Here Is What Will Be Happening.

[Monk]

I loathe the quote limitation on these boards.

These cases are like the ugly girlfriend who does all the dirty stuff you like but someone you don't want your friends to see.

The case fits, is totally functional and sturdy but it looks like the rev2 ones. I don't know what the hell they were doing the past two months. Seriously.

I'm also trying to find out if these were made from recycled plastic or new pellets. Maybe that is why it still has rough edges and a greasy finish and a production run will be done differently.

I wonder why this company was so much cheaper than everyone else?

Personally, from the sound of this post I would look forward to rev 4. I've waited long enough to expect quite a good product IMHO.



The chinese company are either unable to get the cases how you want them or you paid the bill to early and they couldn't give a crispy fried.

I say it's the latter.


I must admit, I said the latter was all too likely the minute I read that they'd paid the case factory. It's a case of having no hold over them, no carrot and almost certainly no stick.


I've waited since Sept' 08, I can wait another month or two for another pass of the cases. I trust Craig and MWeston's judgement and if they're not happy with the cases, I'm not.

Yeah - if it's not the quality that OP have been aiming for all these months then it's not the quality I've been waiting nearly a year and a half for. That there is so much chatter about replacement cases - both from the angry mob and OP - tells me that, personally, I'd rather wait until a replacement case won't be necessary.

Face, meet Palm.


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???

Yes, yes they did. Orders of magnitude cheaper than anyone else IIRC. Apparently this did not raise any red warning flags, presumably because Faith has dealt with this company before - although for what I do not know.

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

Some days, I don't really need to type at all. It's even sadder when it's a MOD or a member of OP who uses speaks of members of the forums in such a manner IMHO

Thanks for pointing it out to Trooper (I wouldn't have been so brave!)

If I have to make a decision now though, I'd leave it up to the devs to choose for me. As far as I'm concerned they've made all the right decisions so far.

A bit cheeky but - would that include their choice of case factory?

Though my quick glance at the keyboard suggested that looked triffic

I'm hoping there's more that'll wait for "perfection" than have posted here...

I've been busy plus I haven't got to the photos yet - I'm busy helping my kid do his half-term-long project as I read... it's interesting gearing up and down the maturiy range...

New Pictures are on MWestons Photobucket-Account.. (Rev.3 Cases)

Look here...

Many thanks - now to get better informed...

I dare say they could be presented more favourably - MWeston doesn't look like he's applying any marketing BS in these photos at all, which I appreciate.

May I ask - does this factory usually make cheap plastic toys rather than cases for expensive electronic equipment?


I see fingerprints and dust, where are the imperfections? ... I don't see the discoloring though.

What fingerprints? You mean where the colour isn't consistent? What if they aren't fingerprints?

Which reminds me - Crikey - these pick up and show FINGERPRINTS that quickly? What happened to all the fuss about even the colour that these things should be so that they don't show every spec of dust, every fingerprint - that's the result? LOL.

Why does it have so many cracks and dents?

They give it character. It's the new design thing - like distressed jeans. Mind you, if it looks like it's been in someones pocket for a month NOW - how will it look after it HAS been in someones pocket for a month?

Well I made it through 17 pages of this topic now so I should post a few comments.

Congratulations! And.. I'm so sorry for you

First, I am not looking for perfection. That is an infinite process but there is such thing as a standard quality that any commercial device should meet. I spent so much time perfecting the guts of this thing and it is a true insult to my efforts to see this mold company send me such incomplete samples and call them 'final'. We will find out what level of purity the plastic was that made these cases.

I tend to agree with all of that, and wish I didn't. I wish you weren't typing so eloquently, because then I could feel angry at you instead of feeling that I share your pain. It's not so convenient. Shouting for you to ship, or for you to fix the darn cases already, would be SO much easier, don't you think? Thanks also for reassuring us that you aren't seeking the exctreme (and impossible) "true perfection" that OpenPandora are sometimes accused of. "Good Enough" where "Good Enough" doesn't mean "Shyte but we can't do any better" is a more desireable goal, and worth shooting for IMHO.

Yes - most potential customers are going to see what the case looks like and base a huge percentage of their opinion on that before they ever have a chance to fall in love with how it feels to USE. You have to hook ';em first, before you can reel 'em in - and that case... looks cheap, to me, even if you have not presented it, perhaps, in its best light (the crack down the front where the case is not shut does not do it any favours IMHO).

