Pyra Status? Pyra lite? Upgraded SOC?

[Wrath Of Khan]

I've been away from the boards a while but I do still check in every now and again and Iv'e been in touch with ED a few times.
So, the Pyra project has had alot of ups and downs and as a result has been delayed quite considerably with only a trickle of units out in the wild; and well a lot of various handheld systems have been released since the Pyra was announced too.

I understand that currently it costs more to manufacture one Pyra than what Ed actually sells it for.

Does the Pyra need a fresh injection of life?

What is the feasibility of upgrading to a new SOC- the current one is outdated, certainly in terms of emulation- Gamecube, PS2, Wii etc.
That said the Pyra still has potential but I think it really needs a new SOC- what do ye think? I think ED could start to recoup some of his investment with a new SOC and fixed cases- sales would surely rise.

What options do we have for a new SOC? I fear at the current rate the Pyra is dying a slow death.

Is there any plan to get additional funding? The pyra has sales potential if the case issues can be sorted and a new SOC inserted. There are still case issues right?

Askarus' suggestion of a Pyra lite might be one possibility. Remove the cellular modem and any unnecessary stuff. However this might require significant re-designing?

Is there any mad, totally left-field plan for the Pyra like we had several times back in the days of the Pandora. there was pre-order madness, investors, donations etc.

This is not intended to be a criticism of Michael in any way- rather I'd like to see the Pyra succeed, particularly because ED has put so much time and money and hard work into this device; all of which I appreciate.

It sure was fun here back in the Pandora days...

 

[pyrat]

I've been away from the boards a while but I do still check in every now and again and Iv'e been in touch with ED a few times.
So, the Pyra project has had alot of ups and downs and as a result has been delayed quite considerably with only a trickle of units out in the wild; and well a lot of various handheld systems have been released since the Pyra was announced too.

I understand that currently it costs more to manufacture one Pyra than what Ed actually sells it for.

And I think it will be more of the same for any redesign unless an order or magnitude more money is invested in its development.
Many delays could be overcome throwing money at problems: new molds, new PCBs, etc, more prototype iterations, etc.
But that would just increase the loses.
I'm not sure the investment needed for a new Pyra (lite or not) can be recoverable given the rest of available handhelds in the market.
The only possibility would be take the form factor and most of the case design and respin it with new battery, some CPU PCB that
is compatible with some other project, and upgrades peripheral/outputs. That would likely require more space, and since it can't be made
much more thicker, we should find a slimmer battery. I don't know details, but batteries have improved in density (or maybe not for the ones that are easy to source?).
Maybe it'd be possible, maybe not, but it would be a redesign from scratch, saving just the concept. That's very expensive.
I don't think the effort, time and money can be recovered by lots of units sold.

What options do we have for a new SOC? I fear at the current rate the Pyra is dying a slow death.

I don't know any current SOC I'd like to have. Light on energy or heat but good enough in freedom ? None that I know.

Is there any plan to get additional funding? The pyra has sales potential if the case issues can be sorted and a new SOC inserted. There are still case issues right?

I think the case issues can only be fixed by new molds (expensive) or some other kind of case (3D printed ? CNC ? would the result be useful and usable ?
and how expensive?).

Askarus' suggestion of a Pyra lite might be one possibility. Remove the cellular modem and any unnecessary stuff. However this might require significant re-designing?

Sure. But changing the SOC is already a lot of redesigning.
You need:
- new PCBs (at least CPU and connector PCBs)
- new case
- some kind of fan ?
- likely new battery
- apparently some better antenna or insulation or whatever it is... If you still want some radio.
It's like a complete redesign, no matter how you look at it. I don't see a simple thing that you can replace for something new and make the Pyra more attractive..

This is not intended to be a criticism of Michael in any way- rather I'd like to see the Pyra succeed, particularly because ED has put so much time and money and hard work into this device; all of which I appreciate.

It's not Michael fault. It's mostly we couldn't know hardware development is so expensive before trying, and a little that design by committee might be too slow for the market pace.

It sure was fun here back in the Pandora days...

I wasn't involved with the Pandora, never had one or cared. But those were happier days in general. I find less fun in general anywhere. Internet isn't what it used to be, nor is the world.
It's like people who enjoyed life back then are just surviving right now (if they're still alive) and have worse concerns than the Pandora's progeny.