The long road to a final unit


Ive never really noticed ghosting on my pandora, is that an issue the older ones have?

I have an 1ghz model and i play platformers all the time, the animation is very smooth and free of ghosting.
 
I'm still for an improved Pyra Stylus design where you can simply change and replace the tip to whatever you prefer, should be doable without much additional effort:
What are the advantages to doing this over just having different stylus replacements? The cost difference for molding a bit of a smaller piece of plastic doesn't seem worth it compared to the more costly stylus base that everyone would need to have. And there'd be more work switching between them this way, but most people would just stick with one anyway.

Ive never really noticed ghosting on my pandora, is that an issue the older ones have?

I have an 1ghz model and i play platformers all the time, the animation is very smooth and free of ghosting.
It's very obvious on my CC and 1GHz Pandoras, and it was very obvious on the dev board + LCD I had briefly in 2008. Nowhere close to PSP-1000 levels, but still easy to see. But if you never have images with high enough contrast and/or fast enough motion you might not see it. A good test is a game that uses black outlines around sprites and in backgrounds. For me a good test was Bonk's Revenge on PC-Engine.
 
What are the advantages to doing this over just having different stylus replacements? The cost difference for molding a bit of a smaller piece of plastic doesn't seem worth it compared to the more costly stylus base that everyone would need to have. And there'd be more work switching between them this way, but most people would just stick with one anyway.
First, I don't like the fact that the current Pandora Stylus has a simple and hard plastic tip, I would prefer a softer version but the tip is part of the stylus so I would need another stylus which would not fit into the pen holder inside of the Pandora of course.


Second, nobody sayed that these tips have been made extra, because THEY ALREADY EXIST! ;) That's the whole idea actualy:

stilus_2.jpg
 
pentips.png


Third, it would actualy save costs because you just need to replace a tiny little part instead of a whole stylus if the tip wears off or you want a different stylus feeling.

and another (personal) reason: IT JUST DOESN'T LOOK AS CHEAP AS THE CRAPPY PANDORA STYLUS!!!   ;)
 
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First, I don't like the fact that the current Pandora Stylus has a simple and hard plastic tip, I would prefer a softer version but the tip is part of the stylus so I would need another stylus which would not fit into the pen holder inside of the Pandora of course.

Second, nobody sayed that these tips have been made extra, because THEY ALREADY EXIST! ;) That's the whole idea actualy:

Third, it would actualy save costs because you just need to replace a tiny little part instead of a whole stylus if the tip wears off or you want a different stylus feeling.

and another (personal) reason: IT JUST DOESN'T LOOK AS CHEAP AS THE CRAPPY PANDORA STYLUS!!!   ;)
So basically, your problems would be solved in ED or anyone else offered alternative styluses, compatible with Pyra that were to your liking? In that case would you still really want replaceable tips?

Needing a base stylus like the one you want will increase costs for everyone, for a thing most people don't want. That's not a good solution.
 
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It makes no real difference if there is an entire alternative stylus, so or so it has to be made to fit into Pyra. This or ED finds a nice existing stylus  and make the Pyra stylus holder fit to that design of course.

I'm sure there will be a new designed stylus for Pyra anyways (maybe bigger than the one from Pandora) so why not improve the design in parallel? A hard plastic tip just scratches your screen so a softer one is actualy the better solution, no matter if it can be replaced or not. I just was under the impression that a soft-tip design needs 2 materials, one for the tip and one for the stylus so it would be 2 parts anyways. ;)  

But we will see, it's just an suggestion.
 
Although 2 materials would probably have to be involved, there's no obvious reason to limit one material to the tip. We could have a hard plastic or metallic core (depending on the preferred weight of the stylus) and cover it in a rubber-like material. No scratches and no uncomfortable edges. Except for the locking mechanism which will obviously have to give some sort of tactile feedback.
 
I think a stylus with replaceable tips should be made as an option, but not necessarily included with every Pyra.
 
