Headphone Port Combination

[critical]

I agree with Squidge that the headphone port should be on the front of the device so it goes right to your ears. Having it in the back, and thus laying it underneath or around the device while the Pandora is on a table, seems a poor design decision.

The AV cable port though should be on the back where it will be directly in line with the TV you have the Pandora plugged into. gp32_console

That makes perfect sense to me too. I beg you not to squirrel the audio connector away at the back, and at the side wouild be a nuisance when holding it in a gaming position.

It sounds quite optimistic aiming for an April release with these issues still to iron out... hope your hardware suppliers are better than the ones I use!

 

[Game_over]

and if you have a angled headphone jack it wouldn't be going into your chest also.

 

[JakeK]

headphone jack on the side?

 

[Exophase]

headphone jack on the side?

NO.

Having something on the side means it will get in the way of your hands while you're trying to play the thing, unless possibly if it's at the very top (but then it'll get in the way of the shoulder buttons)

 

[Squidge]

headphone jack on the side?

No, use a right angled connector on the front ;P

 

[Snu]

personally, i think the best spot for a headphone jack is on the side of the top half - out of the way, doesnt dig into the side of your pocket, and the speakers are already up there so it would be easy enough to split it off.
tho, if it isnt put up there, and assuming the top is thick enough, ill probably put one in myself.

 

[cowai]

ext to minijack adapter is the worst idea ever, in my opinion. I would HATE to have an adapter in pocket all the time.

 

[parag0n]

My preferred option would be to have a regular jack with video on the front, similar to a ipod's headphone jack (i believe there is a standard for this), and have an EXT port on the back, bringing out JTAG, Serial, Svid, rgb, usb. Basically the EXT would be connected to every port in the pandora, and bring it out on a single port.

This would be fantastic for pandora peripherals, imagine having a clip-on GPS or radio transmitter module, or a pandora dock plugged into your TV system permanently, just needing you to slip the pandora in

 

[Chip]

The headphone jack is in the front:

Best place for it, really.

 

[fusion_power]

The headphone jack is in the front:

Best place for it, really.

"Find the part locations onto the PCB" - nice game!

The position of the headphone jack is OK. Sadly, the Volume wheel/slider/whatever is on the other side of the front. When the Pandora is used in pockets as Music-Player, only one side can be the up-side. Volume control or headphone port outside of the pocket. I would prefer booth at one side because I have no 90° headphone plug which would work better when the jack is into a pocket.
There is some spare top right over the place for the headphone onto the PCB. 2 Phone-Jacks really would be cool, one for gaming at the bottom, one for "I-Pod-mode" at the smaller side of the device.

 

[Squidge]

You could leave the Pandora on a moderately loud volume and use some headphones with built in volume control

 

[fusion_power]

You could leave the Pandora on a moderately loud volume and use some headphones with built in volume control

I don't like to buy new headphones just because of this. I want to keep my creative earphones even if they have no 90° plug and no volume control. And I don't like these extra "packages" on the Headphones. I don't like "externals" like adapters etc. at all, thats why I want everything inside the Pandora.

 

[LevelPlane]

The only 90° headphones i have are my crappy $15 Panasonic ones, and bigger $30 Panasonics, that have a 4feet or so cord, 2nd ones have better sound quality but a ridiculously long cord. Although I do have some $50 Skullcandy Lowrider headphones with a 45° plug and low bass response. But my finer $70 Skullcandy full metal jacket's, and my new $40 classy Sony headphones have a straight or 180° plug. Having one on the side would be ideal but not a necessity.
Oh and those Fullmetal Jackets have volume control but not 90° plug, actually, the plug is broken so the sound chops out (lifetime warranty).
Pretty sure fusion power is on the right page.

 

[StealthBagel]

Since I primarily use high-quality $120 Bose headphones, I would absolutely oppose the idea of an incompatible port on the unit...... esp. since I wish to replace my iPod with it as primary music player to conserve pocket space. I don't need another damn thing to carry (an adapter) or shitty proprietary headphones.

 

[JerryG20]

Since I primarily use high-quality $120 Bose headphones, I would absolutely oppose the idea of an incompatible port on the unit...... esp. since I wish to replace my iPod with it as primary music player to conserve pocket space. I don't need another damn thing to carry (an adapter) or shitty proprietary headphones.

Oxymoron (please tell me I'm not alone in thinking that BOSE is far from high-quality and is overpriced and cannot even be considered high fidelity?)? With exception to the high-quality BOSE headphones comment, I agree whole-heartedly with Stealth Bagel

 

[DXR_13KE]

maybe put 2 of them, one on the front so you can plug it in when you are gaming, and one on the side so you can hear music from it when it is in your pocket....

edit: and of course, standard plugs here.

edit2: the TV out should be in the back IMHO.

 

[Gilrad]

We could also make custom Pandora headphones with controls for volume, skipping tracks, even custom controls (user can map them).

I REALLY like this idea, but instead of making entire headphones, isn't it possible to just make a passthrough control module? Like what you see with some CD players, all the controls are on the mini unit, but it has a standard audio jack on it as well.

Basically, the only justification I can find to blowing ~330 dollars on this thing is if it can be a good enough replacement to my old, dilapidated mp3 player... Which means I would like to use my high-quality headphones, AND have a simple and accessible control configuration.

 

[DXR_13KE]

We could also make custom Pandora headphones with controls for volume, skipping tracks, even custom controls (user can map them).

I REALLY like this idea, but instead of making entire headphones, isn't it possible to just make a passthrough control module? Like what you see with some CD players, all the controls are on the mini unit, but it has a standard audio jack on it as well.


that would also be cool, kind of remembers me of the MD players.... maybe you could use the same connectors....

 

[Squidge]

that would also be cool, kind of remembers me of the MD players.... maybe you could use the same connectors....

The ones patented by Sony? Nice idea !

 

[God Ginrai]

Since I primarily use high-quality $120 Bose headphones, I would absolutely oppose the idea of an incompatible port on the unit...... esp. since I wish to replace my iPod with it as primary music player to conserve pocket space. I don't need another damn thing to carry (an adapter) or shitty proprietary headphones.

Oxymoron (please tell me I'm not alone in thinking that BOSE is far from high-quality and is overpriced and cannot even be considered high fidelity?)? With exception to the high-quality BOSE headphones comment, I agree whole-heartedly with Stealth Bagel


You are very much alone. I have Bose Headphones, and they provide a very rich audio experience. I admit they are expensive, but they are worth it for the audio they produce. Same idea behind the pandora. I take it you don't plan to buy a pandora, because you see it as overpriced?

-God Ginrai