Pandora's Design

[Tobriand]

A suggestion for the power/charge light. At the moment, it looks like the LED would be hidden when the lid is closed. So when charging while closed, the LED could not be seen. Could the LED extend further up and on to the top of the hinge so it can be seen when the lid is closed as well as open?

I've only noted 1 person who doesn't like the DC socket on the front. Surely it would be better on the back? In fact I think all of the sockets and buttons should be on the back except the volume control, would just make things a bit less messy.
Secondly, is there going to be a 3.5mm jack on this? I hope so.

I'd just like to say that both of these comments are particularly well thought out. An LED you can see whilst charging would be very useful. As would having the DC plug on the back if there is not a goot reason to have it on the front - the front could make it awkward to hold while plugged in, though not as bad as the side on the GP2x.

One solution would be to put it underneath, slanting up towards the front. Then the wire runs backwards (and is therefore not a nuissance) without needing to find more space on back, or interrupt it's ergonomics.

I'd also like to put in my 2c about the keyboard. It needs a CTRL-key - well spotted those that noticed it didn't have one - and an alt key. They needn't necessarily be standardly positioned, but they need to be there if at all possible. But the keyboard itself looks well thought out, comfortable to use, and a good successor to the old Psion ones, which I KNOW is going to make my dad much more likely to want one in addition to me.

 

[Yrx]

I've only noted 1 person who doesn't like the DC socket on the front. Surely it would be better on the back? In fact I think all of the sockets and buttons should be on the back except the volume control, would just make things a bit less messy.
Secondly, is there going to be a 3.5mm jack on this? I hope so.

I can see a possible reason for it to be in the back; if you connect to an external display you have the usb port for the gamepad and sd-cards in 'front', DC socket and a/v connector on the 'back'.

Definitely a good idea. Unless everything needs to be on one side for both SD slots to fit? :unsure:

I wonder how many people voted they didn't like it, and then got used to it after that. lol

And yes, there IS going to be a headphone jack, right? haha

 

[Guyfawkes]

Here are my thoughts on the design.

Clamshell design is good but using touch screen may be a little tricky as you naturally hold a handheld at the bottom and pressing the top half may result in a kind of off balancing. This would be more apparent if playing a game which required button presses and touch screen. Try it with a DS and to see what I mean.

Keyboard is horrible. It reminds me of a spectrum keyboard but flat and not spaced which I have a feeling will lead to accidental key presses when pressing another key. Also the keys may be too close to the analog joysticks, your hands will be covering the left and right side of the keys and I can see them being accidentally pressed during games. I mentioned on IRC last night that a Xbox 360 Messenger Pad style keyboard would look much nicer and work great and a few people agreed.

The specifications are very good, a bit more memory maybe 256MB would be good as could mean running more software in the future.

Dual SD card slots are a good idea, I saw this on the Zodiac and comes in use if using one card for main storage and the second for media such as MP3s, video etc.

Bugger run out of time, have to do some final christmas shopping. I will post the rest later

 

[dontspam]

Ah, I see now that not everything would fit on the back. I should have looked at the pictures further. (Although I'm sure the DC could just squeeze in there? surely! If not, putting it on the side, or even underneath like Tobriand suggested, would be nice)

Does the A/V socket accommodate a 3.5mm jack? I don't think I have seen a socket like that before.

 

[cappuchok]

If the kernel supports Bluetooth SDIO cards, that'd seriously rock and make expansion easy. Even so, having a main SD card that's always in the machine, with all your "daily-use" apps and games, and another for stuff you change around a lot like MP3 collections, emulation ROM storage and whatever, will be awesome too.

Just wanted to push some suggestions that have come up so far, that I would like to second (if changes are possible at this point):

4 shoulder buttons. Could be implemented similar to the volume button(s) on the GP2X without increasing the size of the actual triggers by much. It's a natural step up as we're getting dual analogues and probably fullspeed PSX emulation.
BUT: for those complaining that you'd be unable (because of grip) to use the right analogue and the action buttons at the same time - you couldn't even do that on a regular PSX controller, so where's the problem?

