PGS Windows 10 gaming handheld - GPD WIN competitor


They only ever said they would contact Intel for tuning support. It was a question of whether that was true or not. A lot of people did not believe they had contacted the Principal Engineer at Intel and had gotten support to help tune the thing.

ie , At least they were telling the truth in that regard
 
Why shouldn't they? I don't think they are ill-doing.
It's probably similar to Craig: They are very optimistic and probably don't know how complex these things are...
 
So.. how does this work exactly? You'll pick the case color when they're ready to send?
If they're titanium cases then they're probably thinking they'll just anodize them to whatever colour the customer wants just before shipping.
 
If they're titanium cases then they're probably thinking they'll just anodize them to whatever colour the customer wants just before shipping.

The titanium cases are only supposed to be a limited run of 10 and even they don't claim to be able to do them in different colors.
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Well, it looks like the Principal Engineer at Intel really is in communications with them and has offered to help tune performance with the PGS. Color me surprised.


If anyone was going to do it I'm not surprised it was Francois Piednoel. I can't speak to his technical credentials but he's kind of a forum troll who occasionally does things without much appearance of forethought.

They have also added some new stretch goals

I love Kickstarter stretch goals. Start with a totally broken system that heavily promotes failure, then encourage creators to double down with more and more delivery burdens. As many as their imagination allows. Anything that can drive that pledge sum as high as possible because that above all is the true goal.

Sometimes I wonder if they're being deliberately gratuitous to make some kind of point.

If I ever decide to stop boycotting Kickstarter I'll probably loudly pull funds when a project decides to add stupid stretch goals in the middle of the campaign.
 
@Exophase
A lot of their backers are complaining about the stretch goals in the comments section of the KS project.

As for the last stretch goal, if you are in talks with and are trying to get Intel to help you as much as possible with tuning etc. Then why at the same time would you announce a stretch goal to ditch Intel and go with AMD. Makes no sense at all.

I kind of get the feeling they are recent grads , I got the feeling their video was shot in a uni - nothing specific to say that to me, just get that feeling. Like the lockers in the background in the final shot. Could be work lockers, but combine that with their age and evewrything else. I just a get a feeling about it. Pure conjecture from me, so take it with a grain of salt
 
Yeah I agree with that feeling that they're recent grads. Only I'm skeptical that they've got anyone coming out with an electrical engineering degree. Because so far they've done nothing at all to demonstrate that ability. They might have a mechanical engineer or industrial designer who put together the models and 3D printed materials but I don't think they have much else. I bet they have some marketing or business types instead. Maybe someone who sees themselves as a Steve Jobs sort of persona and really believes they have a Steve Wozniak on the team that they probably don't.

Another possibility is that they're trying really hard to make some established mobile company fall for the idea and buy them out. I've known of some projects that admitted they were doing exactly that... but they weren't on Kickstarter.
 
The "water resistant" stretch goal reminds me of the perfect handheld features list I wrote when I was twelve :)
The AMD thing seems kind of weird. I assumed they were already done (or at least finalizing) with negotiations and research for possible hardware, since there are a lot of "Intel inside" thingies all over the place. Marketing error?
 
You would think they would axe the lite model at this stage. Only 28 odd people out of 1045 have selected it. Keeping the lite model means they have to produce another set of tooling like molds etc.

Mind you, they should never have offered a separate lite model to start with.
 
You would think they would axe the lite model at this stage. Only 28 odd people out of 1045 have selected it. Keeping the lite model means they have to produce another set of tooling like molds etc.
I don't think they have any idea about how the whole mold thing works.
 
Why shouldn't they? I don't think they are ill-doing.
It's probably similar to Craig: They are very optimistic and probably don't know how complex these things are...

If they are indeed too optimistic then hopefully the early bird backers like me will still benefit and get their device before they find out the money pile is used up.
Sadly for them and later backers it would mean they go trough the same fiasco as Craig did with the Pandora.
Time will learn what they will do, if they either file for bankruptcy or if they will continue in a different fashion and ask higher prices and try to pay off their debts.

To me its a risk i am willing to take, to tell the truth, if they would have asked the same price as the Pyra, i would most likely not have backed them, too steep a price for me to take a risk.
The Pandora is a proven concept, your team and you also proven to be reliable and professional, so for the Pyra its all worth it to me at its price, but the pgs10, dunno, the specs are worth it, but the risk isnt.

But look at it from the bright side, thanks to the pandora fiasco we now get to enjoy the Pyra soon.
 
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It just gets better.

Get word from intel engineer.
AMD stretchgoal!
Non-tested cooling-solution.
Overclocking!

This is exactly what happens when people who envision rather than engineer products run the company with a sales-department.

My prediction for tomorrow is they announce the executive from the gizmodo is on staff.
 
I feel bad for the people who are holding out for this updated prototype to be released before the campaign is over.. we all know it's just going to be another mockup that maybe tries to be more subtle. They don't have time to do a PCB or anything else really. If they were actually close to having any of that they should have waited until it was ready, or at least shown pictures of what they did have. I guess that's moot anyway since they said straight up they don't intend to have a real prototype until fall.
 
I'm pretty sure they won't even have a working prototype in Fall...
GPD was already blazing fast, but they were very smart.

They reused the basic case design of the GPD XD. Nothing fancy as telescopic sticks (which they want to create themselves).
And they made the PCB so big and simple (no LTE/4G, etc.), that the layouting wasn't too complex, so it could be done fast as well.
That was a very smart move.

PGS however has a very small case and wants to offer tons of features.
This makes designing the PCB as complex as the one in the Pyra... which took half a year just to move the traces around that they all work and won't interfere.

