Panodra Durability

[kuru]

[...]the case plastic has been chosen so that it wont even accept my fingerprints OR make my hands sweat like crazy during usage like my shiny "perfect" Nintendo 3DS

[...]

Fixed it for you.

 

[Prometheus]

^ But wasn't the plastic intended to be piano black at some point, or am I misremembering?

 

[Fworg64]

Just thought i add that i got mine around May-June this year (2011) through a premium order and my build quality is just fine, no banana, no cracks, no paint scratches. Only thing is the shoulder pads were a bit stiff for the first couple days (solved by pressing them a couple times) and when I press on my case while its closed, it creaks, but thats expectable. Other than those minor non-issues its been smooth sailing .

 

[fusion_power]

this is weird, because some people say it feels like it would be hard to break it and its really durable,


Other people say is an Arm processor and an LCD screen wrapped in a potato chip...


dont know which statement to beilieve.

Depends of how well the Pandora is screwed together. My fresh new Pandora made squeeking noises when pressing D-Pad or buttons. After opening for doing some little Shoulder Button fixes, I found out that the plastic around the screws was nearly shred to pieces. Happens when you drill the screws with to much power. <_< I already recommended some torque sensitive screwdrivers for that job but I guess these are not used during assembling the Pandora.


However, after putting my Pandora back together, the squeeking was gone and everything now feels very solid. My Shoulder Buttons never felt better, since I fixed both of them. They have a nice preasure point now and the right travel distance before it clicks, a Nintendo DSi is not much better there IMHO. The Pandora L+R Triggers are really usable now. ^^

 

[McLovin]

^ But wasn't the plastic intended to be piano black at some point, or am I misremembering?

misremembering. Everyone agreed it should be matte. First, it was supposed to be matte plastic. When they told us it will be painted, everyone was like "but don't make it shiny!"

 

[Prometheus]

I just had to look it up, since it was bugging me. It turns out that I wasn't misremembering.


This post and Craig's reply to it reference the mass-production finish being glossy. This would be where I heard it.

 

[MrLemonyFresh]

Hey everyone, now that we're on the topic, I've noticed a little red tinge seems to have appear at the bottom of my screen and is visible when the screen is dark.


Anyone know what that could be? also on occasion I experience small bands of flicking on the screen. These things worry me a bit since I haven't had it long...

 

[Prometheus]

From that description, that sounds like some variation of LCD-cable failure, unfortunately. Contact your distributor.

 

[MrLemonyFresh]

really? so many people have had this problem, can I expect it to be fixed permanently when I return it? It's a massive downer with the time spent waiting for it (I think might be long) plus the fact that my warranty will only last so long.. I'm worried that it might break again at the tail end of my warranty.. =(

 

[ZXDunny]

really? so many people have had this problem, can I expect it to be fixed permanently when I return it? It's a massive downer with the time spent waiting for it (I think might be long) plus the fact that my warranty will only last so long.. I'm worried that it might break again at the tail end of my warranty.. =(

The new LCD cables are (we're told) very durable. The old ones were quite brittle and over time developed cracks in the tracks - these new ones are much more supple. I've had mine replaced and it's going like a champ now.


D.

 

[CubeFreak]

what about the bumper(s) ive heard alot of problems with those?

 

[leo]

Hi all


I ordered my pandora through the premium option and had it for a couple months now.


I notice a slight creek when the unit is twisted with a bit of force, of course who would buy a unit and twist it?


There are no problems with paint, buttons, lcd, hinge, spaces between the case.


Since i always leave it at home on my desk im guessing thats why it hasnt decided to fart on me with funny business.


Overall i am very satisfied with its build quality, and once you start gaming youll forget about tiny flaws on the exterior!

 

[ZXDunny]

what about the bumper(s) ive heard alot of problems with those?

I'm not sure about the causes of those as they seem to be varied - in my unit, the case was butting against the shoulder button moulding, and I had to take a knife to the button to free it, trimming off a small bar of plastic. Also, there are small pads of foam applied to the switches inside - most people find though that only one of their buttons has this (as I did) and to solve this I cut the one pad in half and seated the two halves properly.


My LCD cable failed after a couple of months, and the lid would flop around quite alarmingly - opening up fully at the slightest vibration. I sent it to ED for repairs and he tightened up the hinge a bit, which works very well now and stays open at 100 - 110 degrees as it should. Other problems are the battery housing - pretty much all units reported on the forums need some extra padding (like a piece of folding paper) inside to keep the battery properly seated. Without it, small bump in your pocket would cause the battery to move and the unit to turn on in full power mode which drains the battery considerably.


ED also fixed my Zero key, as the conductive paint was worn away (or badly applied) when I got it, making PandaBAS pretty much unusable. I fixed the "A" button myself - the interior of the button had too much "flash" (excess moulding plastic) remaining which caused the rubber nubble underneath to be permanently depressed, causing squishiness. I removed that with my knife also, and it's now performing as well as the others.