Ctrl-key on the keyboard, it would be sorely missed if it isn't there. Separate keys for Alt, Tab and Esc are also required.

I wonder how many people voted they didn't like it, and then got used to it after that. lol

I voted 'meh', but it's growing on me. By just looking at the renders, I think I actually might go for the white case and have it styled with a custom paintjob.

 

[Squidge]

Does the A/V socket accommodate a 3.5mm jack? I don't think I have seen a socket like that before.

It'll take a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, plus it'll take a custom connector for more capabilities (TV out, etc). A very similar design was used on the PSP.

 

[yodaofborg]

I like it, I would have preferred a keyboard that could be hidden, but it really does look ok.

 

[0-bake]

First of all: It could be worse

But actually it doesn't look like a gaming handheld, more like a computer for primary school for learning how to calculate.
Try not to design it so nerdy. I don't know what to change exactly, but it needs something...

 

[Balzac2m]

Putting Connectors you may use while playing on the sides of the device isn't exactly genius, e.g. having the power connector there would make it harder to get a good grip while playing.
I am very happy that so much people want a Ctrl-Key, too. I wasn't sure how many people actually need one but just think about the people who want a proper SSH-device on the go.
I think all the connectors are very well placed.
I especially like the placement of the USB-Host, as when you plug-in for example a BT- or storagestick it won't constrain usage in any way. On the other side you wouldn't be able to open the lid completely. So it's up to the developers to build it
1. not fully openable so the lid can't touch a normal-sized USBstick
2. fully openable so the user has to take care himself

I prefer option 2.

And please, think about tablet mode, it would add so much usability for all applications that just need touchscreen input.

edit:
Another thing: As many others, I've been thinking about the touchscreen. Having played a bit with the DS I guess it will be not that easy to use it when you need both keyboard and mouse (due to the different angles).
My solutions:
As said, when having mouse-only apps, tabletmode
When having mouse/keyboard-apps, a special stylus would be the best solution in my opinion. use a small piexe of velcro which you tape around the part of your index finger which is nex to the tip so the stylus (which should be 4cm max) is over you tip but does not touch the keyboard while typing (when typing with your fingers, not thumbs, while thumptyping it wouldn't hinder anyway).
so if you need to to something on the touchscreen you will not have tu pull out the stylus, so somethin, put it back in and then continue typing but just make a quick movement of your hand, touch (with the accuracy of a stylus, I can't imagine using normal linux applications on such a high dpi-count without a stylus with a very small tip), and continue typing.
You wont have to include it though, I will build it myself, but I think it's rather convenient.

 

[midget35]

Thanks for team developing this system! It is wonderful that gamers are designing fro gamers... and that you have created this discussion topic is testament to that commitment, so good show all round.

That said: here are my thoughts:

1. Keyboard: This could grow on me quite quickly in principle, but the buttons are so ugly. couldn't the corners be rounded or something - moved slightly further apart from each other and made more 'jewel-like in appearance? Certainly the numbered keys along the top, and the three middle btns look very spectrum-esque, far too imposing.

2. 2nd analog pad: personally - and I am amazed this hasn't already been raised - I'd rather see 2 extra gamepad btns & all btns spread out slightly more in the space the 2nd analog pad currently occupies. 4 of the btns could be used as a 2nd digital stick, should the need arise.

3. RAM. Quite simply - I would expect at least 256MB.

Thanks for your consideration

 

[Parkydr]

First of all: It could be worse

But actually it doesn't look like a gaming handheld, more like a computer for primary school for learning how to calculate.
Try not to design it so nerdy. I don't know what to change exactly, but it needs something...

Whose cares about looks as long as it does the job.

I suppose you could make it white and call it the iPandora

Every one would want one then.

 

[Mia]

"It's ok" for me.
I think it's a wise decision to give priority to practical use over a sexy modern look (remember, Game Boy vs. Game Gear, NDS vs. PSP). The clamshell especially is good news to me. The d-pad looks really good too.
I'm a little bit afraid about the touch screen being on the upper part though. And I hope the non slide-out keyboard won't get in the way for gaming.

