PGS Windows 10 gaming handheld - GPD WIN competitor

[Klumpen]

PGS are back in town and have been contacting media outlets about their revival. They plan to be at E# with a working prototype. they have also started posting on forums again.

http://boards.dingoonity.org/other-...-system-on-windows-10!!!/msg163132/#msg163132

 

[vcoleiro1]

On their pre-order site, PGS are asking for $259 for the PGS Lite and $319 for the PGS Hardcore


Hmm, below is an image PGS posted on their blog. It's meant to be them talking to the the xpphone guys about the development of the PGS.
Now look at the top of the left board in the photo below. If I'm not mistaken, it appears to say the BOM cost is $230 - $300. If the BOM alone is that much , that's a wafer thin margin on the pre-order cost. And that's not accounting for other costs.

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

On their pre-order site, PGS are asking for $259 for the PGS Lite and $319 for the PGS Hardcore


Hmm, below is an image PGS posted on their blog. It's meant to be them talking to the the xpphone guys about the development of the PGS.
Now look at the top of the left board in the photo below. If I'm not mistaken, it appears to say the BOM cost is $230 - $300. If the BOM alone is that much , that's a wafer thin margin on the pre-order cost. And that's not accounting for other costs.

Its da bom!

 

[Binky]

Surely it costs more than $20 just to assemble and pack a device like that?

 

[TrashyMG]

Surely it costs more than $20 just to assemble and pack a device like that?

Not with child labor

 

[EvilDragon]

On their pre-order site, PGS are asking for $259 for the PGS Lite and $319 for the PGS Hardcore


Hmm, below is an image PGS posted on their blog. It's meant to be them talking to the the xpphone guys about the development of the PGS.
Now look at the top of the left board in the photo below. If I'm not mistaken, it appears to say the BOM cost is $230 - $300. If the BOM alone is that much , that's a wafer thin margin on the pre-order cost. And that's not accounting for other costs.

It's not just a water-thin margin, it's not a margin at all.

BoM = Bill of Materials

That means it's just the cost for the parts alone. No production run, no assembly, no packing.

The production costs of the Pyra are about $170... so yay!

 

[Grench]

But - if they're planning to sell positions for pre-installed introductory version software and/or a walled garden where they stand to make more money off of the sales of software and apps and/or data collection services to compile and sell user data - then they might be able to more or less sell the units at close to production cost?

Just looking for potential ways to make the economics of the thing work, not implying that they're doing any of the above.

They would still need to solve the basic principles of three dimensional volume and physics that the design runs counter to.

If they can conquer the engineering and space folding needs and the build to sale economics issue though I'm sure they'll create a great device, solve world dissent, build a mars colony... there will be nothing they won't be able to do.

Cool renders though.

 

[Razy]

Cool renders though.

The renders have been the one catchy (if not over-ambitious) thing about it, which is precisely why Kickstarter explicitly forbids renders. I believe this short phrase of yours encapsulates the PGS story in all its tragedy. It's something you can say after any and all arguments have been made about it. "PGS will never work because of 'X'. Cool renders though."

 

[MechaBouncer]

Looks like I missed quite a bit on this. I'm actually looking forward to seeing what (if anything) happens at E3 this year.

Apparently at the end of March they launched the PGS Vault:

The Chosen One and Sakura


Hello, dear friends.

We’ve come up with the idea of creating a special web portal for our community providing necessary information to help learn more about our device. We have named it the PGS Vault.

We are going to share via this portal all our videos, 3D renders, high-res photos, and other content that will be accessible for everyone to download and share. We think it’s important that everyone knows everything about our device, the first ever smartphone/portable game console/mini-PC hybrid. So we will encourage members of our community to freely spread information about us among friends. All of you will be able to contribute greatly to the project by sharing our content across the Internet.

Also, the portal will bring you an exclusive content that we will not post anywhere else. This may include various content like pictures from our office or any other things we don’t share publicly. And the key point is that information from us will appear on our portal first, and only afterwards we will post it on our blog and in social media, so you will be the first people to receive fresh news and content.

As a reward for help in spreading info about PGS, we are going to invite the most active community members to a team of beta testers to test PGS Hardcore, which will come out in the second quarter of 2017. Like journalists, who will also get their devices for making reviews, testers will be among the first people to get early devices in order to provide user feedback.

Our portal, the PGS Vault, will be available to active users and everyone interested, but you should get a special password to get access. All active user actions related to the information spreading will be monitored and recorded. All our community, all portable gaming fans, high-tech gadgets fans, Youtube bloggers and reviewers are free to join.

