Here Is What Will Be Happening.

[mindlord]

I for one could care less about finish. There is no such thing as perfection. There will always be tiny defects in every case produced. No matter how much tweaking is involved this is a mechanical process we're talking about. Every device I own has tiny imperfections in the plastic. And I don't see this manufacturer ever getting it just right, it seems out of their reach. Please just go ahead. At some point you just have to say "That's good enough" and move on.

 

[Rockthesmurf]

I'd be happy with a less than perfect case if a perfect case can be brought 'at cost' further down the road. Even with the option of buying a perfect case I might ignore it, depending what the current cases are like. I'm not worried about marks/scratches, as long as they aren't bad enough to take my eye from the screen all the time.

Steve

 

[mhadf]

I'd happily take one of these 500,

However personally, I think that all 4000 should be produced and shipped. And as said above if the case quality improves during this or subsequent runs then offer a free/cheap replacement offer.

 

[second exodous]

I for one could care less about finish. There is no such thing as perfection. There will always be tiny defects in every case produced. No matter how much tweaking is involved this is a mechanical process we're talking about. Every device I own has tiny imperfections in the plastic. And I don't see this manufacturer ever getting it just right, it seems out of their reach. Please just go ahead. At some point you just have to say "That's good enough" and move on.

I think it's funny how people can say this now and not be burned. I've said this a few times and got ripped a new one. From this thread I can see that a lot of people are starting to realize that it will never be perfect. I don't want to wait another 3 or 4 more tweaks, I could have 3 or 4 tweaks ago but it is just getting to the point where enough is enough.

This is a small production device made by a small company, anyone who wants to wait until it's perfect needs to face reality: It is never going to happen. Lets all bite the bullet and get a functional device and let the next wave (5000+) worry about cosmetics.

I mean it wasn't a few weeks ago that if you said you didn't want silk screening people would cry bloody murder but now even those people are starting to see reality.

 

[Lafazar]

Fakt ist, dass es das komplett bereinigte Gehäuse auf jeden Fall für ein paar Euro zum Nachkaufen geben wird - vielleicht sogar kostenfrei für diejenigen, die jetzt eine der ersten Pandoras bekommen. Und wer sich selber nicht traut, es zu tauschen, für den erledige ich das natürlich!

http://forum.gp2x.de/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=8846&p=111897#p111897

EvilDragon says the cases will be "a few Euro". If a single case is indeed that inexpensive I personally would have no problem with shipping all the Pandoras with the current cases and purchasing a replacement further down the road.

 

[Trevsweb]

im hoping that cases wouldnt be that expensive anyway... after the first 4000 that is... i hope
this would be great cause it means people can do some awesome case mods without fear of screwing up and being stuck with a monstrosity.

if the prices were reasonable i would be very happy with that.
just my only problem would be having problems with possibly snapping the screen cable. :S

 

[Lafazar]

im hoping that cases wouldnt be that expensive anyway... after the first 4000 that is... i hope
this would be great cause it means people can do some awesome case mods without fear of screwing up and being stuck with a monstrosity.

if the prices were reasonable i would be very happy with that.
just my only problem would be having problems with possibly snapping the screen cable. :S

Yeah, fiddling with the screen cable could be a problem. I guess the cable itself would not be expensive either, so they could add a few of those to each case set as a replacement if one breaks during assembly.

 

[EmuGuy]

There is one thing: I now seriously doubt the chinese company is actually capable of making the cases any better than they already are. Waiting any longer on them to improve the case molds could very well be a complete waste of time.

I agree. If the Chinese think these are "perfect", then what more can be done? I'm thinking these are as good as it's gonna get, even if they send the whole OP team over there.

That said, we haven't even seen pictures or video of these cases, yet we're on Page 13 of the thread already! If the colour is off a little because they used recycled plastic for these test cases (speculation), then maybe it won't even matter when they make the real real real ones using the proper plastic.