That hinge area worries me.

You're probably right, sorry again for biting your head off earlier.

I haven't taken a fense

Did you take a gate though?

I've lost all faith in this factory and I don't think it will get better.

I agreee with you there. Have done for months. I thought they should have changed supplier MONTHS ago, but apparently it was too late then.

Big mistake was made giving that job to be done in China. I know few companies in Poland and Lithuania where they can do that fast and good enough, and I can bet not much expensive from Chinese.

I'm sure there are factories that can make goods to the quality required. I suspect that even this factory MAY be able to produce to the quality required - but this factory certainly isn't when they don't have to. They've got the money from the stupid Westerners who wanted get-rich-quick cases, what else do they need?

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.

And hope that the problems introduced since Rev2 don't occur on every case. And hope no worse problems appear... and we waited a LOT longer than 2 months for these.

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?

Has anyone who would rather wait for a betetr case suggested that anyone who wants one now shouldn't have one?

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.

I think this factory is playing a similar game - "send them the same old shit until they accept that this is the best we will give them".

Sigh. this doesn't look as nice as the advertisement that drew my attention to the Pandora the very day I received my F-200 or the official website rendered images. Or even some fo the older cases.

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.

You call this fast?

Perhaps those who criticised GPH should have walked a mile in their shoes before commenting. At least then they'd have had a mile headstart - and GPH's shoes.




I haven't had to deal with this Chinese factory, but at the moment at least I'd back MWeston, who is in the very best position to judge the quality of the cases and how that stacks up to the quality of the other components of the Pandora.

 

[b._.o._.b]

Yeah, even the supposedly horror pics of MWeston don't scare the early adapters. We want the machine for its guts and not to show it off (I will rarely use it in public anyway..)
I understand MWeston, this must a big swallow to take but isn't the customer what it is all about?

Release it, and after reading most of this thread I think they should make at least enough to supply all the people that actively request one.

 

[emil10001]

I think that as long as there is nothing with the current case that indicates that it will fail as a result of imperfections, the plan to produce 500 cases from this rev is a good one. It will give the team valuable information as to the the actual quality of MP cases against a sample from the same version of molds. This will help them to make a decision in the future about what to ignore when looking at the sample cases, and what to be concerned about. The other thing that it will show is how big a deal the tolerances are to the production. It is possible that cases may vary slightly from unit to unit, depending on how well controlled the tolerances are. They won't have this information until they produce a decent size batch with fresh plastic.

I really don't think it's necessary to get into a very heated debate about whether or not OP should do this run of 500. If they decide to go through with it, they will give customers the choice. And, there is still the 1 year warranty on parts, in the situation that the case does not hold up as well as expected.

 

[fischju2000]

How long will the factory in Texas hold the boards and production line stuff when they aren't making anything?

I'm sure there would be 500 people to opt-in in if Craig had an email sent out to preorders with pictures and an explanation, but how can OP trust the factory at all to give that small 500 run the correct finish and silkscreening? I would opt in for the case as it is if I can buy a properly finished one later, or even the board/LCD/battery, but it would create a lot of negative press if they all had the hinge cracking and other blemishes as on the sample case.

 

[foxblock]

I think this topic needs to be locked down, hell, just lock down the whole forum [/irony].

It's just pointless argument after argument, and people are starting to kill each other or making statements with half-baked facts as a basis (and mostly lack of knowledge).
Everyone should just sit down, calm down and wait for the next update. I can understand people being angry or disappointed by this news, I am, too. But until not every detail is clear (old plastic? maybe shipped wrong cases? - it already happened once...) this has no point.

That's my thoughts about this drama

foxblock out

 

[Awakening]

I'm a bit concerned about this gap in the front (and the hinge crack and the overall crappy surface):

Click here for photo

 

[Prometheus]

That gap in the front doesn't appear to be present in some of the other pictures.

 

[mali]

Awakening, hot-linking MWeston's photobucket is not so good. The gap is there, because it's not screwed together.

 

[purplesky]

I think OP have been mugged by the Chinese this time.
It's difficult to tell looking at the rather low-res images which are also not of the correct scale, but it looks to me like the Chinese have made a real mess of mould as they've progressed from Version 1 to this current abomination. The chinese would have known this a while back and have stringed OP along, probably with the final intention of OP getting tired and calling it a day. The hinge is a major concern with what has been wrote. Basically, they've made a mistake which is irreversible.

