doesn't immediately answer that, it just gives a breakdown of the specific problems.

 

[EvilDragon]

76% of Pandoras! It must be true! Apart from the returns show nothing like this.

It's not about the percentage. That is just a limitation of the boards, if I could have I would have deleted the percentage figure. It's about counting how many actual people have problems with their Pandoras. The second question doesn't immediately answer that, it just gives a breakdown of the specific problems.

Because of the Screen Bezel, it doesn't say so either - because EVERYONE could've voted Yes here.
It's like asking "Does your headphone jack have a hole".

The screen bezel is on EVERY unit, as we know. There were some that had a way bigger screen bezel problem here (where the bent was 2 - 3 mm, not just the 0.5mm we have on every unit), but those were just a couple of them, never 41.

So by including this as hardware problem, you definately made the first question useless.

 

[Lorkile]

I had to change my vote, my replacement one only seems to suffer from the screen bezel issue. While that's rather irritating and I'll no doubt look into a solution soon, for now I'm pleased and just trying to catch up on software and figure things out (quake3 CD key inputting...).

 

[b1ueskycomp1ex]

After reading through EVERY SINGLE PAGE of this thread, one thing is clear - about 50% of it is a discussion over whether or not the poll is valid, conclusive, or whatever. To be honest, it's sort of a moot point. We all know that internet polls are NEVER ACCURATE, considering the number of different ways they can be hacked, skewed, or otherwise falsely spammed with answers that lead to absolutely no real data or information whatsoever. But, early on in the thread there was actually some information that was coming to light about who had which issues, and there were actual conversations that ACTUALLY helped, rather than being about the legitimacy of the statistics from a forum poll. All I'm saying is that through this thread or threads like it, we might actually be able to get a decent, albeit fuzzy picture of what the pandoras being shipped are like, which issues you can expect to have, and the frequency of these issues. In this way, the pandora might actually be able to improve and adapt, similarly to how the software community fixes bugs in applications.


With all of that said, has anyone had a problem with the keypad? The touchscreen? The USB ports? How about SD card slots? Has anyone had a problem with the headphone port? The stereo speakers? The LED indicators? The Microphone? Stuck/Damaged/broken pixels? Cracks in the screen?

Is there an official thread explaining which issues can/have been addressed, and which haven't been addressed? For example, the screen bezel issue is going to happen on EVERY SINGLE PANDORA, which is a known issue. The nub issues seem to have been addressed, as these were cause by a manufacturing error and AFAIK have been sorted out on the newer pandoras. What about the shoulder buttons? Is there a pattern or a known reason for shoulder button issues? etc.

It's obvious that since this hardware is being developed at the lowest cost possible, developed by a small number of people, and is the first such device to have been developed by these people, there will be issues. Will they be enough to completely ruin your experience? Probably not.


I for one know that the wiz is a 150 dollar device. For that amount of money, you sometimes get the following issues:

1. Strange screen texturing in some cases (where solid colors have a rough look)
2. An inaccurate touchscreen
3. The pixel plague issue/low screen lifetime
4. D-pad issues
5. Spongy buttons, etc.

And after constant use, normal wear, and a slight mishap with my screen, my wiz is dying a slow, painful disappearing pixel death. Even without holding a pandora in my hands or physically seeing one, from what I've read, heard, and seen in videos, the pandora is more rugged. Just the fact that it has a clamshell design makes it 1000% less prone to hardware damage than the other handhelds.

Just please, don't spend the next few pages checking my math ;]

 

[lucidchaos]

My early unit sent back for RMA did have an issue with the headphone port: To properly seat the headphone jack, more force than usual needed to be used to seat the jack in the socket. In addition, my headphones with built-in mic (4 conductor) did not play back sounds properly. Music sounded filtered as if it were a rear speaker in a surround sound setup. This problem did not occur with 3-conductor headphones.

I will report back if my replacement unit has the same issues.

 

[mali]

(quake3 CD key inputting...).

Quake 3 doesn't need the CD key any more, afaik. Just press enter

In addition, my headphones with built-in mic (4 conductor) did not play back sounds properly.

That's caused by an incompatible plug. iPhone compatible headphones will need an adaptor to match the pinout.

Is there an official thread explaining which issues can/have been addressed, and which haven't been addressed?

Except screen bezel bulging all of the issues should have been addressed by now. Shoulder buttons aren't painted any more, nubs are being tested at the factory. It shouldn't be hard for the assembly team to check the gaming buttons for excess plastic before assembling them and not tightening that one screw too much shouldn't be a problem either. Some problems with battery alignement might still occur from time to time till the battery manufacturer gets it right, but it's user fixable without voiding warranty most of the time.

 

[quartercast]

Because of the Screen Bezel, it doesn't say so either - because EVERYONE could've voted Yes here.
It's like asking "Does your headphone jack have a hole".

The screen bezel is on EVERY unit, as we know. There were some that had a way bigger screen bezel problem here (where the bent was 2 - 3 mm, not just the 0.5mm we have on every unit), but those were just a couple of them, never 41.

I think it would be biased to not include screen bezel just because it's a common defect. As you say, this particular defect is of relative proportions of 0.5-3 mm for another. My particular unit has a gap of about 1.5 mm and I can see the glue and dust in there so I chose to include the option, and I voted YES on the screen bezel issue. When making this poll I double checked with the Tweaks thread and "I need help" sections in order to include most of the common issues that people are having with their Pandoras.