 

[Squidge]

Who thinks the sd card slots should be moved from the back to the sides or front, and the dc jack and usb ports should be moved to the back?

I just seems that having the card slots at the rear would be awkward to change the contents, compared to having them in a more "usual" place.

 

[X-Code]

I think that slots and so on are all in the right places

 

[chris_r]

Hmmmmmmm well I like the clamshell design, and I'll hold off on the layout of the controls until I can see what they feel like in my hands.

I think the thing you are missing is colour coordination. Someone posted edits earlier on of an all white pandora with white buttons, keys etc and it looked a lot better than the grey on white look.

Also I think you should have at least a choice of white and black on launch. This will cater to most users and then maybe introduce red and blue and other colours for people who want them later on.

The keyboard is my main gripe. It looks like the keyboard was the main concern and everything else was designed around it. I think at least once the keys are made the same colour as the case then it won't be so garish and stick out so much. I think the keys should at least be tapered slightly like the keys on a laptop keyboard so the keys seem slightly spaced out but are still packed together.
I still think that a slide out keyboard somehow would be a better choice. Or at least a little slide-off cover so that the keyboard could be covered by default. It would just make it that bit nicer.

As for finishes I'm guessing it will be matte, but will there be a shiny option? I think the only time this works is when it is white because then you cant see fingerprints. So I think maybe you should also offer a shiny white option.

Who thinks the sd card slots should be moved from the back to the sides or front, and the dc jack and usb ports should be moved to the back?

I just seems that having the card slots at the rear would be awkward to change the contents, compared to having them in a more "usual" place.

Sd card slots are fine where they are. I think everything else should be at the back too apart from volume control and headphone slot.

But mainly the stuff about the slide off keyboard cover and making all the keys/ buttons the same colour as the case.

 

[emphyrio]

I suppose you could make it white and call it the iPandora

Every one would want one then.

Make it black&white and remove the 'dor' from the name. :lol:

 

[Julius]

SD slots would fit to the side just fine, and by moving some to the connections to the back there could be place for two real USB connections at the front (don't really like that micro USB).

Otherwise... I think slightly splitting up the keyboard into two parts ergonomically easy to reach with your thumbs would look cooler and leave space for the analog sticks to be moved slightly downward for quicker and more comfortable switching between dpad and stick (as it is done often in games). It would also break up the "static" look the button layout has right now.

Oh and please do not put a huge logo on the back of the display!
The absolute best would be a matte black finish that is completely blank and plane, kind of similar to some IBM business subnotebooks. This would look cool, and spark interest in the device more than a "cheap" looking logo would.

P.S.: The website is just atrocious and not fully HTML compatible. How about a website design contest on this page? That would surely ensure a MUCH better result.

 

[Javacat]

I think it's ugly as hell, but I guess that also means it'll be less likely to get me mugged (unless they mistake it for a DS). It appears as though you've most definatly gone with functionality over asthetics (which isn't a bad thing). I will probably get it, but it'll only be getting shown off to people I know that appreciate geekyness

I think that having the connectors at the rear of the device with the SD readers at the front might be a better solution, although that might mean that if you use some sort of SDIO device that stick out, it could get in the way. I guess having some connectors on the front, some on the rear with an SD reader, and the other SD reader on a side is out of the question?

Will the console have some sort of way of detecting whether the screen is open or closed, so that it can turn the screen off when it's closed?

 

[DaveC]

Does the A/V socket accommodate a 3.5mm jack? I don't think I have seen a socket like that before.

It'll take a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, plus it'll take a custom connector for more capabilities (TV out, etc). A very similar design was used on the PSP.


What will the other capabilities be? Hopefully some sort of better video quality output. Crap-posite video is so 1970's and looks like pure shit.

 

[Javacat]

The website is just atrocious and not fully HTML compatible. How about a website design contest on this page? That would surely ensure a MUCH better result.

That's an idea I really do like h34r: