New Renderings: Hires And Pandora-res With Size Comparison

[WarmFluffyUK]

Precisely, I'm pretty sure you would have to increase the thickness of the top for it to be that curved shape

And I'm sure you can keep the current thickness. The LCD isn't as big as the lid and the hinge shouldn't be a problem to.
But the more interesting question is, do people like such a design? It was just an Idea for seperating the Design of the closed Pandora from the closed NDS Lite. ^^ (I don't think, just an "PANDORA" logo ontop can do this job )

Same with the keyboard. IF there is space into the unit, maybe the keys could be plane with the surface of the case. I don't know if only the available space is the reason, why the keyboard stays out of the unit. I don't see advantages of this.

But again, it was just a Idea.

Oh, am I the only one who don't like cross-shaped D-Pads? :huh:
I would prefer a more round Design without such a dominant cross Shape. And I still would like to see a option to screw in a small arcade stick-thing into the D-Pad.

Well no matter what the design, you will never please everyone. Whatever happens, someone will have a gripe about some aspect. If Craig did everything that everyone asked, this console would never see the light of day!

 

[3Designer]

I personally prefer a d-pad where the cross isn't put together on a round surface like in this one and the one the xbox360 controller have, but I prefer it detached like nintendo and playstation have it (Don't know how to explain it more clear ).

I find it quiete annoying to play most emulated games for nintendo consoles and playstation with my xbox360 controller with the similar d-pad because it just isn't as flexible, especially unhandy for mario-like games and fighting games (street fighter, tekken etc.)

Though I remember I once heard that nintendo has patented it's d-pad so it would have to be a little bit different from nintendo's d-pad.

 

[Squidge]

I personally would prefer it if it used a flux capacitor too, but I guess that's not going to happen...

 

[Magnulus]

If it doesn't have Hyperactive Hyperdrive and Astroturf, I'm not buying it.

 

[Yrx]

I personally prefer a d-pad where the cross isn't put together on a round surface like in this one and the one the xbox360 controller have, but I prefer it detached like nintendo and playstation have it (Don't know how to explain it more clear ).

I find it quiete annoying to play most emulated games for nintendo consoles and playstation with my xbox360 controller with the similar d-pad because it just isn't as flexible, especially unhandy for mario-like games and fighting games (street fighter, tekken etc.)

Though I remember I once heard that nintendo has patented it's d-pad so it would have to be a little bit different from nintendo's d-pad.

The 360 controller is a bad example. The Saturn had a dpad that looked very similar, and it's generally considered the best dpad on any controller, ever. Especially for fighting games.

 

[Eolair]

I like the rounded case idea. Lots of "outsiders" just don't seem to like the looks of the current design. Maybe because it looks too much like a crossbreed between an old 90's IBM laptop and an NDS Now, if you can still get them to buy it by convincing them that the technical features are what matters then that's good, but wouldn't it be easier if you didn't have to?

On another note, I think rubber would be a good material to use for the shoulder buttons. Or at least add bumps on them. You need some friction or you're going to slip.



As for the D-pad I think I'd like a non cross shaped one better but that's just me. I got little experience with d-pads but it seems like diagonals might be a tad more tricky with a cross. After the GP2X I'm paranoid about diagonals :unsure:

 

[Yrx]

As for the D-pad I think I'd like a non cross shaped one better but that's just me. I got little experience with d-pads but it seems like diagonals might be a tad more tricky with a cross. After the GP2X I'm paranoid about diagonals :unsure:

I guess you'll just have to take DaveC's word for it, haha.

 

[JJS]

The physical shape of the keyboard keys looks like one of those calculators I had with the single sheet of rubber with grooves in it to separate keys. How about making the keys physically smaller and round or oblong (at least not square/rectangular corners as they are now) and adding a tiny bit of "dead space" between them.

I can't think of any examples at the moment to illustrate but maybe someone can polish the idea some. Keep the layout and distance between key centers, but make the individual keys look prettier.

 

[atomicthumbs]

The physical shape of the keyboard keys looks like one of those calculators I had with the single sheet of rubber with grooves in it to separate keys. How about making the keys physically smaller and round or oblong (at least not square/rectangular corners as they are now) and adding a tiny bit of "dead space" between them.

I can't think of any examples at the moment to illustrate but maybe someone can polish the idea some. Keep the layout and distance between key centers, but make the individual keys look prettier.

keys are seperate

 

[Zarneth]

That D-pad looks like it will "cut into" your thumb during use. Is that the D-pad that will be on the final unit?

And here's yet another revision of the D-Pad:
I like that one a lot too. The previous one definitely looked rather uncomfortable.

Is there somewhere to hook a wrist strap onto?

And rubber feet underneath so it doesn't slide on the desk?

 

[Gaeryc]

That D-pad looks like it will "cut into" your thumb during use. Is that the D-pad that will be on the final unit?

And here's yet another revision of the D-Pad:
I like that one a lot too. The previous one definitely looked rather uncomfortable.

Is there somewhere to hook a wrist strap onto?

And rubber feet underneath so it doesn't slide on the desk?

wrist strap would be useful, because when you are typing you can't hold it so tightly if you want to type comfortably. I have tried with DS and it's most comfortable when I hold the concole only with like the tips of my fingers.

