Tablora

[thomasmes]

While I am waiting for my Pandora, I am wondering how long it will take before a company, like Asus for instance, adds some buttons, nubs and a small keyboard to a tablet?

here is a mockup:

 

[Drack]

Looks like it would be very awkward and top-heavy to hold.

Clamshell really is the best form factor for Pandora and similar devices with a full set of controls.

PSP form factor works if you don't have a keyboard (also game boy advance/micro).

 

[Mr B]

There was a thread some time ago, say about 2 years, where a lot of concept art was thrown around, including some very nice tabletop versions, with slideout or onscreen keyboard. No, i don't want to try and dig it out, it was after all like 2 years ago, there have been a "few" threads since.
B!

 

[grasshoppir]

cool mockup bro

 

[Nova]

That looks like something I would want quite a lot.

Now go out and make me one, please.

 

[laserbeams]

Not 80's British handbuilt computer style enough!

 

[jlepley]

The controls should be on the top. That way you can hold it on your lap or against your body while you play.

 

[Titcher]

As we're speaking in pipe dreams, a clipping control system would work best I think, control stubs on cables(d-pad + action buttons, whatever), with connectors for these on each side of the tablet(they'd lock in and hold secure). This would allow for variance in holding it and would be a pretty cool concept I think.

 

[typs lik dis]

Have you tried actually holding a paper model of that mockup? It looks to me like it would be horribly unergonomic. It also seems that without magic, it would lack shoulder buttons.

 

[bce23w]

Have you tried actually holding a paper model of that mockup? It looks to me like it would be horribly unergonomic. It also seems that without magic, it would lack shoulder buttons.

I think they are meant to be on the bottom/back of the device, around where your index fingers would be.

 

[Exophase]

While I am waiting for my Pandora, I am wondering how long it will take before a company, like Asus for instance, adds some buttons, nubs and a small keyboard to a tablet?

here is a mockup:

I expect the same amount of time it took someone outside of Open Pandora to release something with gaming controls and a keyboard.

(infinite)

By and large, only gaming companies that can round up big selling commercial titles dedicated to their device are interested in gaming controls.

However, there was ONE exception to this, that came from a pretty strange source. One that most don't realize is very similar to what you're describing - the old XO-1 OLPC laptop. See for yourself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:LaptopOLPC_b.jpg

Unfortunately, I've never heard of anyone trying to run an emulator on it or even mentioning how well the gaming controls work for anything. It's also missing shoulders, but then again, so does your mockup. I suppose they'd be best placed behind the unit

 

[SomeGuy99]

Unfortunately, I've never heard of anyone trying to run an emulator on it or even mentioning how well the gaming controls work for anything. It's also missing shoulders, but then again, so does your mockup. I suppose they'd be best placed behind the unit

I have.

I remember really wanted one of them... wouldn't turn one down.

The gamepad on the front was usable, as mushy as it may be (the kind of pad that seems to favor diagonals more than the 4 core directions). It’s actually pretty easy to configure, since it’s nothing more than a remapping of the keyboard’s numberpad. I had an exciting run of Gargoyle’s Quest, which lasted all of two random encounters before I was laid to waste. Turning off the backlight made for a Gameboy Pocket quality visual experience, at a not-so-pocket scale.