Openpandora, You Can't Please All The People, All The Time

[Jumpman]

I really wish the Team hadn't made such a big deal of the quality over the last several months. That is really the only reason it is a "BIG" deal now! If these cases would have been shipped to the masses, I'm sure 95% of the community would have never noticed the few problems! I have a after market "clear" case for my DS and PSP, and both have imperfections to the originals, but whenever I show the units to someone, there like "damn, that looks really cool"! I've never heard, the case doesn't look right, or the edges aren't smooth enough! It has never happened. And while I'm playing, I never notice because they control like a perfect DS and PSP(actually, some of the buttons work better on the PSP than the original)

Ed said, "I then took various other electronic goods into my hands and compared: The SmartQ5 has similar issues. If you take a closer look at where the upper case comes together with the bottom case, you can see some uneven plastic if you look closely. Even my GBA SP has some uneven plastic at the ports - I never did realize that before"

The average consumer will never notice these problems until someone points them out, and that is exactly what has happened here! Many members at the Engadget forums thought the Pandora renders where "UGLY" from the start! So, at this point there is no way the team can please everyone, and frankly, it has always been that way.

Once these units ship, I will bet anyone here that there will be a laundry list of complaints:
1. The nubs don't move far enough/they move to far
2. The speakers aren't loud enough, or to loud
3. The screen has ghosting/blurring, not bright enough
4. The screen doesn't open far enough
5. The hinge squeeks
6. The d-pad won't allow fireballs
7. The usb slot is loose
8. SD slot 1 doesn't function as well as 2
9. The stylus slot is to tight/loose
11. Not worth 330.00/well worth 330.00 and then some
10. Ect.

I think everyone hear can see where this is going, I really hope the team isn't beating them selves up over this, as there will be many more complaints well beyond an imperfect case. I have had 5 DS's in my home over the last 6 years, and guess what, the hinge broke on 3(some under very light use). Nothing is perfect! PERIOD!

I've been on both sides of the fence in regards to the quality, but this device is well past the quality I originally anticipate(and for many, it will never come close to expectations). I personally would have paid 500.00 US for this same device if it came in the quality of case as the GP2X! I find it a super value at the price it was offered! I just don't think at this point they should make such a big deal about it. Many won't even notice or care!


Chris

 

[torpor]

Yeah, thats really a good point: maybe the "perfectionism" stuff is only happening because of the delays .. we wouldn't notice if you'd not said something, perhaps. All this buildup and stigma about the cases, and well .. whats the big deal? Just get it shipped.

 

[gthax]

I really wish the Team hadn't made such a big deal of the quality over the last several months. That is really the only reason it is a "BIG" deal now! If these cases would have been shipped to the masses, I'm sure 95% of the community would have never noticed the few problems! I have a after market "clear" case for my DS and PSP, and both have imperfections to the originals, but whenever I show the units to someone, there like "damn, that looks really cool"! I've never heard, the case doesn't look right, or the edges aren't smooth enough! It has never happened. And while I'm playing, I never notice because they control like a perfect DS and PSP(actually, some of the buttons work better on the PSP than the original)

Ed said, "I then took various other electronic goods into my hands and compared: The SmartQ5 has similar issues. If you take a closer look at where the upper case comes together with the bottom case, you can see some uneven plastic if you look closely. Even my GBA SP has some uneven plastic at the ports - I never did realize that before"

The average consumer will never notice these problems until someone points them out, and that is exactly what has happened here! Many members at the Engadget forums thought the Pandora renders where "UGLY" from the start! So, at this point there is no way the team can please everyone, and frankly, it has always been that way.

Once these units ship, I will bet anyone here that there will be a laundry list of complaints:
1. The nubs don't move far enough/they move to far
2. The speakers aren't loud enough, or to loud
3. The screen has ghosting/blurring, not bright enough
4. The screen doesn't open far enough
5. The hinge squeeks
6. The d-pad won't allow fireballs
7. The usb slot is loose
8. SD slot 1 doesn't function as well as 2
9. The stylus slot is to tight/loose
11. Not worth 330.00/well worth 330.00 and then some
10. Ect.

I think everyone hear can see where this is going, I really hope the team isn't beating them selves up over this, as there will be many more complaints well beyond an imperfect case. I have had 5 DS's in my home over the last 6 years, and guess what, the hinge broke on 3(some under very light use). Nothing is perfect! PERIOD!

I've been on both sides of the fence in regards to the quality, but this device is well past the quality I originally anticipate(and for many, it will never come close to expectations). I personally would have paid 500.00 US for this same device if it came in the quality of case as the GP2X! I find it a super value at the price it was offered! I just don't think at this point they should make such a big deal about it. Many won't even notice or care!


Chris

YOU ARE SOOOOO RIGHT!!!!!!!!
Just like when you buy a new car. You hope everything is perfect. Than you find little imperfections like the glove compartment sticks a little, the seat belt buzzer is too loud, the seat does'nt adjust exactly the way you like...ect, but you still love the car and you would not want anything else. IT'S TIME FOR MASS PRODUCTION!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Sphinxter]

Once you get that first new car scratch out of the way you feel a lot better.

 

[CodeTwister]

Why everyone keeps harping on about the term "perfection" ? MWeston used the words "ugly girlfriend" - for my understanding theres a big difference between an ugly and an imperfect women. IMHO all those comments, encouragements or whatever make zero sense until we have seen the cases.

