TheOldOne
Fallen Paladin
Yes that's what I was imagining.
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A new ICP would be very nice but I don't see it happening.
How about a full sized DragonBox branded keyboard using Pyra parts?
- Thread starter Grench
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oskda
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From my point of view this is a very bad idea: it is a big keyboard, and we have incredible good big keyboards (obviously costing much more than 100$, and in lot of variations [switch type/Topre, full/10keyless, normal keys/Ultimate Hacking, ....] ). I don't see the point in integrating gamepad controls in a big keyboard, as it would be hard to use, or near impossible to use with comfort. It would be totally against ergonomic value.
Yes, it would be smaller than ridiculous Gamecube Keyboard, but equally ridiculous and same or even worst in ergonomic as it doesn't has big handles on the sides.
On other side I would love to see am external keyboard-gamepad exactly as Pyra integrated one, but external, something like the unsuccessfully managed iControlPad 2
I would kill for an iControlPad 3 with Pyra parts
and obviously managed by ED.I think an iControlPad would be easy, from Pyra parts, and there is nothing so good in market today (I have tested minikeyboards, and most are really bad, and the ones combining minikeyboard and gamepad are even worst and bigger).
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Grench
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I would kill for an iControlPad 3 with Pyra parts
I think an iControlPad would be easy, from Pyra parts, and there is nothing so good in market today (I have tested minikeyboards, and most are really bad, and the ones combining minikeyboard and gamepad are even worst and bigger).
Agreed - some day this should exist and it is a natural extension of the Pyra. BUT, I would call it anything BUT iControlPad. Call it -anything- else without a leading i and no reference whatsoever to Control or Pad. It was a bad name to start with and has been tarnished through the well hashed through history. It is not an Apple product nor is it a touch pad nor is it a feminine hygine product. It is a game controller & thumb keyboard.
Pyratroller - multiple meanings intended.
Pymate - pronounced as 'primate' without the r.
Blue Pyra - Bluetooth + Pyra
But yes, that product should someday exist - after the Pyra gets produced and shipped in quantity - and with a name that has absolutely nothing to do with any previous handheld
But - with regards to my above idea. I still think that there is also merit to having a full sized version of a keyboard with the Pyra gaming controls built into it. Yes, it would be unwieldy for use as a primary gaming controller - that isn't what it is for though. It would be far more use as a multimedia center keyboard for people who actually want to be able to type on their multimedia keyboard.
The overall for factor could about be a square 10" x 10" with the keyboard area on the lower 2/3 an the Pyra game controls split wide around a central numeric pad or touch pad. Gripped from the sides, the triggers would be in the same position on the back.
I have several old keyboards - some are parts donors. Maybe I should take a hack saw to one and mock something up.
oskda
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Totally agree.
I called it iControlPad "3" only to show it has the funcionally of iControlPad 2, but in Pyra format instead of Pandora format. Obviously iControlPad is a bad name (even used by unsuccessfully iControlPad 2, and with an unneeded "i").
I love this 2 last names
ER. MAH. GERD!
Trackpoint fans could use something like this:
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51+ia9RozQL._SX300_.jpg
So maybe someone with CAD skills could model a replacement base for the keyboard with space for electronics and battery(ies). Then 3d print em for a small production run of a handful.
FaeMinx
Rainbow Liberation Instigation
As for names, I vote for:
Pymote
Pyra universal remote controller...
... and... anyone read 'Mote in God's Eye'?
Pymote
Pyra universal remote controller...
... and... anyone read 'Mote in God's Eye'?
Penguin-Guru
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I like the idea, but... https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/
Grench
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Works for me.
I would pay good money for a Bluetooth version of just the keyboard and game controls from a Pandora/Pyra with a spring-loaded clip on the hinge for attaching a phone to. There is a severe shortage of handheld Bluetooth keyboards for use with mobile devices like phones and tablets. Basically the Icontropad2 would have been something I would have bought if it hadn't tanked!
tigerroast
YOUNG VORHEES
I'd have to see a mock-up before giving final thoughts. As for preliminary thoughts, the only thing that I'm aware of that provides something like what you're describing is that Ultimate Hacker Keyboard that was on CrowdSupply a long while back (EDIT: someone already mentioned it! they know the power!). As it stands, the UHK is your idea, perfected, but appealing to Pyra fans. There are plenty of good multimedia keyboards, but only a short list of really great multimedia keyboards.
In short, I can visualize your idea being a welcome addition to that short list, right next to the UHK, but I'd have to literally look at it first.
As for the Blue Pyra, I'd buy it if it's highly programmable and configurable (are those one in the same?). Maybe it won't disappear in the hands like the Cyber Gadget PS2 controller or be d-pad perfection like the Sega Saturn v2 controller, but it would more than likely be the most used HID in my possession. Plus, it would give me another opportunity to throw money at DragonBox. Y'know, just because.