All in all, the build quality is generally quite poor - there appears to be no efforts made by OPT to catch such problems as the keys not working, or the buttons (shoulders and A button are very common) being squishy. I don't know if QA has improved, though reports of physical issues are less common now, but at least as far as January this year Pandoras were being sent out with these minor fixes not applied and a lack of testing is the only reason they could have been missed.


D.

 

[Tom`]

Personally, I think that the plastic used feels a bit soft and delicate. I'm not complaining, because ED posted somewhere on how difficult it is to make plastic, but I do think that it should be something that the company looks into for future devices.

IMO, it's the opposite problem - the plastic is too hard or brittle. For the thicker parts this isn't a problem - they're quite strong. The issues happen in thin places like around the ports and the hinge.


My unit also has one basically non-functional shoulder button, but I'm told this is CircuitCo's fault - they didn't place the buttons correctly, so OP was forced to use some rather unreliable pads there.


No LCD issues as yet, but I have the old cable, so I'll probably have to send it in to get that replaced at some point - hopefully by that time ED won't be as busy.

 

[Mygames19]

The build quality itself isn't too bad considering the type of device and where you're getting it from, but it does have it's faults at times. OPP has been trying to fix a lot of the quality issues, and they've done a pretty good job. They got on CircuitCo when the shoulder buttons were having issues, and they bought stronger LCD Cables to prevent future units from experiencing the Purple Tint Of Death. However, I think there is one problem that really needs resolved: The plastics.


I don't know if it's just me and a few dozen people, but over time, the plastic has cracked. What is strange is that I haven't done anything to my unit to cause it...the cracks just popped up. The first one I noticed about a month ago. I picked it up, opened it and - there was a crack on the right side of the hinge, moving towards the center. Than, just a few days ago, I noticed a little something creeping up the left side of the lid (The side with the logo). Opening it up and looking closely reveals a crack going all the way down the bottom plastic of the lid (The side obscured by the LED lights) and it's working it's way to the back. The same thing is happening on the right, too. Not sure if it was a screw thing, but just in case, I loosened them a little. I'm a little afraid that the cracks aren't going to stop dead in their tracks. I would just use PCB Glue, but to do that safely I'd have to take it apart... voiding the warranty. I really don't want to RMA for something as silly as plastics, but I need it to protect the innards and make game playing a more comfortable experience. So ya, the Plastic casing needs work. To be honest, I don't think this plastic would be too bad for products that just sit in one place - but something like the Pandora that gets constantly moved around all the time... Not so much.


These days, the Pandora doesn't leave the house unless I've got some sort of protection to keep it safe. If you plan on buying a Pandora, I'd recommend a carrying case (Be it the official one or one unofficially supplied by Link) They might lower chances of what I'm going through.

 

[Cas]

Hello


What is the white mini laptop looking handheld in the OPs video ?

 

[ZXDunny]

Hello


What is the white mini laptop looking handheld in the OPs video ?

Prototype Pandora, I assume.


Edit: No, I thought you meant OPT's video


That white laptop is a UMid SE and it's a very sexy piece of kit


A tad more expensive than the Pandora, and way more powerful.


D.

 

[Cas]

Hello


What is the white mini laptop looking handheld in the OPs video ?

Prototype Pandora, I assume.


Edit: No, I thought you meant OPT's video


That white laptop is a UMid SE and it's a very sexy piece of kit


A tad more expensive than the Pandora, and way more powerful.


D.

Hello


The price of that is £384 in UK.


Looks like the Pandora maybe sold for one of those

 

[ZXDunny]

Hello


What is the white mini laptop looking handheld in the OPs video ?

Prototype Pandora, I assume.


Edit: No, I thought you meant OPT's video


That white laptop is a UMid SE and it's a very sexy piece of kit


A tad more expensive than the Pandora, and way more powerful.


D.

Hello


The price of that is £384 in UK.


Looks like the Pandora maybe sold for one of those

Pandora is $500, which is £303 in the UK. Dunno if that's inclusive of VAT or not. I'd recommend the Pandora unless you want the thing for office/app work - there's no gaming controls on that thing, so its usage is limited compared to what the Pandora can do.


D.

 

[Cas]

Hello


What is the white mini laptop looking handheld in the OPs video ?

Prototype Pandora, I assume.


Edit: No, I thought you meant OPT's video


That white laptop is a UMid SE and it's a very sexy piece of kit


A tad more expensive than the Pandora, and way more powerful.


D.

Hello


The price of that is £384 in UK.


Looks like the Pandora maybe sold for one of those

Pandora is $500, which is £303 in the UK. Dunno if that's inclusive of VAT or not. I'd recommend the Pandora unless you want the thing for office/app work - there's no gaming controls on that thing, so its usage is limited compared to what the Pandora can do.


D.

Hello


In hindsight I am sticking with the Pandora, just realised the Umid SE is m$ driven, Blech $%£$@&*^%$