 

[Trevsweb]

Why everyone keeps harping on about the term "perfection" ? MWeston used the words "ugly girlfriend" - for my understanding theres a big difference between an ugly and an imperfect women. IMHO all those comments, encouragements or whatever make zero sense until we have seen the cases.

indeed we should really judge for ourselves when the photos and videos are available.
ive already gotten into the idea now of getting a spare case and try some custom paintjobs to make my pandora unique

 

[Jumpman]

Why everyone keeps harping on about the term "perfection" ? MWeston used the words "ugly girlfriend" - for my understanding theres a big difference between an ugly and an imperfect women. IMHO all those comments, encouragements or whatever make zero sense until we have seen the cases.

indeed we should really judge for ourselves when the photos and videos are available.
ive already gotten into the idea now of getting a spare case and try some custom paintjobs to make my pandora unique

Just so everyone knows, I based my comments above on the revision 1 & 2 cases ONLY! A revision 4, 5, or 6 will not change anything. "PERFECTION", will never be reached for some, and for others "PERFECTION" can be reached with the revision 2 case, others might require a revision 6 case!

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"


Chris

 

[verm71]

What would an independent person's point of view be on the case imperfections? That is, someone who hasn't had the imperfections pointed out to him/her and who's seeing this with the assumption that it's a finished product?

Sometimes you need to step back and look at it from a different perspective. Perhaps, as someone's mentioned earlier, we've reached the limits of what's physically possible with injection moulding. If this were a metal case I'm sure we'd be able achieve more precision. But maybe those giving us their impressions on the cases have set our/their expectations a bit high?

 

[emil10001]

I tend to agree with jumpman. I also think that the longer they wait to ship the cases, the more people will people will be disappointed with whatever ships. I will be happy with the current rev case, so long as it's deemed good enough to produce and ship.

 

[Jumpman]

1. Hinge Works
2. Buttons don't Stick
3. Pandora Functions As Designed

The finished areas look fine to me, and fully assembled things won't look nearly as bad. Another problem I see, is this case being black! Most of these imperfections would not be seen or noticed with a white or clear case! I do feel sorry for the team, as the mould factory seems to be from another planet! What happened to the silk screen? How are some things less than previous cases?

All the things that where important to me have been accomplished in spades! I'm very tired of the wait, as I'm sure many are. If better cases are produced down the line, great! If not, no big deal! If the team had built these in there garages, the quality would be even less, and I still would have bought several.

Please send my unit ASAP! I'll be knee deep in N64, PS1, and SNES games to be bothered with this case getting perfected in this public forum!


Chris

 

[CodeTwister]

The Pandora is meant to be portable, but with this case you do better keeping her hidden in your pocket. Otherwise people will think you get your stuff from the next dumpster (no offense). Really, I think this new case looks worse than the second revision.

People pre-ordered with different usage scenarios in mind. I want to use mine as a 'raw-power handheld replacement' on which I can develop my own tools, which I can use to manage servers from everywhere, controlling jobs on the cluster, use it for email and calendaring in the office, in meetings, ... for my usage scenario this case is a real showstopper. I hope that this ugly look results mainly from the used plastics.

 

[torpor]

give *ME* my *UGLY* girlfriend, and after a weekend you'll all want her at the party, I promise ..

 

[Asmo]

Once you get that first new car scratch out of the way you feel a lot better.

Not if it's a Lamborghini.

 

[hobbyman II]

:rolleyes: stick a "beta-not for distribution" sticker on the lid and go for it, then find a plastics firm that can mould cases everyone will think they have a leet prototype device B) (well...until they all get together and realise they all have prototypes)

seriously, I don't think OP are going much improvement out of the plastics firm, for a guess OP have used up all their good will, they paid in advance, and now the moulders just want em off their back and gone, cheap IS cheap, I think they expected too much from the plastics firm, this might be messy, they could have messed up the mould and be unwilling to make a new one

if this is the best they can do, we might have a problem.

time for a drink :angry:

 

[renwils]

I have to agree with the OP. I think if OpenPandora waits for another revision of the case, they'll be experiencing seriously diminishing returns. Another month or two of delays just to get the case a little shinier?

 

[Jumpman]

I really hope the team looks at the boards, and realise many just don't care about this current situation. I mean we all care that the team paid for a service, and they are having a problem getting the service that they want, but for a hobby based project, I really believe it is very nice and 97% of this project is well above good quality!

And lets keep it real, most ugly girlfriends are dynamite in the sack! Why? Because they need to be! The pretty sexy girls don't need to perform, because everyone bends over backwards for there attentions.

Give me my ugly girlfriend, so we can get down to business!


Chris

 

[Nova]

I have to agree with the OP. I think if OpenPandora waits for another revision of the case, they'll be experiencing seriously diminishing returns. Another month or two of delays just to get the case a little shinier?

I'm sure everyone agrees, it's not about the shininess, it's about the random cracks on the hinge.

Nintendo withdrew NDS units due to cracking hinges, and I'm sure the OP team are not going to send their console out the door knowing that this is a possibility.

 

[Pleng]

I mean we all care that the team paid for a service, and they are having a problem getting the service that they want

To be honest the OP team are starting to come across, to me, as they guys in Pizza Hut who are complaining that they aren't getting Silver Service with their £4.99 pizza. All the while the rest of the table are hanging their heads in embarrassment wondering why the team cant just be happy with the BUDGET meal they paid for.

 

[Gilrad]

Another important point to consider: Since the mould company took a few steps backward, who's to say that the next revision will be any BETTER? There could be a regression in any number of important areas while they faff about with cosmetics.

 

[fearofshorts]

You know what? We should pool some money together and offer a large incentive for the company to perfect it.
You never know, it might work.