Release New Video: Complete, Working, Portable Pandora

[Trip]

Yeah. that stiff, basically unusable keymat is pretty unforgiving inside the case. The PCB should line up with the top of the SD card slot holes but it sits low and you can see the board edge a bit through the slot opening so that right there creates a gap in the two halves. More proof of this can be seen with the nubs that are sitting a bit low and that is because the keymat keeps the board from getting close enough to the top plastic (and sitting flush on its mounting pegs).

It's all another step in the right direction. I'm quite impressed with how well the light pipes work and concentrate the light into nice little rectangles but still keep that slick continuous feature flush with the hinge.

Cheers for the clarification chief.

p.s If you get time whilst making the next video, would it be possible to get some footage with the lights turned off? This would show the clarity of the screen much better and the new light tubes.

Ta

 

[Phawx]

@craigix

Alright. I can extrapolate from that. So one more month and we will have the second cnc case revision then. Hope you guys getting everything sorted out.

Curious though, what changed from the FDM case to the CNC case that it will need to be revisited? I have obviously never handled FDM material, but I suppose that its rough enough that OP believed it wouldn't be present in the CNC version?

Well whatever. This is obviously a technical problem. You guys did a pretty great job from the couple of cases you made. I mean you only had two sets of physical cases made. So considering that, fantastic job!

 

[danielliu88888]

very fantabulous!

 

[Megatog615]

I don't know if it's been confirmed or not but will the keymat have plastic keys or just hard rubber? It would be nice to have little keys like this baby.

 

[Username]

Can't wait for the "professional" video to come out so I can see it on Engadget.

 

[Trip]

I don't know if it's been confirmed or not but will the keymat have plastic keys or just hard rubber? It would be nice to have little keys like this baby.

Soft rubber underneath, topped off with hard rubber like certain cell phone ones. With the printed characters in the middle so they don't get worn off

 

[gruso]

I don't know if it's been confirmed or not but will the keymat have plastic keys or just hard rubber? It would be nice to have little keys like this baby.

CODE
http://openpandora.wordpress.com/2009/01/13/example-photo-not-of-pandora-shows-final-keypad-finish/

 

[yaKC]

brilliant vid, had to go make a sandwich and cuppa before settling down to view it (had no popcorn hehe)

 

[gruso]

ruh-roh, Engadget's onto it.

CODE
http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/23/complete-nearly-finalized-pandora-gets-shown-off-on-video/


I get the feeling they'll be willing to cover the second video when it goes up.

Crunchgear too (another site that seems to like Pandora):
CODE
http://www.crunchgear.com/2009/03/23/video-quake-demoed-on-pandora-gaming-handheld/

 

[j.pickens]

Yeah,
Somebody at Engadget likes the Pandora.
That video screams out for the usual sarcastic flogging, but they actually presented it pretty straight.
Now if we could just get MWeston to turn off the autofocus we might get somewhere.

 

[Alpha2]

.. though I dont see how anyone is reading those tiny fonts!

They have shown how easy it is to alter the font size in a couple of the videos, so I wouldn't worry too much about it


Yeah I know about the font size slider but I was just remarking that so few videos have shown the font increased to readable sizes since then.

 

[EvilDragon]

.. though I dont see how anyone is reading those tiny fonts!

They have shown how easy it is to alter the font size in a couple of the videos, so I wouldn't worry too much about it


Yeah I know about the font size slider but I was just remarking that so few videos have shown the font increased to readable sizes since then.


Don't worry, I'm currently working on a finger-friendly theme

 

[arrrgh]

When will the FCC/CE testing begin? After that, will the case and keymat mass production begin? Dammit I'm so exited now.

 

[haptagud]

Yeah,
Somebody at Engadget likes the Pandora.
That video screams out for the usual sarcastic flogging, but they actually presented it pretty straight.
Now if we could just get MWeston to turn off the autofocus we might get somewhere.

Not only Engadget but also the majority of the comments from readers were quite positive. Reaffirming my choice to get a 1st batch model.

 

[gruso]

^ Yeah, I found that interesting. Looks like Pandora finally has some street cred at troll central.

 

[Loon]

Congratulations Pandora team, on reaching this important milestone.

Bring it on, and keep those videos and updates coming!

 

[_VWV_]

I would still like to hear from devs if the little case problem we saw requires case rebuild or/and board rebuild? And I also wonder if it's possible to pass through fcc/whatever tests with bad keymat, or devs will have to rebuild the keymat? Thanx!
P.S. I'm really happy to see the first REAL pandora.. IT'S ALIVE!

 

[Vorporeal]

Some clarifications for people who have been skimming too much:

THERE ARE NO CASE _PROBLEMS_. The reason why the case isn't closing correctly is that the keymat is very stiff, and is not giving the board the wiggle-room needed to sit correctly in the case. With the final keymat, everything will fit nicely, the case will close, and the analog nubs will be in their correct positions.

Also, NOTHING said by the devs indicates that there will be a need for another CNC case. Stop jumping to conclusions. More likely than not, there are some aesthetic changes they want to make to the case, and will just make those simple changes and then that will be that. The case seemed to fit well enough that the problem is aesthetic and not serious.

Devs, feel free to correct me on any of this. I'm just trying to quell some rumors popping up by people who are reading too far (or not far enough) into your posts.

EDIT: Noticed in another thread that Craig said that the CNC case is actually quite thick and they might make the final case a bit thinner - this might be one of the tweaks.
Source: CODE
http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?showtopic=47159&st=15&gopid=712416&#

 

[Asmo]

Some clarifications for people who have been skimming too much:

THERE ARE NO CASE _PROBLEMS_. The reason why the case isn't closing correctly is that the keymat is very stiff, and is not giving the board the wiggle-room needed to sit correctly in the case.

I think wires are crossed here, the 'problems' some are referring to, I think, are in the official Blog post:

"Still some things to tweak up which we are not happy with"

 

[Phawx]

From experience, I tend to expect the worst and hope for the best. If tweaks need to be made to the case, wouldn't it be prudent to make another CNC or at the least an FDM to observe the tweak in a physical form?

Another couple of reasons is CE/FCC testing will need the last prototype to test against, if OP is making tweaks to the case, surely these associations would wish to wait for what the mold will be made from?

Secondly, if these tweaks are made and no further CNC/FDM is made and something turns out wrong with the Injection Molded case, what does OP do then?

Too many factors say that OP needs to ensure this case is as perfect as it can be before the molds can be made. This isn't a bad thing, because its apart of the QA process.

This will however add at least another month to wait for a new CNC build. That's being optimistic, we don't have Chinese New Year this time around, but the shipping from China to Fatih to Mweston takes awhile. But at the very least it is realistic.

I don't think I am reading too far into "Still some things to tweak up which we are not happy with" and "just some final tweaks to the case" because it is plain and concise.

The case is undergoing a small redesign. Which will need to be physically tested.

It sucks that it will be a delay but, its very necessary that it's done so that we can all be assured that what WE will receive is a durable, functioning device. In the END, it will be for the best.

Kudos to OpenPandora for how much they've done so far!