Pandora2: Internal trackpad?

[-Tj-]

If the speakers were on the front (where the volume/power controls are now), they could be larger, while also being heard when the lid was closed.

But then you'd displace everything that's already there. Considering all the internals that are in that area (board, keymat, pen, etc.) it'd likely be a lot of reworking to put the speakers there. It's also a similar location to where the PSP-1000 placed the speakers, which honestly didn't work that well.

 

[gadgetoid]

Less absurd:




Wat about filling out the lid with a 5" screen, moving the speakers and SD slots to make room?


Or putting an SD slot to the battery compartment?


Or putting a headset jack on the side?


Or an extended battery addon








Problems with no good solution as yet:




Touchscreen access limitations could make use of stock android impractical


USB dongles jam in pockets when plugged into Pandora






One solution with could also work with a P1:




An L-shaped USB adapter containing a USB 1.1 converter which allows USB devices to lie flat along the back/side of the device.

Got to say, I'd love to see a 5" screen.




Additional SD slot under the battery would be awesome for the primary OS, couldn't agree more. Would like to have both of my SD cards be hot-swappable because I keep filling them up with goodness.




Headset jack could probably do with being moved to the side, if it still plays music when closed. Otherwise: pocket fail!






Folks have already, I think, expressed desire for an internal USB port... that'd be nice if it could fit somewhere.






The Pandora USB port definitely needs to work "out of the box" with things... having to use a USB hub is a pain!

 

[Binky]

What angle do people hold their pandoras at?


Would the speakers end up facing down? <_<

 

[Binky]

How would an internal USB port work?


Having the only headset jack on the side would be rubbish for gaming.


What (physical) size of SD slot internally? I'd be for full size (space permitting) because you could always use an adapter for smaller ones, but not the other way round.


Has anyone suggested putting mount/unmount buttons next to the main SD slots? (perhaps (flush+smooth) sliders to avoid being bumped in pockets?)

 

[slaeshjag]

USB hub chips are only about a dollar a peice in a bulk of 1000, so as long as there's board space, that could be added. Headphone jack should not be moved to the side, but an additional one may be put there.


I wouldn't like a more hires screen, since everything full-screen I've done fo far has been hard-coded to 800x480


The footpring can't be reduced by putting a smaller battery in there, since that would require either removing the keyboard or making it more cramped.

 

[-Tj-]

http://gs113.photobucket.com/groups/n213/I0S2J7KION/


Browse through there, you'll find a lot of people holding the Pandora in pretty much the same way... Except for a couple with ED holding it out like a candy bar ad.


See, thing is if they are willing to redesign the board to accommodate placement of new hardware, or rearrangement of hardware, then I think there's more opportunity there. Small changes to the board would probably be realistic, but looking at what's already there, top and bottom of the board, where all the parts fit in the case, and so on, there's not really much room for much more. Of course MWeston would be able to speak on that part more, but things look really, really tight inside already.


One thing I actually wouldn't mind seeing is a reduction in height of the case, which I think might be technically possible if you're willing to lose some button height. I would imagine this could go no more than maybe 2mm or the controls would lose their feel. Could cheat other areas, too. I'm not sure how thick the speakers are, but moving them to the light pipe area could reduce the depth of the lid.


The internal SD card slot would probably work best if it were a MicroSD, since the hardware would be a lot smaller and you could fit it in more locations.


About the SD card slots having mount/unmount buttons, is there a problem with the current push in/push in again to eject method? All laptops I've had and nearly every portable SD card device I've had use this method without problems. The card sits very securely in the slot, isn't prone to accidental ejection, and is easily accessible. I'm under the impression that the Pandora's slots are no different.

 

[Binky]

The footprint can't be reduced by putting a smaller battery in there, since that would require either removing the keyboard or making it more cramped.

No, but space could be freed up next to the battery.

 

[Binky]

About the SD card slots having mount/unmount buttons, is there a problem with the current push in/push in again to eject method? All laptops I've had and nearly every portable SD card device I've had use this method without problems. The card sits very securely in the slot, isn't prone to accidental ejection, and is easily accessible. I'm under the impression that the Pandora's slots are no different.

Does the act of pushing the card in trigger software unmounting, or just hardware ejection

 

[-Tj-]

Not sure there. Never had to mount or unmount cards on anything else, and I don't have a Pandora yet. A video ED put out a while back showed how PNDs work, but I don't recall him having to unmount a card before ejecting it. Someone else will have to confirm this tho.