Here Is What Will Be Happening.

[Phawx]

@Nova

Maybe if it looked like an FDM case I would agree with you. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I've seen all the other rev 3 pics and I love them. So maybe for *you* it would be impatience to take this case. But personally *I* was happy with the 2nd revision case.

The pro's far outweigh the cons.

Pro: Get some units out there for people to create and test software (HUGE)
Pro: Satisfy 1/8 to 1/4 of your customer base (maybe more) who are fine with the case.
Pro: The controls work as intended

Con: Not ready to be reviewed by techblogs because of cosmetic problems.
Con: The people who don't like the cases (well they wouldn't receive these.) would think the Pandora was shoddy quality. (I only listed this point for people who think ALL the cases will look like this, when it obviously won't.)

While the Chinese factory tries to figure out how to make the case better, a good portion of us can be using and creating software. Later on, if I wanted to, I could buy another case.

Also, this is a first revision case: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6m1y01LXtM&feature=channel It looks sweet to me.

 

[monkeyo2]

I'm not too sure what to think about this one.

If there was a supermodel with a big scar on her face, it might seem a bit unsightly if it was spoiling otherwise unblemished beauty, however the same scar on a big tough solider might look cool.

The design philosophy behind Pandora seems to have, quite rightly in my opinion, gone for function and usability over whimsical aesthetics, so in not sure if a few slight imperfections that don't affect durability are really going to be a huge problem.

On the other hand I'm now pretty confident that I won't be receiving mine before my trip to Australia next week, so I really don't care if it takes a bit longer now. If another few weeks or whatever really would yield a better case, it would be a shame to have come so far and not gone all the way.

Edit: typo

 

[greendots]

With the communication problems what makes anyone think time could make the case any better? We waited 2 months for this shit...

Just order a thousand and hope that the problem lies in the recycled plastic.

 

[Phawx]

Also for the people who want better cases, you can just wait. Why would you want everyone to wait if they are fine with what's already been shown?

 

[Toupee]

I think the plan to build 500 now and offer potentially revised cases later is excellent.

I haven't had my preorder locked in for very long - only since about the New Year. So I would certainly be willing to wait rather indefinitely - I won't be canceling my order any time soon. The fact that MWeston has such high standards only makes me feel better about the device.

Having said that, I've been following the Pandora for quite a bit longer than the New Year. Part of the reason I placed my order is because the videos of the device as they were in December look, frankly, like a device I want to use now, as it is. It looks totally functional and durable, and to my eye, essentially complete. I understand that some changes were being made to make mass production easier (like the widening of the hinge) but none of the aesthetic problems bother me. Yes, the rough edges are just that - rough edges, and not really a big deal. The heat marks make zero difference to me. The only thing that concerns me is the weird crack on the hinge in the rev3, but I assume that is some kind of fluke.

I say go ahead with the 500. There seems to be little progress showing on these small case runs, and perhaps a larger, "real" run would clear up some issues - but I would still gladly take one of these cases. As long as they are totally functional, the visible flaws (which are very minor) make no difference to me! If anything, they are a true sign of a first-batch Pandora.

 

[Unfathomable Depths]

Be realistic, the case for the Pandora will never be perfect.

By my definition of perfection, those cases will never comply with common standards. Is that what you mean?

You mean to tell me your the most outspoken about waiting and you're not even in the first batch? Heck yeah it's easy for you to wait, you won't get yours for months no matter what. I'm in the freaking first batch and the last case was good enough for me. You shouldn't even get a say in the first batch.

I consider myself logical enough to think about what those other 3700 people from the first batch think about sub-standard cases. Those who are less vocal and maybe not even lurking here. Are you level-headed enough to speak for them, my friend?

For the first time I disagree with mali.

What's inside the case is more important, to me anyway. I need the final production board to finally finish a couple of projects, ie to see how they run. Then I can turn my mind to what I really want to do.

I don't care how it looks.

 

[kingoddball]

Wait until 100%?? Whats wrong with these cases??

 

[MiniSinisterMinister]

Don't you understand? This is what the Chinese company is able to achieve. There is no way of getting a better result by waiting even if you wait until the cows come home. The Chinese accepted this order long ago, they probably understimated the cost, the budget for the project was used up maybe months ago, they are not willing and not able to offer better results. This "if you wait long enough, you will get a pefect result" is just Craig's thinking. It is not reality.

 

[ghuk]

I can't believe so many people here are so impatient. In my opinion, if I have to wait an extra month or so for a case that doesn't look like this:

Then so be it.

My goodness this case looks terrible! Heck, my GP2X Wiz's case which cost me £100 looks like its another LEAGUE qualitywise. Maybe Gamepark Holdings aren't the bunch of clowns that some people on this forum have made them out to be.......

Crumbs, what started out as an amazing project is turning into a disaster, fast. I really really hope that the finished product doesnt end up looking like this, especially after all of the flipping hard work that the developers have done to get the Pandora finished. If it does it's gonna be World War 3......

 

[trix]

I agree the hinge crack is scary, but if the hinge works in the production version this case looks good enough for me. It's not the stupid piece of plastic I care about anyway, it's the powerful hardware, custom Linux OS, xfce4 desktop, ability to (eventually) run Gentoo, Game support and controls, and most of all uniqueness of having a first batch Pandora, with all it's zits and freckles and scars, this is the the perfect pocket companion for a true linux gamer geek like me. Please please please send me one of these "imperfect" ones!