So by including this as hardware problem, you definately made the first question useless.

Yes darling.

 

[mosschops]

since i bought a known one nubber i'll report only 1 issue (which i dont know if it is the bezel bowing issue). the tab of the bezel that hits the outside of the case and is supposed to slide in doesnt, this the exterior of the case on the right hand side bows by 0.8mm or so. i'll get round to fixing it one day but until then... meh

 

[cosam]

Because of the Screen Bezel, it doesn't say so either - because EVERYONE could've voted Yes here.
It's like asking "Does your headphone jack have a hole".

The screen bezel is on EVERY unit, as we know. There were some that had a way bigger screen bezel problem here (where the bent was 2 - 3 mm, not just the 0.5mm we have on every unit), but those were just a couple of them, never 41.

I think it would be biased to not include screen bezel just because it's a common defect. As you say, this particular defect is of relative proportions of 0.5-3 mm for another. My particular unit has a gap of about 1.5 mm and I can see the glue and dust in there so I chose to include the option, and I voted YES on the screen bezel issue. When making this poll I double checked with the Tweaks thread and "I need help" sections in order to include most of the common issues that people are having with their Pandoras.

I think you're missing the point. The argument isn't whether the screen bezel should be listed, but that including it renders the first question meaningless. I don't think it should be removed from the list and I don't see any valid reason to do so; just because every Pandora has it, doesn't make it any less of a defect.

The most that can come out of this poll is what people perceive to be defects (which is extremely subjective) and in which proportions.

Is there an official thread explaining which issues can/have been addressed, and which haven't been addressed?

... Shoulder buttons aren't painted any more...

I had one of the first 100 and just got one of the last 100 to replace it. The first one had terrible shoulder buttons and unfortunately the new ones are only marginally better. As far as I can tell they're still painted and the drilling is still off, meaning they wobble and only work when pressed exactly in the middle. This is a bit disappointing seeing as this issue had supposedly been fixed. I hope this is just a matter of using up the old stock of painted buttons and that I can get some unpainted (or at least undrilled) ones in the future.

 

[mali]

^ Afaics, the unpainted shoulder buttons will be introduced with the next batch of cases. They still have those 1000 painted shoulder buttons lying around. It shouldn't be _that_ hard to drill a hole in plastic without going off center. I can give advice how to do it right, if someone wants me to. Drilling holes in things is part of my job -_-

 

[quartercast]

The argument isn't whether the screen bezel should be listed, but that including it renders the first question meaningless.

Well let me reiterate that customers have a right to decide whether their screen bezel is a hardware issue for them, and I am not going to second guess them by saying "EVERYONE" (to quote ED) has a screen bezel problem.

Clearly from the results, not everyone agrees with ED's conclusion. 13/55 YES voters said the screen bezel was NOT an issue for them. How could I get this answer if I did not ask the question in the first place?

 

[cosam]

Clearly from the results, not everyone agrees with ED's conclusion. 13/55 YES voters said the screen bezel was NOT an issue for them. How could I get this answer if I did not ask the question in the first place?

If you remove the first question, everyone who takes part in the poll is a "yes" voter by default. Being able to vote "no" has already screwed up the results as at least two people who did so apparently went on to specify which defects they have...

 

[mali]

The discussion is really moot now. I've changed the title once to make it less, dunno, offensive? Nah, that's not the right term, but whatever. I won't change it again, cause we don't censor here. Doing that would be worse that having a poll that might be misunderstood. I think many people here just get carried away. C'mon its a poll on gp32x! Lighten up guys

 

[quartercast]

If you remove the first question, everyone who takes part in the poll is a "yes" voter by default.

Thats a fantastic idea! Then even more people can flame me for being "biased". And I hate polls without a no vote.

Being able to vote "no" has already screwed up the results as at least two people who did so apparently went on to specify which defects they have...

It's not my fault if people can't read/vote properly.

@ mali, thanks for the kind words

 

[Hitnrun]

The LCD does this flicker things from time to time (unless I press on where the bezel is and it goes back to normal.

Your LCD cable is about to screw up. This is how is started for me, and it only gets worse.

Fingers crossed though

Damn, my Pandora is starting to become like this, then I turn the screen, depending on the position it is, the screen becomes "greener" or "pinker", by now if I leave it on the maximum position it works, will it fail soon then?

 

[mali]

^ Yep. It might just be a loose LCD ribbon connection on the PCB, which can theoretically be fixed by the user. MWeston posted a safety tutorial(check the quote Gruso posted in the Hacker's Manual thread). If you try it be aware that you do it on your own risk and the warranty might be lost then.

 

[cosam]

If you remove the first question, everyone who takes part in the poll is a "yes" voter by default.

Thats a fantastic idea! Then even more people can flame me for being "biased". And I hate polls without a no vote.

I was merely stating how you could still get your 13/55 result without the first question (which is what you asked).

Being able to vote "no" has already screwed up the results as at least two people who did so apparently went on to specify which defects they have...

It's not my fault if people can't read/vote properly.

Nor did anyone say it was.

But anyway, this is going nowhere. Let's just leave it at that.

 

[cosam]

Damn, my Pandora is starting to become like this, then I turn the screen, depending on the position it is, the screen becomes "greener" or "pinker", by now if I leave it on the maximum position it works, will it fail soon then?

It might not fail completely but it's only going to get worse to more you move it. I guess if you leave the lid where it is you could postpone failure for a while.