Dear friends, if you really like the idea of the portal, please “like” this update on our social media pages. That would be a confirmation that we all need this new resource.


Also, we decided to improve our website and blog in terms of accessibility to a special country where major part of gaming projects were born. The significant part of our community are people from Japan. Japan is a motherland of almost all gaming consoles, its contribution to a world gaming industry is inestimable. So we decided to integrate Japanese language on our website and blog in order to be in close touch with our Japanese friends.


Keep track of further updates!

Yours faithfully, the PGS Team.

20.03.2017

Plus another update on the Titanium model:

Exclusivity, Elegance, Titanium

Hello, dear friends.

Today we would like to introduce PGS Hardcore Titanium.

Almost every day we receive a lot of questions as to what is the difference between PGS Hardcore and PGS Hardcore Titanium. At the same time, every sixth device pre-ordered is the Titanium version. Now it's time to clarify the distinctive features of this model.

Regarding the technical specifications, PGS Hardcore Titanium is no different from the PGS Hardcore, while the main difference is what certain parts of the device body are made of. Titanium version will feature highly-durable titanium body, the underside of the device will be made entirely from titanium. For now we are planning to release the Titanium version in a limited series, available only by pre-order.

For all the lucky owners of PGS Hardcore Titanium we are looking to bundle the device with several branded accessories. We will post details about the complete package closer to the release.


Currently we are running a draw on our Facebook page with the the Titanium version as a prize.


Yours sincerely, the PGS Team.

09.04.2017

And the latest announcement adding a section for tested* games:

And yet, it's all for the sake of games


Hello, dear friends.

We understand well that most of you are gamers and that gaming is our strongest common passion. That's why we all here.

When we initially came up with an idea of PGS, we wanted to create a perfect portable gaming console to be able to enjoy our favorite gaming projects wherever we are. We have made the device as convenient and suitable for gaming as possible; we have added the additional functionality of a modern full-fledged smartphone and a mini PC.
Our device is the world's first hybrid based on two SoCs of different architectures; it is able to provide unique gaming experience on both Windows and Android platforms. Now we are ready to focus again on what is most important - games.

Today we are going to introduce the new "Gaming section" of our website. You will find information we post there very helpful if you are going to use our device primarily for gaming. This includes statistics of tested games, the request form through which you can ask us to test a particular game; videos, screenshots, links to tested games on Steam.

Unfortunately, one of the today's trends is that the higher the performance of PC hardware, the less attention game developers pay to optimization of game engines. We decided not to ignore this fact, so in our "Gaming section" we are going to provide special patches, configs, and presets for various games to maximize performance of the games running on our hardware. Of course, if such possibility is provided by game developers.

We want to be as close to you and the gaming community as possible. We are now working hard so that the present and the next generations of our products can be regarded as serious gaming devices with an extensive library of games for Windows and Android platforms.


Yours sincerely, the PGS Team.

23.04.2017

 

[MechaBouncer]

*sigh* You waste my time.

They made a private forum called the "PGS Vault" where they are uploading information first. They also teased inviting the most active members to a beta test group.

They are still planning the Titanium version made out of actual titanium and bundled with some unspecified accessories.

They added a page for "tested" games including a form for testing specific games:
http://games.pgslab.com/

Happy?

 

[levi]

Did they actually say the vault will be private? I see they say they will post exclusive information there, but they also encourage their fans to post the information from there elsewhere. To force them not to be able to link to images and so on in the vault would seem to me to be counterproductive.

 

[MJPIA]

Had have veeerrry mild anticipation and expectations that I don't know why I have given I still cannot find them listed on E3's site.

Man last I checked the vault there was nothing and I hadn't received any emails indicating anything was added.
I should have checked it sooner.

The main way of promotion of any innovative product is communication with the press. So far, PGS LAB’s coverage is over a thousand articles in the media from various countries. Thousands of journalists are ready to write about us upon the release, the vast majority of them will receive PGS HARDCORE test samples for reviewing. At first glance, everything is great: we have contacted tens of thousands of journalists, part of whom are willing to communicate with us. But the catch is that among those journalists there is an extremely small number of Japanese people. Sources that help us find contacts are focused primarily on the English-speaking press.

We really want to change this. If you, the chosen one, are aware where and how a hundred or so contacts of the Japanese journalists can be found, we would be very thankful if you let us know. As a reward, you will receive the Accessory Kit by the release of our product.

You can send a message regarding this contribution via this link or to support@pgslab.com.

I'm detecting some slight exaggerations here.

