Pandora's Design

Good or Bad?

  • Love it

    Votes: 1 100.0%
  • It's ok

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Meh.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I dislike it

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I hate it

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    1

Adventus said:
QUOTE
Nope, one Gb of ram which = 128 MB of ram.
Yea just read that elsewheres.... thats retarded and not the kind of media hype i respect.
Strikes me as similar to the whole gp2x.co.uk "240Mhz" GP2X really... There's a fine line between marketing hype and deception - the specs should be changed to 128MB IMO.
 
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Hmm. It's OK. My worries:

Ergonomics: how will it feel to reach across the buttons and D-pad to use the analog sticks? Will the corners hurt your hands? Frankly, this looks rather uncomfortable to use.

The start/select/menu button placement is extremely nonoptimal.

The delete key, pg-up & pg-down, and the spacebar need to be moved to normal QWERTY positions.

How thin is it? It looks like it'll be thicker than my old Presario 1900XL laptop when shut.

The dual SD card slots is cool and unexpected.

Don't advertise in mega/mibibits!

I like the curve at the edges of the screen, kind of like the DS lite.

Keep the ABXY buttons in the GP2X configuration. I find it easier.

Please move the number keys back down.

Will those be like cheap less-than-chiclet keys, the kind you find on little calculator clocks, the kind that's made from one layer of rubber with thickenings for keys?

istockphoto_1308093_calculator_city_clock.jpg


I sure hope not.

Can we has 3D model/Quicktime VR/similar, or just more pics so we can see the whole thing?

NOT WHITE PLX THX

Dark blue or black would be good.

Thanks for paying attention. :)
 
I've answered as meh!

Mainly as it's too eeepc orientated (as mentioned above) and I prefer the sliding keyboard idea since it'd give more space to move around on the joypad area.

Since this is still at design stage, why not do a design competition for the gp2x members?

I'm sure folks might like that idea? maybe?
 
I like it a lot, I am not the type that needs something to look *Cute* rather have utility in mind. I liked the DS for its protection of all that is important. I like the key layout reminds me somewhat of my favorite controller for the PS2 The RetroCon.



http://www.8bitjoystick.com/archives/jake_...pad_for_ps2.php


One can see the similarities. I am excited and I hope it comes in Black with neon orange buttons on the inside. LOL
 
It looks like an old-school Toshiba laptop, a look I am partial to. As long as there's no serious flaws in functionality, and the keyboard is not gonna crap out after a short time, I'll be fine with it.
 
Was always in favour of the clamshell design, and still am (but I wonder why that was always denied earlier, same for dual sd).

Overall I like the design. Really needs to be black though. I repead BLACK ! ;)

Oh and if it isn't 1 GigaBYTE drop that marketing crap at ONCE!

Edit: the webpage looks kind of cheap though and doesn't work properly with Konqueror.
 
I don't think the layout of the keys and buttons are too bad, they seem logically placed and I reckon they would be comfy. I really like the clam shell design too, very nice.

Although, from a first-impressions point of view, I think the unit should be black. The current colour just looks like a laptop from the mid-90's. I think it would do a lot for the presentation of the machine to be a darker colour. This would surely be an easy change? Minimal cost at least. Although what I'm hoping won't happen, will be to release a black version two months after this beige version, charging £20 more (The digital camera market seems to suffer from this). That would be low. I'm sure that won't happen though? <_< :p

Secondly the keys/buttons should be rounded. Again the square keys make it look a bit old-school.

As we have seen from people on the forum going completely overboard and saying "I'm not buying now!!1!1", first-impressions are everything. A few changes in the design could massively boost sales.

I will certainly be buying this machine even if these changes weren't implemented. Not buying a machine based on looks seems a bit shallow. I will be buying it for the features, not whether it matches my make-up and pocket mirror or not. :rolleyes:

I must agree that it would be best to state the RAM in MB, not Gb. Whether it was an innocent mistake or not, it does come across as trying to make a product look much better than it is, getting one up on the consumer. This could put people off.

Overall, while it could look a bit better, I'm happy the design is out there! And I don't believe there is anything majorly wrong with it, possibly just in need of a few cosmetic changes.

Well done to everyone involved for getting this far! Good luck in the future!
 
I don't mind the analog sticks where they are as long as it easy to use.

At least they aren't at the bottom like the PSP cos that really hurts your hand
 
Here Here, I'm with Tobriand on this one. Love the design from a functional point of view, but hate it from an aesthetic point of view.
 
I am a bit worried about the quality of the hinge though. I mean my 1600 euro ASUS laptop has a shoddy hinge and I don't try to use that display as a touchscreen.

Oh and placing the analog sticks a bit lower than the buttons and the dpad somehow might be more comfortable to use and would break up the "static" look a bit.
 
May I ask who created the render? Would it have been WarmFluffyUK by any chance?
 
Yes, the design does look a bit like a piece of 70's electronics. But does it really matter that much how it looks? Sure it's fun to show off something cool to your friends but in the end it's usability that matters the most.

That's what's going to decide if I buy it or not. How comfortable it is to use, the quality of the screen, dpad, buttons, and keyboard, etc is a lot more important to me than a cool look. It does look a bit cluttered but if you hold your GP2x in your hands (roughly the same size as the Pandora) you will see that both the dpad and the analog controllers are well placed and easy to use. That keyboard might be tiny but you'll be able to use your tumbs to write on it.

But sure...it might sell more if it had a cool design. That's what a lot of kids go for these days. Unfortunately.

One suggestion...make it black. That will help a lot.
 
I am under the impression that this thing is slightly larger than a DS lite. Exactly what I was hoping for :)


More suggestions, complaints, questions, etc.:
- Why does the d-pad have a big hole in the center? Are the pieces even connected?
- I don't think most people would be able to reach those center keys without removing most of their grip; Perhaps the keyboard could be split with a space between the two halves.
- The number keys are in a really bad place for thumb typing. They should be above the other keys for easy access.
- With the number keys out of the way, the Start and Select buttons could be moved to the top right corner.
- The analog sticks should be placed a little lower, and closer to the edges if possible; As long as the d-pad and face buttons don't get in the way.
- I think that the keyboard should be square: It would allow for bigger function keys, and look allot better.
 
Sphinxter said:
Keyboard.. What is that for, texting?

  • Emails
  • Coding
  • Word Processing
  • Url input
  • Instant Messaging
  • Value Input
  • ZX Spectrum
  • Amiga
  • Dos
  • Konsole/Terminal
  • Keyboard Shortcuts
 
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Sphinxter said:
Keyboard.. What is that for, texting?
Typing emails, replying on here, word processing, entering text in amiga, ST, C64, and BBC emus to name but a few, and playing text adventures without having to spend a year and a day "typing" your next action using an on-screen keyboard. Interacting with the shell easily (insofar as you can interact with a shell easily), editing scripts on the actual machine (if they're needed). File management - particularly renaming. And don't forget the possibility of coding on the go, though that may or may not become a reality.

All in all, there's a few good reasons.
 
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Ditch the keyboard, it doesn't belong in a gaming device. It could be very well in software, on the touch screen. Or make it a very slim keyboard, that slides. Make it more ergonomic, more curves needed. It looks just like a mini EEE, and that's bad for a handheld gaming device. If it's clamshell, then make it so the top part with the screen can be rotated >250 degrees, so you can fold it and have just the touch screen, like a tablet pc. And make it black, ffs. White is sooo overrated for a electronic device.
 
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