It might now be an idea to just just send out the case-less Pandoras and let people build their own case/frame.

 

[Awakening]

Awakening, hot-linking MWeston's photobucket is not so good. The gap is there, because it's not screwed together.

Sorry about that, fixed.

If it's because it's not screwed together, the hinge crack is because of bad packaging (only samples) and the surface is only because it's not final plastic/finish then they look good enough.

BTW, are the shoulder buttons fixed?

 

[purplesky]

Awakening, hot-linking MWeston's photobucket is not so good. The gap is there, because it's not screwed together.

Sorry about that, fixed.

If it's because it's not screwed together, the hinge crack is because of bad packaging (only samples) and the surface is only because it's not final plastic/finish then they look good enough.

BTW, are the shoulder buttons fixed?

The hinge crack is not down to bad packaging. The factory have made an irreversible mistake so when it's tighened up it cracks. It can't be fixed. You can only start again.
Did it take so long to get the 3rd revision pics up on photobucket because OP were shocked when they opened the package? Maybe.

 

[b._.o._.b]

It might now be an idea to just just send out the case-less Pandoras and let people build their own case/frame.

Yeah right... :blink:

 

[mali]

BTW, are the shoulder buttons fixed?

They said, that the controls work as expected, so this should include the shoulder buttons, I suppose.

 

[WolfSpider]

I think OP have been mugged by the Chinese this time.
It's difficult to tell looking at the rather low-res images which are also not of the correct scale, but it looks to me like the Chinese have made a real mess of mould as they've progressed from Version 1 to this current abomination. The chinese would have known this a while back and have stringed OP along, probably with the final intention of OP getting tired and calling it a day. The hinge is a major concern with what has been wrote. Basically, they've made a mistake which is irreversible.

It might now be an idea to just just send out the case-less Pandoras and let people build their own case/frame.

I would rather have the transparent case.

 

[Consequence_9]

The hinge crack is not down to bad packaging. The factory have made an irreversible mistake so when it's tighened up it cracks. It can't be fixed. You can only start again.
Did it take so long to get the 3rd revision pics up on photobucket because OP were shocked when they opened the package? Maybe.

Will you PLEASE stop spouting this bull-shit? The cases haven't even been screwed together, you clearly don't know what you're talking about & you're only inflaming the situation. Knock it off.

 

[Nova]

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.

No. Nu-uh. No way. I am not going to pay £300/$500ish to have to sand, fill and laquer the case of the console myself. I'm sorry, but I won't. Especially since I have no skill at those things, and would end up making a pigs ear of it. The OP team should tell the company that they MUST do better, or they will miss out on any future custom. You heard Michael, this is his baby, and they've done a terrible job of realizing his vision.

Simply put, there is no way I can justify the money to receive a console that comes pre-worn, with cracks, discolouration and scratches.

 

[fusion_power]

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.

Of course, you should never pay BEFORE you get any Result
At least not to pay the whole summ so if they mess it up, they don't get the rest of the money. If they don't follow the rules, you have every excuse not to do so too. ^^

 

[Wootson]

Hmmm, this is a bit of a letdown for me. To be honest I think these cases look worse than the second revision. If there is no mistake with the plastics that were used to make this case, then most surely they messed up the whole mold. And that, is the worse that could possibly happen at this very moment.

I expected a case that was a tad better than the previous one. That I would have excepted, but this is a bit "extreme". I still remember the nagging on these forums about GPH and how they handled things with the build quality, but this my friends is something far worse. Here we even see scratches and broken pieces...

Surely hope they send out the wrong case, or that OpenPandora is just pulling a humorous stunt here. When I look at the GP2X Wiz that is laying beside me then I must say: damn this device looks good compared to the Pandora! It's shiny and smudgy, but at least the build quality is pretty good, without any cracks and scratches.

Either way OpenPandora has no choice here. They need to trust the Chinese and just let them poop out a few hundred/thousand of these cases.

 

[Awakening]

It would be nice if OP sent someone over to the factory to supervise the process, if these flaws are not just because of them being rough samples.

 

[mali]

Nova, better not hot-link MWestons photobucket. You could use links from here:
http://www.pandoratoday.de/