 

[fusion_power]

The actual curve may or may not be a problem, but okay, whatever. Think of it like this. People ask what you're playing on your DS, and halfway through their question, they realize, "WAIT, THAT HAS A FRICKIN' KEYBOARD." It'll get people asking questions about it.

Hehe, true, this effect could be fun to. But the Fun ends, when Nintendo sues the Pandora devs to death, beacause of the similar Shell Design of the units. ^^""" Of course I hope this never will happen but we know Nintendo.

Also, yes, I think you may be the only one ever who doesn't like cross-shaped dpads. lol

That means I'm NOT mainstream! :lol: Cool. B)

Well, tastes are different. I can live with the current Pandora Pad and I know, the cross-shape will not be changed. But when you want to make easy 360° moves, a more circle-shaped surface has advantages, especialy with diagonals. Here my old design, now with rubber-grips. (Forget the hole in the middle, the Design was once with a Screw Thread for a little screw-in-stick)

 

[Goity]

You can't sue over a clamshell design. Nintendo weren't exactly the first to use it, were they? There's more chance of a briefcase manufacturer suing Nintendo for ripping off their design and turning it into a console.

 

[Chip]

You can't sue over a clamshell design. Nintendo weren't exactly the first to use it, were they? There's more chance of a briefcase manufacturer suing Nintendo for ripping off their design and turning it into a console.

The patent system in the US is at least forty different kinds of stupid, and any patent lawyer will tell you the same. While you cannot patent a "clamshell design", you can most certainly patent a "Hinged design for an electronic handheld gaming system". The patent app doesn't need to be any more specific than that (as long as you provide some rough sketch). The patent office doesn't even really check to see if the idea is covered under any pre-existing patents or prior art. They basically just approve everything and expect rival patent holders to fight it out in court.

I have no idea if Nintendo actually does have a patent on the obvious and oft-used clamshell design for gaming systems, but it would not surprise me. That being the case, changing the superficial shape of the shell would not make any difference. If Nintendo gets their hackles up over the Pandora, it will more likely be over emulation of their IP, rather than the fact that it vaguely resembles their DS when closed.

 

[fusion_power]

You can't sue over a clamshell design. Nintendo weren't exactly the first to use it, were they? There's more chance of a briefcase manufacturer suing Nintendo for ripping off their design and turning it into a console.

True but maybe Nintendo complains about the form and shape of the (closed) unit itself? I don't know. Let's hope the best for the future of the Pandora.

 

[Squidge]

not make any difference. If Nintendo gets their hackles up over the Pandora, it will more likely be over emulation of their IP, rather than the fact that it vaguely resembles their DS when closed.

The Pandora will not ship with any emulators, so it would only be capable of emulation, not do it out of the box. Of course, if someone decides to create an emulator and upload it to the web for everyone to download (that just happens to run on the Pandora), then thats upto them. Therefore it would be pointless to sue the Pandora devs.

 

[Spectralist]

I would still like the buttons switched like on the SNES, but it's not like that really matters.

Aye, me too. Either that or something completely different. 10+ hours a day on snes for most of my childhood has the snes layout permanently programmed into me. Using abxy in a different pattern will just be annoying. I suggested using the greek alphabet for it in a different thread, i still think that'd be a good way to go. That or just use a few letters that arent usually used. ghjk or some-such.

The Pandora will not ship with any emulators, so it would only be capable of emulation, not do it out of the box. Of course, if someone decides to create an emulator and upload it to the web for everyone to download (that just happens to run on the Pandora), then thats upto them. Therefore it would be pointless to sue the Pandora devs.

'Course a lot of large corporations sue when they have no chance of winning just to bankrupt smaller companies in legal fees. It's highly unlikely, i'm sure, but then didn't Nintendo crush Game-Genie that way?

 

[mjau]

What about the Alt-Gr key? After the Shift key it's probably the modifier key I use the most, more often than Ctrl and certainly far more often than Alt. I'd think it'd be even more important on a keyboard with less keys, specially for non-english languages.

 

[atomicthumbs]

I like the GP2X-style buttons. They make more sense than the SNES ones to me.

Spectralist: AFAIK Galoob won the case, because there was no evidence of copyright violations.

 

[Squidge]

'Course a lot of large corporations sue when they have no chance of winning just to bankrupt smaller companies in legal fees. It's highly unlikely, i'm sure, but then didn't Nintendo crush Game-Genie that way?

Suing Pandora Devs just because the Pandora is capable of emulating some of there systems wouldn't even get them to court. There are far more devices that can do the same thing.

Nintendo attempted to crush Game-genie, and even attempted to get an injunction against them. They failed on both accounts as they couldn't prove any copyright violations, nor how the device being sold would harm Nintendo or N's reputation/etc.

The only case I remember is Sony suing over Bleem, but that was a Playstation emulator that was being sold commercially. Sony have never sued anyone (to my knowledge) making freeware Playstation emulators. Maybe thats because most authors arn't stupid enough to include there full name and address in the software, with a big notice saying "Send writs/c&d/legal notices to this address:"