Reddit is talking about the Pandora... They seem to not like it very much

[Prometheus]

Nobody cares about what they think.

Dismissing everything said in this fashion because of a view that the people commenting might be trolls, ignorant, or suchlike, isn't very wise. Chances are that some of it could actually be potentially valuable input from lost customers, current ones, or potential ones.

 

[fusion_power]

I really feel Circuit Co should have to pay some money to OP as this is almost entirely Circuit Co's fault. OP has some of the best support I've seen in a tech company.

Craig once wanted to sue them but I doubt that there ever something comes out, CC is just to far away, literally.


The people on Reddit seems to look at the Pandora as a "normal" Handheld device or Gaming Thing. Of course they are sceptical when they comare the Pandora with commercial Devices. It also seems, nobody really needs physical Gaming Controlls since they talk like nobody is missing this when playing Games and Emulators on Smartphones, which I never could do with Touchscreen only input. But the youth today seems to be fine with it so the wide masses don't care if the Pandora has Physical Controlls. Whats left then? Open Source but It also seems that this is nothing the most people care anymore. No wonder, all these shiney iOS and Android Apps, compared to the small Homebrew stuff we have.


I have no problem with this since I'm happy with my Pandora. But the situation shows that the "Pandora 2" should go a slightly different route if it want to tuch the masses more than the Pandora 1 (which is essential for selling much more Units and finaly make some kind of profit with it)

 

[ekianjo]

Chances are that some of it could actually be potentially valuable input from lost customers, current ones, or potential ones.

I wonder how a thread like this could convince any potential customer


As for this not being "wise", I have not seen much wisdom on reddit.

 

[urisma]

You have to look in the smaller subreddits for quality on reddit (trust me, there are plenty of subreddits that are actually good). The big default ones suck because they are big and have to provide entertainment to the lowest common denominator in order to actually be seen. I find that subreddits below about the 10k mark usually have good quality, since low quality newer posts don't come around as often to boot high quality older posts off the front page. Also, in many cases, the more specific the subreddit the better. There are also a few subreddit aggregates (/r/depthhub for example) that are comprised entirely of submissions of people actually saying smart thing. And its also about audience. This thread was posted in /r/gaming, which is definitely NOT the market that the pandora is marketed to (it'd be more fit for /r/emulation or something similar).

 

[Prometheus]

I wonder how a thread like this could convince any potential customer

Precisely my thinking: We all ought to be very wary of coming off sounding like fanboys who dismiss out-of-hand anything negative said about the product and the project.


I've said what I've said in there to hopefully prompt folks to think outside of "our own" little box, so to speak, because some posts in this thread imply that anyone commenting elsewhere with a negative viewpoint is misinformed, trolling, naive, and moronic. How does that come off, one wonders...? It seems to have become endemic in this community, and I can tell you for a fact that outsiders and newcomers are very much put off by encountering "Us vs. Them"-style attitudes - and let's be honest, proclaiming them all stupid for having had bad experiences with the project, or for not finding the product suitable for them personally, is exactly that.

As for this not being "wise", I have not seen much wisdom on reddit.

I know nothing of what the people who use Reddit are like, as it's not a site that I've ever visited - I'm still not entirely sure what on Earth it is, even after all these years. I would contend that it's not a good idea to dismiss people just on the basis of where they're stating their opinons, and instead pay attention to what's being said, and why.

 

[Caine]

Aside from people basically saying "This is not for me", there seem to be mostly valid complaints. Price being the primary one.

 

[spiralofhope]

I was rather amused at the one-sentence "zomg, do want!" comments, from people who are just now learning about the Pandora.

 

[kuru]

/me shrugs


The Pandora's goal has never been to reach the masses, has that changed recently?


I am happy that it's the fit-in-your-pocket do-it-all that's not suited for everyone and can patiently ignore obscure commenting sites. Never been on reddit, no reason to go there at all

 

[TrashyMG]

/me shrugs


The Pandora's goal has never been to reach the masses, has that changed recently?


I am happy that it's the fit-in-your-pocket do-it-all that's not suited for everyone and can patiently ignore obscure commenting sites. Never been on reddit, no reason to go there at all

Totally agree.. I think certain people that understand the Pandora's potential love it, those who can't see it don't get it.

 

[Exophase]

I went through the thread and hardly surprised to see the responses posted. Most of redditors are ugly morons who came from 4chan. Nobody cares about what they think.

