testimonials: physical quality

[b1llygo4t]

Im waiting for my OP and im watching my sony vaio slowly fall to pieces. im about to hard wire the power cord to it. it doesnt know it has a battery in it. i have to use external speakers with it. windows is hanging by a thread because the computer locks up every other day. it recently thought it had an unregistered version of windows on it and my user profile became corrupt. left click button is worn out, right click is soon to follow. it has vista. it wont read or write discs and i dont even own any! its only two and a half years old. and i take care of my stuff, i still have every console iv ever owned. my GBASP went through waaaaaay more abuse and it still looks and works fine! i watched a GBA get dropped into a pool once and after 3 hours of sitting face up in the sun it worked fine, except it fogged up even months later when it was hot out. i have ruined numerous cellphones from sweat at work. my friend Casey took a hammer to his Atari and threw it out a 2nd floor window, thing was smashed but you could still make it work!


To the topic, hows the physical quality compared to other stuff? some of the things that attracted me to OP was its lack of internal moving parts and how the buttons use the simple rubber mat design, like video games used to be. you guys think the thing will last 5 years? 10 years? anyone done a flex test yet? any broken hinges out there? i know its a bit early to see worn out buttons. please dont reply with anything about returns due to assembly mistakes, thats off topic.

 

[Abanest]

I have dropped many little gadgets in my life time. Several mobile phones, PSPs, a DS, a Gamegear, a cat... never had I panicked as much as I did today as I slipped, and watched in horror, as my Pandora fell and tumbled down a flight of stairs! Granted, it was only two stairs, but it felt like a hundred, and the actual 'fall' was more like a slide and a skim (with a little hint of a bounce), but the plastic 'SPLAT' it made when it hit the concrete floor below near chilled me to my bones.


Oh, it still works though! It turned on like nothing had happened. I think it even laughed at me as it sensed I was crying inside for fear of it being broken. So, I would have to say, as a first count opinion, build quality is pretty bloody solid. And I'm loving Crash Bandicoot on this thing.

 

[Blue Protoman]

You've got nothing to worry about.

 

[Jey123456]

my pandy feel pretty solid as well.


i am much more worried about stripping my nail out when getting the stylus out than i am about dropping/damaging mah deary little pandy (my stylus get stuck pretty tight ) .

 

[mhadf]

It's a solid little beast.


The carry case worries me more than a drop. It seems to pull the plastic apart slightly each time.

 

[b1llygo4t]

this should help you

thanks, i didnt know about that thread! i was more hoping for short and sweet opinions just on the physical build though.


glad to hear it can take a good drop and not be phased. i didnt buy the case because i saw they where a little tight and dont appear to offer the protection i look for in a case. id rather chip a nail than lose a stylus, i guess it shows how tight all the plastic fits.


thanks guys

 

[Vitel]

To the topic, hows the physical quality compared to other stuff?

It's unacceptable IMHO. I can't even compare to to my previous PDA (Zaurus). I've got dead nub, cracked case and broken LCD cable (I've been using my Pandora for about 7 month).

 

[Blue Protoman]

To the topic, hows the physical quality compared to other stuff?

It's unacceptable IMHO. I can't even compare to to my previous PDA (Zaurus). I've got dead nub, cracked case and broken LCD cable (I've been using my Pandora for about 7 month).

The newer units are better. RMA it to EvilDragon.

 

[Vitel]

The newer units are better.

I hope they are.

RMA it to EvilDragon.

I voided my warranty by gluing cracked case. The problem is that I can't even order spare parts :-( ED said they have no spare nubs and he doesn't know when they will be available.

 

[Blue Protoman]

The newer units are better.

I hope they are.

RMA it to EvilDragon.

I voided my warranty by gluing cracked case. The problem is that I can't even order spare parts :-( ED said they have no spare nubs and he doesn't know when they will be available.

Sorry. It'll be cheaper to pay for a repair than to buy a whole new unit, I guess. Try talking to both Craig and ED.

 

[Wrath Of Khan]

The newer units are better.

I hope they are.

RMA it to EvilDragon.

I voided my warranty by gluing cracked case. The problem is that I can't even order spare parts :-( ED said they have no spare nubs and he doesn't know when they will be available.

I think craig and ed will still sort you out with a new pandora.My replacement one is near perfect.Had similar issues
with my original pandora.Build quality is quite improved.

 

[Anihil8ion2199]

It feels real solid. It's not seamless like a DS or a PSP, but its very very close. The buttons and nubs definitely feel first class, the shoulder buttons could probably have been a bit better IMHO, not sure how, but they don't feel as good to me as the rest of the unit. Maybe just me... The hinge and screen feel better to me than the DS despite the fact that it doesn't click at a certain degree, it stays where you leave it. The speakers sound amazing, especially when you consider there size. Love the power switch and volume control, they feel exactly like they should. I have no ghosting issues that i can notice while playing any games which was a major concern of mine. It definitely feels very comfortable in my hands to the point that I now use the Pandora to read things online more than my ipad while watching TV or a movie. Battery life is unspeakably good especially if you lower the brightness a bit (which seemed ridiculous to me at first since I love nice crisp bright screens) but once lowered, it is comfortable on the eyes for longer periods of time, and darker colors in older games are easier to differentiate. Overall very happy!

 

[laserbeams]

I voided my warranty by gluing cracked case. The problem is that I can't even order spare parts :-( ED said they have no spare nubs and he doesn't know when they will be available.

I doubt they would void your warranty for gluing the case, unless you damaged something in the process. Both ED and Craig have stated that opening the Pandora to fix minor physical problems like button misalignment shouldn't void the warranty in most cases.

 

[Vitel]

I voided my warranty by gluing cracked case. The problem is that I can't even order spare parts :-( ED said they have no spare nubs and he doesn't know when they will be available.

I doubt they would void your warranty for gluing the case, unless you damaged something in the process. Both ED and Craig have stated that opening the Pandora to fix minor physical problems like button misalignment shouldn't void the warranty in most cases.

Hmmm, that's interesting. Who should I contact to find out whether my warranty is void? Jacquelyn (openpandorasales@gmail.com)?

 

[Prometheus]

^ If you got it from Craig's store, then yes, I would imagine so.