Also, I don't know where I stand on buying a "perfect" case later on, not sure I could install it myself...Just not sure I could deal with the ribbon cable. But, that's good to know we can buy them later on. In the end, I suppose I leave it to the devs to decide. I just would hate to see this thing keep going for another year or more. At some point, the Pandora must be freed from it's Chinese prison!

 

[scyzor]

So when all the rest of cases will be done?

 

[Lafazar]

Also, I don't know where I stand on buying a "perfect" case later on, not sure I could install it myself...Just not sure I could deal with the ribbon cable. But, that's good to know we can buy them later on. In the end, I suppose I leave it to the devs to decide. I just would hate to see this thing keep going for another year or more. At some point, the Pandora must be freed from it's Chinese prison!

EvilDragon made a video where he assembles a prototype case, it should give you a good idea on the difficulty of the assembly. Please keep in mind that it is the brittle prototype plastic, the final cases are supposed to be more sturdy.

 

[dmarschal]

Here's my plan for the dev team.
1. Assemble the first 500 Ugly Pandoras and ship them out asap.
2. Craig, ED and Fatih should go to China and spend the Holidays with them.

4. Get back home with 3000 flawless super-duper shiny cases when Holidays end.

 

[WolfSpider]

There is one thing: I now seriously doubt the chinese company is actually capable of making the cases any better than they already are. Waiting any longer on them to improve the case molds could very well be a complete waste of time.

That said, we haven't even seen pictures or video of these cases, yet we're on Page 13 of the thread already! If the colour is off a little because they used recycled plastic for these test cases (speculation), then maybe it won't even matter when they make the real real real ones using the proper plastic.

That's what Ive been thinking. I remember reading a while ago that they don't use there full quality for sample cases.

 

[Etinin]

I think it would be good if someone in the team could create some automated system to allow people to opt in or out.
I don't think manually answering hordes of e-mails and sorting buyers would be practical.

 

[gthax]

It's a good idea IMO. Like I said before if the problem are only cosmetic I belive they should go with it.

The other thing is I just don't see Openpandora having enough leverage to make the chinese do a perfect case right now. They already give them a lot of time already.

It might also be that the chinese are simply not capable of making a better case. In that case, waiting any longer would simply be a waste of time.

Exactley...You get what you pay for. Didn't they use this company because they were ALOT CHEAPER than any other company???

 

[second exodous]

Also, I don't know where I stand on buying a "perfect" case later on, not sure I could install it myself...Just not sure I could deal with the ribbon cable. But, that's good to know we can buy them later on. In the end, I suppose I leave it to the devs to decide. I just would hate to see this thing keep going for another year or more. At some point, the Pandora must be freed from it's Chinese prison!

EvilDragon made a video where he assembles a prototype case, it should give you a good idea on the difficulty of the assembly. Please keep in mind that it is the brittle prototype plastic, the final cases are supposed to be more sturdy.

Its sad that is almost a year old.

 

[BackAssward]

EvilDragon made a video where he assembles a prototype case, it should give you a good idea on the difficulty of the assembly. Please keep in mind that it is the brittle prototype plastic, the final cases are supposed to be more sturdy.

True, that's assembly of the case... not a complete Pandora. Don't forget, one of the devs broke their LCD cable during assembly, one dev used the wrong screws and came out the other side of the case, not to mention how easy it is to strip plastic screw holes. MWeston is even going down to Texas to teach them how to assemble it.

If someone is not familiar with electronics, they can fry a board with a static discharge so low that you didn't even feel it. There was a post on how the populated boards needed correct storage so as to not get damaged (remember the pic of the rows of the first 105, it was said they held off on populating the first 1000 for a while because of storage requirements). Not to mention the disassembly process, like removing the LCD cable connections, and other connectors.

The assembly people in Texas do this for a living, and he is still going down to show them and supervise.

It's not just the case assembly, don't forget the internal components... I wouldn't trust the average person to do it, and I imagine the number of warranty requests they would get if too many tried.

