Money makes the world go round.

[fusion_power]

Nice calculations, Development was cheaper than I thought, especialy compared to big companies.Don't want to know what the development of the first iPhone had cost, not including the risk of inventing an entire new device.

Total: 218,246.46 EUR

Do a Kickstarter, you may have that money back witin a week. People spent much more money to much more stupid things there.

 

[Grench]

Nice calculations, Development was cheaper than I thought, especialy compared to big companies.Don't want to know what the development of the first iPhone had cost, not including the risk of inventing an entire new device.

Sorry to burst your Apple, but the Palm Treo existed first and, frankly, did everything that the iPhone and blackberry could.

What Apple 'invented' was a walled garden with DRM restrictions to who could put software on the device and what data files and software the device would work with. The actual features and functionality that you might actually like and care about already existed.

 

[PowerGod]

... but we're different, ...

so...we "think different" too ?! O_O

It's always interesting to know how things work

 

[DougOnEarth]

Yes and no. Yes: These are the ones with the longer travel distance and yes, they are discontinued.
But we don't know yet if later Pyras will half half the travel distance (the smaller are not half, btw. I think it was 1,5 and 2mm travel distance).
We might build our own ones. It's just a mechanical disc with a magnet, basically.

Are those nubs coated with some material so they have some grip and are comfortable to use over time?

The GPD XD has some type of rubber like coating on them. But I always feel like it is going to come off or something

Thanks.

 

[EvilDragon]

Are those nubs coated with some material so they have some grip and are comfortable to use over time?

The nubs don't have anything on them. They look like this:
https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/ubergall/gallery-images/Mainboard.jpg

The discs are already being produced by us.
They have no rubber coating (as that usually wears out over time), but they're pretty easy to move so you won't need any.
You can, of course, put some coating yourself onto them. Or print them somewhere in rubber, as we're releasing the 3D files as well.

The GPD XD has some type of rubber like coating on them. But I always feel like it is going to come off or something

... and they also look like they've been used for months already!
True, they have absolutely no structure. The sticks themselves are good (same ones as the Vita has), but the rubber is just meh.

 

[Lightkey]

The discs are already being produced by us.

Who is "us" exactly?

 

[DougOnEarth]

Who is "us" exactly?

I think EDs company. 3D printing?
[doublepost=1492307148,1492307034][/doublepost]

The nubs don't have anything on them. They look like this:
https://pyra-handheld.com/boards/ubergall/gallery-images/Mainboard.jpg

The discs are already being produced by us.
They have no rubber coating (as that usually wears out over time), but they're pretty easy to move so you won't need any.
You can, of course, put some coating yourself onto them. Or print them somewhere in rubber, as we're releasing the 3D files as well.



... and they also look like they've been used for months already!
True, they have absolutely no structure. The sticks themselves are good (same ones as the Vita has), but the rubber is just meh.

LOL I guess I meant the disks. This kind of concerns me as just about every handheld gaming device or controller for gaming consoles has analog sticks that have some type of rubber coating on them.

Is it a soft plastic? Or hard?

 

[levi]

so...we "think different" too ?! O_O

I think you mean 'think differently'. Just because someone else doesn't know the difference between an adverb and an adjective doesn't mean we have to copy

 

[klapse]

As promised, here is another post.
Not a newspost though, as all news have been told yesterday already.

But as we're nearly finished, I thought it might be a nice idea to take a look back at the costs that the Pyra development produced.

Very interestinig and educational. A business school could do a nice writeup i'm sure. Maybe a magazine.

You know who would llove this? Russ Roberts from http://econtalk.org

 

[Neelix]

When the rubber pad on the circle pad on my 3ds came off I discovered that the I was able to control the hard plastic disk underneath it much more effectively without it.

-Neelix

 

[matzesu]

Pretty big amount of money, and sad to hear the first batch will be a loss..
No wonder you dit want to ensure everything is perfekt before massproduktion,
Whit this much money involved in the development, I whish you all that.it will be a big success..
(For me it's just a little computer to play Gameboygames on it, but it's pretty scary how many amount is behind such a little "Daddelkiste" )

 

[kabaiakh]

so...we "think different" too ?! O_O

Pyra will care about users. In many ways.
Developement process already does.
[doublepost=1492334595,1492331126][/doublepost]

After all, more than a 1000 of us have essentially bought one while the Pyra is still a dream. I imagine that considerably more than 80% of potential owners are more pragmatic and don't buy things that aren't ready to ship.

No to mention those first orders exist without big advertising (yet),
mainly thanks to people from the community, long time lurkers ...