Next people are going to want the thing to be white with a silvered metal band around the edges
I am not too fond of white, but a metal band, or, even better, full metal case, works for me, and the latter is something I really want.  At least I stopped begging for an unnecessary, and expensive, metal stylus once there was hope for a metal case option...

I'd take THAT idea one step further and make an optional stylus out of solid stainless steel with replaceable tips that fits where the stock stylus does.
I want it.
 
Il try those :)

Ive been playing Popful mail lately (segaCD - Platform RPG from Lunar creators) and its free from ghosting, fun game too, but a bit challenging later in the game :)
 
Next people are going to want the thing to be white with a silvered metal band around the edges
I am not too fond of white, but a metal band, or, even better, full metal case, works for me, and the latter is something I really want.  At least I stopped begging for an unnecessary, and expensive, metal stylus once there was hope for a metal case option...


I'd take THAT idea one step further and make an optional stylus out of solid stainless steel with replaceable tips that fits where the stock stylus does.
I want it.
This is what I have in mind - of course shaped differently to fit the Pyra:

http://www.retrotrader.com/product_info.php?products_id=2198

I have one just like that for my Tapwave Zodiac. The Zodiacs had a hollow aluminum stylus stock. The feeling and heft of that solid stainless replacement was fantastic. It gives a greater feeling of control over the stylus AND if you drop it, it rings like a bell.

My guess is that back when then Zodiac was still being produced, someone had 50,000 of these things made and they're still selling off that old stock a few here and there for use on other devices. Buy one - they're fantastic. They won't likely fit in the Pyra or any other device you're likely to have, BUT it's a fantastic stylus.
 
Why have a really nice screen and really nice keyboard and game controls, if you're then going to put an OS on it that assumes your only input method is ten sausages? Why do people so badly want to cover their screen with finger grease?
Actually, Android supports just about every input method you could imagine.  It even supports a mouse perfectly and just assumes a left click is the same as a finger tap on a screen spot, so I don't think it's fair to criticize Android in that regard.  It also supports full keyboard and HID interfaces, including a dedicated (and standard) game controller layout, so games can automatically detect what inputs are available and optimize based on that - by presenting onscreen controls if no physical ones are available, for example.

As far as WHY for me it boils down to software.  Linux has tons of emulators, but not a lot of native games, and most commercial Linux games are built for desktops and lack ARM builds.  Android fares much better in this department, and also tends to be a lot easier here as well.

Granted, maybe Linux has gotten better in the 3-5 years since I last put it on a desktop, but I seriously doubt it's any *better* than Android's app distribution system is.

And lastly, I have a lot of games already purchased for Android on my phones/tablets - I don't want to have to re-buy them for Linux.

BUT AGAIN - I *know* I am in the minority here.  I don't expect any of this to change, and I will certainly give the Pyra's Linux distribution a shot to see how it feels, or I might even dual boot it if that's possible, I just doubt very much that my first instinct won't be to immediately load up Android instead.
 
The Debian package system is way superior to what Android has. The main issue is that very few actually take the time to explore it; most users only care when it breaks because of manual installs and then say it is difficult to use.
 
Why have a really nice screen and really nice keyboard and game controls, if you're then going to put an OS on it that assumes your only input method is ten sausages? Why do people so badly want to cover their screen with finger grease?
 
Actually, Android supports just about every input method you could imagine.  It even supports a mouse perfectly and just assumes a left click is the same as a finger tap on a screen spot, so I don't think it's fair to criticize Android in that regard.  It also supports full keyboard and HID interfaces, including a dedicated (and standard) game controller layout, so games can automatically detect what inputs are available and optimize based on that - by presenting onscreen controls if no physical ones are available, for example.


As far as WHY for me it boils down to software.  Linux has tons of emulators, but not a lot of native games, and most commercial Linux games are built for desktops and lack ARM builds.  Android fares much better in this department, and also tends to be a lot easier here as well.


Granted, maybe Linux has gotten better in the 3-5 years since I last put it on a desktop, but I seriously doubt it's any *better* than Android's app distribution system is.


And lastly, I have a lot of games already purchased for Android on my phones/tablets - I don't want to have to re-buy them for Linux.


