I know people's exepriences with the GP2X have been all over the map since it got released. There are plenty of "what do you like" and "what doe you hate" threads. But in the spirit of constructive criticism, I thought it might be good to start a thread that Game Park Holdings could reference for the "official" release of the GP2X (or the Second Edition if there's not enough time), to make the unit really shine. I'll start it off with these suggestions. Feel free to add your ideas as well.
1. First and foremost, stabilize the unit (hardware and software) so that it works as expected, doesn't crash, and can be easily updated. The fact that most of us are terrified to do anything to our unit for fear it will be "bricked" is not a good way to sell units. Fix the hardware issues and the firmware issues and ensure that the product which ships is rock solid. The last thing a user wants is a fragile toy.
2. Only apply adhesive to the four corners of the plastic screen protector. If you're going to ship the thing without the screen protector pre-applied, then only apply adhesive to the four corners, making it easier to pry off if needed. There's nothing like a large hair permanently stuck under your screen protector to drive you nuts.
3. Don't advertise features for the unit which aren't available, even if you think they'll be available sometime in the future, and especially if you're not developing those features yourself. I purchased my GP2X to watch movies and play games. Specifically WMV and Xvid movies and MAME games. Come to find out, however, WMV files don't play, Xvid has problems, and MAME is nonexistent. Telling me that MAME *might* be developed by a 3rd party doesn't make me feel better. So please, only advertise CURRENT features/games/applications.
4. Ship the unit with a working 64-MB SD card, a power adapter, and a set of 2500mAh rechargable batteries. You should ship the unit so that it's ready to be used right out of the box. Don't make your customers purchase an SD card. Ship the unit with one. 64-MB cards aren't expensive. Throw one into the package so that the user can start having fun right away. Don't include batteries that will die in 30 minutes. That's just asking for unhappy customers. Ship the unit with 2 high-quality rechargables. And for goodness sake, include the power supply. When you told us we'd get 10-hours of video playback, running off batteries didn't seem like an issue. But when your batteries only last about 2-4 hours, it's an entirely different story. Make the customer's experience a good one and they'll reward you for it.
5. Include high-quality sample games/pictures/music with the unit to show off its features. My GP2X came with an unmarked CD. When I finally got an SD card (which required the purchase of an external card reader to work) and dumped the contents of that mystery CD onto it, everything but the Text Viewer failed to work. The included Xvid video failed to play on the GP2X and the games wouldn't run. If you include a cheap 64-MB SD card (as described in #4 above), you can pre-load it with movies, music and games that people can use as soon as they turn the power on. The people at my work weren't the slightest bit impressed with my GP2X. That's because it failed to do everything it said it would. But if you include a few killer video clips, some great sample MP3s, and good working games, it will really shine.
6. Don't expect the user community to do the work for you. User communities are great. That's what made the Amiga such a wonderful computer to own. But don't expect the user community to do everything for you. I shouldn't have to go online and ask a dozen questions to figure out how to get a single game to run. It should just run. I shouldn't have to read through a user-built PDF Guide to teach me how to run the various components. That type of thing should be well laid out in a "Quick Start Guide" sheet that comes with the unit. If it needs to be done a certain way to get it to work, then make that well known. Let the user community focus on expanding the scope of the product. But don't make them act as the tech support and beta testing team for your machine.
When I think of classy products, I think of my Kanguru MP3 player. I got it for my birthday a few months back. It came in a colorful, sturdy, resealable box (with a magnetic lid). It came with a leather carying case and a pair of fancy headphones. It came with a USB cable and a detailed, printed manual. And it came with a working battery. When I turned it on, it was pre-loaded with sample MP3 files so I could hear how amazing the thing was. And everything worked right out of the box. It has featuers that I never expected and that weren't even advertised with the unit, making it seem even more impressive. And I've never been afraid that I'd damage the unit by plugging headphones into it. It's a solid workhorse that goes everywhere with me.
I have 1 2 add Make A DAM UNIT THAT DOESNT SUCK UP BAATTERIES N A HALF HOUR! :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry: :angry:
That's how the GP2X should be.
but I believe that it's still including MAME in that banner. Is a MAME version being worked on? Not sure about that, but most seem to think the answer is no...