 

[juniorm33]

Con: The people who don't like the cases (well they wouldn't receive these.) would think the Pandora was shoddy quality. (I only listed this point for people who think ALL the cases will look like this, when it obviously won't.)

I'm not sure they can do better if they think this is their best! <_<
So yea, they said would produce better cases after the first 500, but I don't know how they can say that until they've spoken to them and found out whats what
They may even come back and say, it's all due to the recycled plastic (cross fingers that's the case)
It's amazing but there's still a communication problem, e.g. silk screening missing, OP was expecting final final cases.

 

[purplesky]

I can't believe so many people here are so impatient. In my opinion, if I have to wait an extra month or so for a case that doesn't look like this:

Then so be it.

Problem is, you're not going to get a better case from this company. Could give them 12 months and it wouldn't look much better i am afraid.
Much better to accept the case now. You can file and sand it on receipt ensuring all the port exits are square and tidy. Might have to use filler for the cracks and 'dents'. Then you can airbrush a paint of your colour choice finishing off with a nice lacquer.

 

[scyzor]

Don't you understand? This is what the Chinese company is able to achieve. There is no way of getting a better result by waiting even if you wait until the cows come home. The Chinese accepted this order long ago, they probably understimated the cost, the budget for the project was used up maybe months ago, they are not willing and not able to offer better results. This "if you wait long enough, you will get a pefect result" is just Craig's thinking. It is not reality.

True. If they have unlimited fixes in the agreement I can bet they have a sentence which is saying "but limited to the process".

 

[Tom`]

I can't believe so many people here are so impatient. In my opinion, if I have to wait an extra month or so for a case that doesn't look like this:

Then so be it.

I as well would be willing to wait a bit if it would ensure that the cases were perfect. However, every indication is that the factory cannot and will not produce better cases. We waited a month between rev. 2 and rev. 3, and the overall quality did not improve - there were a few tweaks, but the finish and the consistency of the cases actually got worse - not only that, but these actually lacked the promised silkscreening.

Given that the factory seems unwilling to communicate, I don't see that waiting for another round of samples will do any good at all - in fact, it seems to me that there's a real possibility that they could get worse.

 

[cosurgi]

To wait or not to wait? .... for a better quality.

What quality can you expect for a very (very) low price? Whether the choice of that inexpensive factory was good or bad, is a tough question, considering the very low price of Pandora. OP team cannot afford switching to a different factory. Can they afford waiting for 3rd and 4th revision? They can simply tell by looking at the cancellation trends. If people aren't canceling, they decide to wait for next revision and control the work personally more closely (Fatih goes for a longer time to China?). Otherwise they start shipping "cheap" (cheap) cases, and the customers are happy (?).

It's not just cosmetics of the case, It's plain business too.

 

[purplesky]

Probably best to accept the cases as-is now and run!!
I've done business in China before and it is NOT the place to mess around in. If you "complain" too much, they can tell you where to stick it then you end up with nothing. This is after you've handed over all the money of course.

Re quality: the plastic icecream tub I have just helped myself to a lovely dollup from has better quality than this crappy plastic piece of somthing. How sad.

 

[Clean3d]

Gotta admit, the before mentioned possibility of the Chinese case manufacturer simply quitting work and cutting ties with the OP project scares me. The quality of the the new cases is rather surprising (and disturbing), but I'm not sure all hope is lost. Didn't Craig mention that they had previous experience with this company? My chief philosophy when reading the forums is to try not to get worried unless what I hear comes straight from the horse's mouth, but I wouldn't imagine the case manufacturers purposefully sabotaging the OP team like this...

Anyway, I'm going to sit tight and wait for official word on what's next.

[edit] You're eating ice cream, purplesky? Must be warmer where you are than it is here. On the other hand, now some ice cream sounds good...

 

[Tokiopop]

Probably best to accept the cases as-is now and run!!
I've done business in China before and it is NOT the place to mess around in. If you "complain" too much, they can tell you where to stick it then you end up with nothing. This is after you've handed over all the money of course.

Re quality: the plastic icecream tub I have just helped myself to a lovely dollup from has better quality than this crappy plastic piece of somthing. How sad.

Mmmm.... Ice cream.

 

[Jumpman]

This was always a hobbyist project, and as such, I never expected DS, PSP, or Iphone quality! Look at the keymats, and the AV cables, and you'll see tons of quality! More than I ever thought I would actually see.

At this point, to think the mould factory is gonna turn out a miracle case several months from now is just "UNREALISTIC"! Now I know some had super high expectations, but this was, and is, and always will be an hobbyist project! I was very fine with the last cases. The silk screen could have been improved, but lets get serious. Are you guys playing with the case, or the unit as a whole! WTF?!

Anyone looking for this device to stand side by side with an apple, nintendo, or sony product should have never looked here, and should look else where for there gaming needs.

I buy homebrew games and products all the time, and some items look better than store quality, some look less, and some look just about what the market standard is! The fact that this device has been made by a group of guys in there spare time, is AMAZING! The hinge on Craigs former unit seems to function better than my broken DS hinge(I've had 3 break). Go Figure!

To everyone waiting for the mould company to get this right, by all means please keep waiting. There really is no need to clutter these boards. I'm fairly sure the team plans to keep trying, so for you there is really nothing to say. For everyone else, I'm happy to get my units, and I can rest assured that my extra units will sell for a good profit on ebay, no matter what some may or may not think of the finish quality!


Chris

 

[mali]

Anyway, I'm going to sit tight and wait for official word on what's next.

+1