Unless they already HAVE something in their drawer, it's highly unlikely they have a fully working prototype within this year in my opinion.
 
PGS however has a very small case and wants to offer tons of features.
This makes designing the PCB as complex as the one in the Pyra... which took half a year just to move the traces around that they all work and won't interfere.
That's one of the main reasons why I have such a huge respect for your team, cramming so much stuff in so little space and actually making it work is amazing.
Atm I wouldn't trust any other company when they say that they are able to do that, not even the big ones.
 
Another interesting update from PGS:

Our vision of future of the project

We'd like to clarify some questions regarding PGS and also to share with you our plans for near and far away future. We want to remind you that each our team member has rich experience in using portable gaming consoles, each of us is an excellent expert and, most importantly, put a piece of heart in our project. Not only do we want to make a dream of many people to become a reality, we also fulfill our own dream, to give a new life in the world of portable gaming devices. Currently the faded world which keeps dying under the pressure of lots of low quality games for mobile phones.

We also wish to remind you that when funding this project, you don't simply make a preorder, you are funding into the birth of something brand new, you are creating it together with us.

Ok, here what we are planning to achieve by the end of the campaign:

  • To release a number of updates where we'll share our vision regarding various details of our device. To share info about our team members in one of the updates. This is really our fault that we haven't introduced you the team members earlier.
  • One of the updates will be dedicated to testing gaming performance in a number of games, also covering settings, FPS, resolution.
  • To spread info about us and our project in mass media as much as possible. It will help us to acquire new backers, to popularize our project and idea. We have received and keep receiving a lot of offers regarding potential investing and partnerships. Until the end of the campaign we wish to decide who should become our partner, a co-owner of the PGS company. Our priority are those companies that possess not just financial resources, but most importantly a large crew of experienced engineers.
  • Why do we need partners while we are collecting funds on Kickstarter? We've got prior agreements with a number of Chinese factories which would take a full cycle of production of devices according to our demands on specification and design. The already collected sum of funds is now sufficient to contact with them after the campaign, to monitor the quality of production and to send backers the finished devices in the upcoming year. But there is also another way - by making agreement with a company/corporation that holds extensive financial and engineering resources, we wouldn't be limited by that resources we get from Kickstarter. We would be able to raise the quality level even if the cost exceeds the pledge sum. We are ready for such decision for the sake of you, for popularity of our device, for creating business image and the overall future of the project. Speaking about future, we may say that we have big plans on PGS. Soon after we send the finished devices to backers, the PGS will start selling online on Amazon, and also in retail in a number of large countries. At the same time we will announce the new PGS revision based on Apollo Lake, as well as the brand new portable device with 7 inch display and a discrete video card. Also, until the end of campaign, we are planning to make an improved prototype version and to demonstrate it to you in new videos. The case elements of this prototype will also be printed on 3D printer and it will be based on a slightly modified Voyo V3 board. Some community members are not satisfied that the prototype is not based on our own PCB. Guys, we will start active work on PCB design after the funding ends and once we clearly know who will be a potential partner. If we get lucky and it is a company with experienced engineers (as reputable Intel), the work on PCB will be performed by engineers of our partner. We remind you, we strive for the highest quality and we will achieve it.
Are you together with us?

The bolded text in the last paragraph seems interesting. I am not an engineer but it looks like they are saying they do not have anyone on the team that can design the PCB and are expecting a partner to come aboard and do all the heavy lifting. Maybe I am reading this wrong but my assumption was the design of the PCB one of the most time consuming parts of these projects? Maybe I am lost in translation and they are using a 3rd party to design the PCB by offering a percentage of profits? I'm curious of the estimated profit margin at their backer price point and how viable this partner strategy would be to an established company. Possibly some of the more experienced and knowledgeable members here could chime in if this is common or maybe Exophase is right and they are trying to sell off their brand and design?
 
Rich experience in using portable gaming devices. Probably not as rich as that statement.

I feel like I've seen this before. Some people who want to sell a design on the strength of their hobbyist enthusiasm and passion, as if that's really all you need. Oh, but they're "excellent experts" too. In what exactly, who knows. Anyone who is good at anything can surely spare a sentence or two to describe that expertise. Or to look at it another way, how ignorant do you have to be to be incapable of even crafting a lie about your specific capabilities?

They still say they'll do it later but I wouldn't get too excited. Instead let's talk some more about the next version of the miracle device with even less believable features.

Some of their words do at least reinforce my suspicions that they're building up hype with intent to sell an idea to a more competent party. They already think that Intel, who merely offered to help tune a finished hardware design if such a thing ever exists, will now make the PCB for them! That one line right there is probably the biggest most blatant red flag and warning sign to jump ship. If this doesn't create a big backer exodus I'm not sure anything will.

maybe Exophase is right

Had to happen eventually :D

The electrical and thermal design is definitely the heart and soul of a project like this, with the mechanical design being a close second (thermal has both mechanical and electrical implications). Both will require a lot of iterations to get even close to right (if their design targets are even realistic), they don't have enough time to meet their schedule even if they did know what they were doing. Which they clearly don't. Finding a third party to do the PCB for you (as if that would ever happen!) is about the furthest from lucky you can get, it means you have the terrible of luck of being hopelessly incapable of performing what you promised to do.
 
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rich experience in using portable gaming consoles
There is nothing that you can expect from this.
uploadfromtaptalk1460192833531-jpg.28229

:D
 
The Voyo V3 mini PC is same or more expensive as the intended price of the PGS. And that's without including:
  • Screens
  • Battery
  • Controls
  • Extra costs due to more compact PCB design
Uhm, yeah. :|
 
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