 

[second exodous]

EvilDragon made a video where he assembles a prototype case, it should give you a good idea on the difficulty of the assembly. Please keep in mind that it is the brittle prototype plastic, the final cases are supposed to be more sturdy.

True, that's assembly of the case... not a complete Pandora. Don't forget, one of the devs broke their LCD cable during assembly, one dev used the wrong screws and came out the other side of the case, not to mention how easy it is to strip plastic screw holes. MWeston is even going down to Texas to teach them how to assemble it.

If someone is not familiar with electronics, they can fry a board with a static discharge so low that you didn't even feel it. There was even a post on how the populated boards needed static-free storage so as to not get damaged (remember the pic of the rows of the first 105). Not to mention the disassembly process, like removing the LCD cable connections, and other connectors.

The assembly people in Texas do this for a living, and he is still going down to show them and supervise.

It's not just the case assembly, don't forget the internal components... I wouldn't trust the average person to do it, and imagine the number of warranty requests they would get if a lot of people tried.

If the OP team made vids this good I don't think it will be that big of deal. I had to fix a few DSs (one case replacement and one right shoulder button replacement) and it seems intimidating but when you watch a videos like the one's I linked you should be fine.

I agree about frying electronics, I've never heard anyone doing it to a small device but I have friends that conduct electricity better than me and fry their home computers putting new cards in. I think SOC are a little more resilient to these people though.

 

[greendots]

EvilDragon made a video where he assembles a prototype case, it should give you a good idea on the difficulty of the assembly. Please keep in mind that it is the brittle prototype plastic, the final cases are supposed to be more sturdy.

True, that's assembly of the case... not a complete Pandora. Don't forget, one of the devs broke their LCD cable during assembly, one dev used the wrong screws and came out the other side of the case, not to mention how easy it is to strip plastic screw holes. MWeston is even going down to Texas to teach them how to assemble it.

If someone is not familiar with electronics, they can fry a board with a static discharge so low that you didn't even feel it. There was a post on how the populated boards needed correct storage so as to not get damaged (remember the pic of the rows of the first 105, it was said they held off on populating the first 1000 for a while because of storage requirements). Not to mention the disassembly process, like removing the LCD cable connections, and other connectors.

The assembly people in Texas do this for a living, and he is still going down to show them and supervise.

It's not just the case assembly, don't forget the internal components... I wouldn't trust the average person to do it, and I imagine the number of warranty requests they would get if too many tried.

Everything should be fine as long as people are careful and a proper video would help immensely. Also, I don't believe that the lcd cable is so brittle now that its covered in copper tape.

 

[mali]

One option for the Pandora team would be to ship out all 4000 first batch Pandoras with an accompanying letter stating that case quality is not as intended, and if the customer is indeed unhappy with the case they have the option of ordering a replacement case as soon as it is ready for production cost or even only the price of shipping (depends on how much a single case costs and how much OP can afford) or send it in to have the case replaced (customer pays for shipping).

Thoughts?

That sounds like a VERY good plan, It gets mass production rolling, Get`s Pandora`s into the hands of customers, And the whingers.., Sorry, I mean people who would like a "perfect" case, Can order one at a later date.

You sir are a genius.

Trooper

Nonsense.
How would you handle warranty? The devices would have to be shipped back to Open Pandora for case exchange. An unknown percentage of people would break their Pandoras while trying to change the case. The whingers who need their Pandora _now_ to stop their whining might regret it later.

Do you realize how the "whinger" insults fit in both directions

 

[Pleng]

Except plenty of us 'whingers' who want a unit now have no intention of ever rehousing it.

I think it's pretty simple:

1. You can have a Pandora now. Imperfect case, but full warranty.
2. You can have a Pandora now, send it back later for replacement case (for a fee). Full warranty.
3. You can have a Pandora now, replace the case at your own risk. No warranty.
4. You can wait for a 'perfect' case. Full warranty.

Those that don't like the thought of paying twice will need to get realistic about the situation and choose either option 1 or 4.