In short, I can visualize your idea being a welcome addition to that short list, right next to the UHK, but I'd have to literally look at it first.
As for the Blue Pyra, I'd buy it if it's highly programmable and configurable (are those one in the same?). Maybe it won't disappear in the hands like the Cyber Gadget PS2 controller or be d-pad perfection like the Sega Saturn v2 controller, but it would more than likely be the most used HID in my possession. Plus, it would give me another opportunity to throw money at DragonBox. Y'know, just because.
Grench
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Pymote is good. But, please, No "i" allowed. No "pad" allowed.
How about PyraBoard? I don't want no Keyboard, hand me that PyraBoard!
Grench
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Something that occurs to me - and since this thread has gone from a full-sized multimedia keyboard idea into a palmtop keyboard idea...
If you're going to make a handheld bluetooth keyboard with game controllers, why not add in a speaker on one edge and a mic on the other so that it can be used as a call handset too? At that point - why not also put a pair of speakers into it right where the Pyra has them? Maybe add an audio jack for use with a wired headset as well for bluetooth audio?
Follow with me here - plug the Pyra into the TV, go sit on the couch, have everything that you would normally use to interact with the Pyra in the Pymote.
Same keymat, same upper plastics. A thin flip down plastic piece to protect the keyboard & buttons. A super cheap SoC to handle the bluetooth communications and audio. Very thin bottom plate. Very small battery. No slots, only a recharge port on the back. Very thin base. Might be able to be ~15mm thin? Of course at that point its getting closer to a $250 device...
If you're going to make a handheld bluetooth keyboard with game controllers, why not add in a speaker on one edge and a mic on the other so that it can be used as a call handset too? At that point - why not also put a pair of speakers into it right where the Pyra has them? Maybe add an audio jack for use with a wired headset as well for bluetooth audio?
Follow with me here - plug the Pyra into the TV, go sit on the couch, have everything that you would normally use to interact with the Pyra in the Pymote.
Same keymat, same upper plastics. A thin flip down plastic piece to protect the keyboard & buttons. A super cheap SoC to handle the bluetooth communications and audio. Very thin bottom plate. Very small battery. No slots, only a recharge port on the back. Very thin base. Might be able to be ~15mm thin? Of course at that point its getting closer to a $250 device...
I would pay $250 for such a device. I can get those crappy tiny Candyboards with the touchpads that never work for very long for $50 but the keys are garbage as well. And they don't have integrated game controls. But a handheld keyboard with a universal phone clip shouldn't be too difficult at that price point, I'd expect somewhere between $150 and $250 to be comfortably reasonable. It could even be the same thickness as the current Pyra bottom shell and be comfortable to hold in the hands as well. Too thin risks hand cramps. But the rest of this is on point.
ible
professional vim user
Pyrrha Control 9000 => HAL 9000
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I do like the idea of a clip-on H.I.D. for generic smartphones, I think that might sell well and provide good market exposure for the Pyra. Of course the main benefit would be a low cost, since otherwise we would all just use our Pyras instead of generic smartphones. I think this is worth doing if it's easy and wouldn't take long. Of course, long-term, the goal would be to have all of those customers buy a Pyra (2.0).
I do like the idea of a clip-on H.I.D. for generic smartphones, I think that might sell well and provide good market exposure for the Pyra. Of course the main benefit would be a low cost, since otherwise we would all just use our Pyras instead of generic smartphones. I think this is worth doing if it's easy and wouldn't take long. Of course, long-term, the goal would be to have all of those customers buy a Pyra (2.0).
It's really astounded me at how few offerings for clip-on HID devices for Smartphones there are. I remember there was a period of time when slide-out keyboards were a thing and people loved them, and then for some reason, manufacturers started going for 'thinnest' which meant sacrificing the keyboard. My HTC Touch Pro 2 wasn't that thick, even if it was a little heavy, but had one of the best hardware keyboards of any smartphone I'd ever had and I loved it. I now have an HTC One M8 that has a gorgeous screen and I love the front-facing speakers, but all the clip-on keyboards I've seen are almost exclusively for iPhone, or specific molds for specific brands of Samsung devices even though they should be more generic. Carrying a small keyboard in your pocket or backpack is not out of the question. I carry my Pandy with me all the time, and I have a small fold up Bluetooth keyboard I can pair with my phone if I wanted to, but it's not the same as a real handheld keyboard.
Neelix
Insecticidal Maniac
That's why I'm currently using a relatively old imported smartphone from the states. (Which i picked up on ebay from a local seller) It was pretty much the only 4G phone I could buy locally that had a slide-out keyboard. Of course the downside is that it still has some of Verizon's stupid restrictions built into the firmware that prevent me from using it for tethering...
-Neelix
-Neelix