BUT AGAIN - I *know* I am in the minority here.  I don't expect any of this to change, and I will certainly give the Pyra's Linux distribution a shot to see how it feels, or I might even dual boot it if that's possible, I just doubt very much that my first instinct won't be to immediately load up Android instead.
You dont need app distribution on Linux, You have repositories instead. Way better than the Google crapstore.
 
Why not put a capacitive one on the display and a resistive one on top?
Seems like the #1 reason Illuminerdi wants a capacitive screen is because they are perfectly transparent and don't interfere with the image at all, whereas a resistive membrane is going to have at least some minimal distortion which he claims to be able to see. I question whether that would stand up to rigorous testing, but regardless, having both would immediately remove that particular benefit of the capacitive screen making it less interesting.
Actually no, they aren't perfectly transparent either, however I find them much more transparent than resistive screens.  Resistive layers often give a muddy/matte quality to images as the plastic in them tends to alter the image in a way I find much more visible than a capacitive layer.

As for whether it would stand up to "rigorous testing" - I have no idea.  *I* can see image change from resistive layers, *I* notice them, but most people probably will not.  I fully acknowledge that I'm picky here - this is not an issue that MOST people will ever notice at all.

Hell, for all I know, resistive screens have improved greatly over the years and just my experience with them has been mediocre - the most recent resistive screened device I own is a 3DS XL - and well the bottom screen is very nice looking, the top screen (which does not have the resistive layer) is clearly better looking and has stronger colors and sharper per-pixel clarity.  Maybe they just put better quality panels in the top, but I'm doubtful, it seems like they would source the panels from the same plant and manufacturer to save on cost and ensure quality.
 
As for whether it would stand up to "rigorous testing" - I have no idea.  *I* can see image change from resistive layers, *I* notice them, but most people probably will not.  I fully acknowledge that I'm picky here - this is not an issue that MOST people will ever notice at all.
Rigorous testing was probably meant in the sense of testing /you/. I.e. can you actually identify resistive/capacitive, given say 10 different top resistive touch layers and 10 different capacitive, on the same screen, without knowing beforehand which is which. Each screen could be given to you 10 times, totaling 200 tests, with (always the same) 15 seconds of a video of your choosing per test.
I'm not saying you couldn't do it, I don't know.
 
Actually, Android supports just about every input method you could imagine.  It even supports a mouse perfectly and just assumes a left click is the same as a finger tap on a screen spot, so I don't think it's fair to criticize Android in that regard.  It also supports full keyboard and HID interfaces, including a dedicated (and standard) game controller layout, so games can automatically detect what inputs are available and optimize based on that - by presenting onscreen controls if no physical ones are available, for example.

As far as WHY for me it boils down to software.  Linux has tons of emulators, but not a lot of native games, and most commercial Linux games are built for desktops and lack ARM builds.  Android fares much better in this department, and also tends to be a lot easier here as well.

Granted, maybe Linux has gotten better in the 3-5 years since I last put it on a desktop, but I seriously doubt it's any *better* than Android's app distribution system is.

And lastly, I have a lot of games already purchased for Android on my phones/tablets - I don't want to have to re-buy them for Linux.

BUT AGAIN - I *know* I am in the minority here.  I don't expect any of this to change, and I will certainly give the Pyra's Linux distribution a shot to see how it feels, or I might even dual boot it if that's possible, I just doubt very much that my first instinct won't be to immediately load up Android instead.
Yes, Android supports all Input devices.

But that doesn't help much here, as it's primarily laid out to be used with fingers.

If I have a mouse, I don't need huge buttons. But Android uses large buttons because it's primarily aimed to be used with fingers.

That makes a lot of software unusable.

It has it's own UI, so every native Linux program would need to

How would you use LibreOffice with huge buttons, for example?

Or ClawsMail?

It's not a quick port - the full UI would need to be rewritten for Android... which would be the case for all apps using standard GTK, etc.

You can still run Android on the Pyra (TI offers a working rootfs for it), but it's not the main customer base and therefore not officially supported by us.
 
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