It is known that the development of our product is carried out mostly by Chinese engineers, in the city of Shenzhen (China). They are quite experienced and sensible guys who know what they are doing. Nevertheless, we do not forget that PGS HARDCORE is the most complex and advanced portable device in the world, which is fraught with many risks and difficulties.

Therefore, we decided to launch a second independent development process by hiring a second team of developers not dependent on the first one (thanks to investors for this opportunity). Our Chinese partners are, of course, nice guys, but we all know very well that the birthplace of portable consoles and the strongest developers of portable electronics is Japan. And even though this can be more expensive, we really want to employ the Japanese second team. We have spent a lot of time and effort searching for the second ODM developer in Japan, and strangely - we haven’t succeeded. Despite the fact that in Japan there are many excellent companies experienced in development involving Intel chips (Fujitsu, for instance), not a single one out of those we discovered offers ODM development.

The task of searching for a strong Japanese team, ready to cooperate with us, is quite specific, and it seems to us that the task should be entrusted to a true fan of portable consoles. To the chosen one, exactly like you!

If you are in Japan and you know how to succeed in this quest, feel free to contact us - we will send you the technical documentation for our device. If you manage to find a company which will be suitable for us, resulting in an agreement on the second development process, we will gladly make you part of our team - our representative in Japan. Salary, business trips, privileges - everything included! ceo@pgslab.com.

I can't speak for their Chinese team but if I was on it that'd be a slap in the face to me.
Also expensive.

 

[elwing]

Titanium? I would have thought they would use unobtanium rather...

 

[vcoleiro1]

I registered for access to thier vault when they announced it. I got the password after emailing them, but, you can get it by hitting a get password button on their site somewhere. Forgot where now.

It doesnn't say much, the only thing that stuck out was what MJPIA posted, ie their search for a second manufacturer

There is images and videos there also. Strangely, three of the videos are of someone videoing the house in the snow from outside. Allmost stalker-ish. You can see someone sitting inside the house, and the person is videoing from trees near the house. There is nothing but subtle background noise and the videos last 10-16 seconds. Kind of like the opening scene to a horror movie. Very Strange. Especially considering these are videos that supposedly are there for people to share. If you have access to the vault, you can see them here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B3Q5tN2-_zBJMDVBd2NzR0F4cFU

Not only are they aiming to be at E3, but the plan on launching the PGS by the end of June. That's their current plan anyway

 

[EvilDragon]

Hm, maybe I should make outside videos of my house as well? Without snow though.

 

[Wally]

We're waiting for you to fall off your roof .

 

[ClockworkCoder]

Hm, maybe I should make outside videos of my house as well? Without snow though.

As long as there's a Pyra (and/or logo) visible in the picture, anywhere is good Could become subliminal/meme advertising...

 

[FaeMinx]

Titanium? I would have thought they would use unobtanium rather...

They are actually using unobtanium. .. That 'Titanium' coating is only a couple of atoms thick...

Anyone with decent perceptions can see right through it... apparently something all their backers seem to be deficient in.

 

[ashcloud]

Omg, is this still not dead? Kill it with fire!

 

[MechaBouncer]

Did they actually say the vault will be private? I see they say they will post exclusive information there, but they also encourage their fans to post the information from there elsewhere. To force them not to be able to link to images and so on in the vault would seem to me to be counterproductive.

I registered for access to thier vault when they announced it. I got the password after emailing them, but, you can get it by hitting a get password button on their site somewhere. Forgot where now.

It doesnn't say much, the only thing that stuck out was what MJPIA posted, ie their search for a second manufacturer

There is images and videos there also. Strangely, three of the videos are of someone videoing the house in the snow from outside. Allmost stalker-ish. You can see someone sitting inside the house, and the person is videoing from trees near the house. There is nothing but subtle background noise and the videos last 10-16 seconds. Kind of like the opening scene to a horror movie. Very Strange. Especially considering these are videos that supposedly are there for people to share. If you have access to the vault, you can see them here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B3Q5tN2-_zBJMDVBd2NzR0F4cFU

Not only are they aiming to be at E3, but the plan on launching the PGS by the end of June. That's their current plan anyway

I have been on their mailing list from the beginning and found the email about it with the password to the forum in my spam folder (appropriate). But as vcoleiro1 pointed out, it doesn't seem like it is that hidden. It seems that they want to try and control this information to an extent. Not sure why or how effective that will be.

EDIT:
This was the part that stood out to me as the most curious from the announcement:

Our portal, the PGS Vault, will be available to active users and everyone interested, but you should get a special password to get access. All active user actions related to the information spreading will be monitored and recorded. All our community, all portable gaming fans, high-tech gadgets fans, Youtube bloggers and reviewers are free to join.