I wish thousands of orders after a crowdfunding campain. :=)))

 

[Stainy]

I can`t wait for the 3d files to be released..I`ve ordered a 3D printer recently

 

[matzesu]

I can't wait to play Tetris on my shiny new Pyra

 

[the_marshal]

Thanks for sharing the development cost. This is quite interesting.
Even for a project this open, I was not expected this level of detail.

I personally have little idea of what the normal development cost in this industry. I imagine many Chinese devices might have lower development cost. However I am under the impression most of them use very standard design and component.

The Pandora is very unique device and so it has to be harder to develop. Taking this in consideration and wages in Europe, I feel the development cost is very reasonable.

I guess what the number show most is that you have a high initial cost and then profit really depends on on quantity (at least up to a certain quantity).

The fact that you can recover most of the development cost on the 1000 first unit sounds good to me. I really hope sales will continue and that you will be able to sell 5000+ units. You more that deserve to earn a decent wage.

 

[benoitb]

I hope the Pyra succeeds enough that you can earn some good money from it and not just work on it by passion.

 

[ssokolow]

They have no rubber coating (as that usually wears out over time), but they're pretty easy to move so you won't need any.
You can, of course, put some coating yourself onto them. Or print them somewhere in rubber, as we're releasing the 3D files as well.

Thank you. My Pandora's nubs are perfectly fine in that regard and it seems like every device I ever bought which had a spray-on grip coating had it break down into a sticky, gummy mess after a decade. (Wacom Bamboo Fun stylus, 3DConnexion Space Navigator knob, Saitek Cyborg Evo Force USB stick, etc.)

Thankfully, I've since put together a set of tips for mitigating that:

1. If you buy such a device from a classified ad seller, don't try to disinfect coated surfaces with alcohol. It'll exacerbate the stickiness.
2. If you have such a problem, dust the problem surface with talc (dollar-store baby powder) and wipe with a dry cloth until the color is uniform. It may take on a very slightly lighter color than before, but it'll feel like new once you're done. (I've never tried it, but you can also buy black talcum powder. As I understand it, it's primarily marketed to adults who use talc to as a way to manage sweaty privates and want less risk of stray talc showing up on dark-colored business attire.)
3. If you must remove it completely, my general "home-made goo remover in a pinch" solution of vegetable oil mixed with baking soda works decently on any non-porous surface. (You apply it and scrub with a cloth or paper towel. The baking soda plus oil works as an abrasive too gentle to damage plastic and the gunk uses up all of its stickiness by binding to the oil as it gets scrubbed loose. Once it's all gone, you just wipe down the surface with a clean paper towel until all the oil is gone.)

That last one isn't as good as Goo-Gone, since it doesn't actually attack the adhesive, but, if I remember correctly, Goo Gone's primary active ingredient is one of the compounds in orange oil, so it should be possible to experiment with effective alternatives.

 

[EvilDragon]

Thank you. My Pandora's nubs are perfectly fine in that regard and it seems like every device I ever bought which had a spray-on grip coating had it break down into a sticky, gummy mess after a decade. (Wacom Bamboo Fun stylus, 3DConnexion Space Navigator knob, Saitek Cyborg Evo Force USB stick, etc.)

There's another advantage: The discs are not glued on. When you open the case, they fall out. So you can easily replace them with whatever you want to

 

[ssokolow]

There's another advantage: The discs are not glued on. When you open the case, they fall out. So you can easily replace them with whatever you want to

That does actually remind me of one idea for improvement, taken from the world of keyboard manufacturers. Mould them with a frosted/matte surface and make them out of PBT rather than ABS so they'll be more resistant to "taking a shine".

(PBT is what IBM Model M keyboards and Unicomp's successors to them use for their keycaps and, having both a Unicomp Classic 104 (pre-2013 modifier scrambling) and a Rosewill RK-9000I (ABS keycaps on Cherry MX Blue switches), I can attest that PBT definitely wears smooth more slowly... it's just more expensive than ABS, which is why most keyboard manufacturers don't use it.)

 

[fusion_power]

Sorry to burst your Apple, but the Palm Treo existed first and, frankly, did everything that the iPhone and blackberry could.

What Apple 'invented' was a walled garden with DRM restrictions to who could put software on the device and what data files and software the device would work with. The actual features and functionality that you might actually like and care about already existed.

I never sayed that I like Apple. And of course there were Smartphones before the iPhone. Nokia made some interesting development there but it was the iPhone that broke the Smartphone market loose. And I doubt Apple knew it will be an success, they just hoped and put a ton of money in the development.