I don't post there and I don't read it much but from what threads I have read seem representative of a highly diverse group of posters, many of whom make some interesting comments. Which is about what you'd expect from a user submitted social news site that isn't really geared towards any specific topics and is routinely linked to all over the internet (like in this thread), which would attract all kinds of people to post. Your comment strikes me as very rude and prejudiced.

 

[b_o_b]

It is easy to convince the people that might like it though. It is a mini Linux PC with keyboard.


None of the devices they come up with has a keyboard and none of the devices has the same open development philosophy. No problem if 95% says it is crap or too expensive. It is worth the money for the people who are interested in this and they will recognize it by reading the few posts that have the right information.


Wizardstan's post was such a post.

 

[Galaxis]

Tech forums and such generally seem not a good place to mention the Pandora. There's always someone who preordered and then gave up or felt ripped off or finally got his Pandora and then was disappointed. Most people think it's too expensive, too - and you always get the smartphone comparison (or nowadays that to a Raspberry Pi). Some happy customers showing up might help to turn the story around, but in those negatively biased circles it's always difficult...

 

[spiralofhope]

I think back to my early computers.. combine them all, take every program I've ever used.. every document I've ever read. I can now hold all of it in one hand.


For that, the Pandora is cheap.


Most people who are first exposed to the Pandora and react negatively are youngsters. These are the people who don't understand what a *real* computer can do.


I understand just enough to appreciate what's possible.


I think instead of engaging in the to-and-fro in comments on random fluff websites, high quality owner reviews need to be encouraged and given more visibility.


Reviews especially need to have dates on them, and followup comments. Issues that existed in a previous beta which are commented on in a review need to have a followup. I love reading reviews like that.

 

[ekianjo]

Your comment strikes me as very rude and prejudiced.

I do check Reddit once in a while (cross linking from other sites) and this is a good barometer for the "worst of the web". You get morons talking about economy while they know squat about it, people mocking this and mocking that because they are comfortably resting behind their anonymous alias. There are sometimes some interesting posts, but I never check the comments, as they go deep below what I consider to be an acceptable form of human interaction. If you consider my comment rude, your face would turn red if you checked reddit's.


They get the public they deserve.

 

[ekianjo]

Aside from people basically saying "This is not for me", there seem to be mostly valid complaints. Price being the primary one.

Yet some people are still buying it. Even the more expensive 1Ghz one.


You have to put things in perspective. This is not a machine produced in millions of units like the Samsung Galaxy stuff, the iPhone thingy. They dont get the rebate the big name manufacturers do. And for the price you get a production ready system. You can't just do the same thing with any other device, since they are locked to the death.

 

[EvilDragon]

Well, yeah, sure, the price is higher than some other faster devices.


We all here know why: Low quantities, production in Germany (high wages), and the issues that happened...


People often try to tell me I should lower prices and sell millions, because that would also lower production costs a lot...


Doesn't make sense though. Even if production costs would go down to 10 USD (not possible), producing 1 Million for 10 USD would need 10 Mio USD in advance... not possible.


Besides, it would be WAY too much to handle logistics wise for us right now... the company would have to be bigger, and companies need to grow SLOWLY to stay healthy.


So all these suggestions are not even feasable.


I rather have less people buying the Pandora for a higher price than Millions buying it for less... this keeps demand and production at a good level. And, to be honest, I don't like forums with too many users... it's hard to follow the hundreds of thread per day... especially if most are jus crap.


Aditionally, you can talk here with us. Try to talk to the PSP Vita devs. Or the devs of the Samsung Galaxy.... don't know who that even is?


Might be hard then

 

[Trezker]

I really don't get why people bring up Raspberry Pi when I talk about Pandora.


It's like someone saying your new ultra comfortable sofa sucks, you should buy a pillow instead.


You can't compare a standalone product like Pandora to an intermediate good like the Pi.


You'd have to put in many hours of work to turn a Pi into something remotely similar to a Pandora.

 

[EvilDragon]

The Pi also has an older CPU than the Pandora, it should run slower (haven't tried it myself).


Good power for an awesome price, but you're right, it's like suggesting getting a Pi instead of a Samsung Galaxy because it's cheaper

 

[ekianjo]

it should run slower (haven't tried it myself).

Getting mine soon, so I should be able to compare a little.


THe Pi seems to have a faster, custom-made graphic chip, however, capable of 1080p video acceleration.

 

[craigix]

I also think it's better to have a high price and a top quality, unique product. That is our future market.


Selling millions does not interest me at all.


Selling maybe 10-20,000 Pandora2 consoles and having them the absolute best spec and quality they can be, and giving the best customer service we can, is much more interesting and rewarding in my book.