What Do You Think The Gp3X / Caanoo 2 Should Have?

[RetroVortex]

I definately would like a upgrade for my Caanoo in a couple of years or so.

If I were designing the Caanoo 2, I would:

- Improve the shoulder buttons. Make them easier to use like the PSP's ones. Maybe even have 2 sets for PS1 emulation
- Make the I and II buttons more like the other buttons. Its sometimes quite hard to press them. Maybe put them under the screen with the home button akin to the 3DS/Dsi
- A screen similar to the one already in it, but with a higher res
- A bit better graphics hardware
- More Powerful CPU, or at least a newer one. 1 Ghz seems to be the general consensus
- A bit more RAM. 256MB seems good enough
- Dual analogue sticks and a D-Pad. In fact, make it 2 sliders akin to the 3DS, and the D-Pad from the Wiz
(I'd personally also loved the Neo Geo Pocket Color's Stick, as it was micro-switch based. A mini arcade stick as it were)
- Hardware volume control
- Built-in Wifi
- Front Speakers, or make the back speakers louder. The Caanoo is suprisingly not very loud
- Comes with a AC adapter so it can charge quicker. (USB is soooooooo slooooowww)
- Dual SDHC card slot. (Since if Dual shoulder buttons are there, its going to make the console a bit thicker, so a dual SD slot could fit in there)
- Better Media Playback. Essential. The Caanoo is very lacklustre. At least keep it to par with other devices. I would love to play MKVs on there
- Customisable menu's (Caanoo's menu is not to my taste at all)
- Easily removable and replacable battery
- Noob friendly development kit. You know, something like XNA, or something graphic based. (Sure the Caanoo has had a lot of technically impressive stuff, but its not very often you see ACTUAL GAMES on the system)
- HDMI out would be cool. Its becoming the standard cable connection thing. And its really cool to see my lappy on the TV all crisp and sharp.
Plus a cable wouldn't really need to be bundled in either.

Everything else I don't really care all to much about. XD

EDIT: Here is a quick mock-up I doodled to show you all what I mean:

 

[akator]

A 2016 release date.

... a screen thats not blocked by the frame around it.....
and id be VERY happy

I agree with these comments.

The Caanoo has only been out for a year. Don't release a new model so that the software and community have a chance to mature. 2016 sounds good.

However, they could fix the screen bezel problem and that wouldn't affect compatibility or anything else.

 

[darklight1138]

Some great ideas. However, I think the I and II buttons should stay where they are. That's for turning the Caanoo sideways and playing games with long screens. BUT make them nonflush with the console because they are hard to press and more importantly, your finger can slip and/or lose its place.

 

[RetroVortex]

Some great ideas. However, I think the I and II buttons should stay where they are. That's for turning the Caanoo sideways and playing games with long screens. BUT make them nonflush with the console because they are hard to press and more importantly, your finger can slip and/or lose its place.

Ah, but with my design, you could still turn it sideways, just the other way.
Use the right thumbstick and the buttons.
In fact, that would probably work better than what the Caanoo has already! XD

 

[cutterjohn]

To even get my attention:
1GHz min. ARMv7 minimal, preferably -a9 but -a8 would do.
>1 core would be nice
min. 256M RAM
800x480 or greater screen res, min. 4.1"
uSD SXDC slot
powered USB OTG
dual shoulder buttons, i.e. 4
WiFi/bluetooth

Release: yesterday

Nice to have but likely not worth the cost:
analog stick
camera
accelerometer
512MB-1GB RAM
kal-el Tegra or Qualcomm APQ8XXX (well anything as long as it's not a Samsung as IME their ARM SoCs(CPU) are pretty pokey v. the same class competition, probably why they're using Tegra 2 for phones/tablets)
HDMI (nice extra, but to me it's a PORTABLE HANDHELD console not something stuck onto a TV like a midget console)
keyboard(mini) for those dosbox/computer emulators but if it's got bt it's not needed.

Caanoo/Wiz are just too archaic to be interesting. They made a HUGE mistake in using the relatively ancient ARM9 SoC and should have at LEAST gone with ARM11. (I looked at the Caanoo, PSP3000, Dingo Digital A320, Dingo/Gemei A330, OpenPandora(ROFLMAO pricing/still trying to finish off batch 1 2+y later), and Dingo Tech A380 but ended up with an A320 to play around with for now as it still seems to have a lively community. Dingo/Gemei A330 and Dingoo Tech A380 were strong runners up but lack of SDKs and negative perception of the A380 plus availability made me drop these. The PSP3000 was interesting, but a dead end given that I'm pretty sure that the Vita will be getting all the attention before long, plus the specs weren't that great although the co-procs and GPU were VERY nice. And the Caanoo? Just couldn't get past seeing a company still trying to sell an ARM9 based product...

i.e. A320 is a placeholder while I watch what shakes out.

 

[idarwin]

Seriulsly,

- A Fungp working Web site.
- A serious investment in emulators from the manufacturer: attract developers.They should see this as a cost. Launch your products with optimized emu's don't wait the community to do it. This would attract more customers; even if that makes the emu NOT FREE.
- A more proactive and interested manufacturer.

If they don't put this into the product, forget about anything.

E.-

 

[Akabei]

To even get my attention:
1GHz min. ARMv7 minimal, preferably -a9 but -a8 would do.
>1 core would be nice
min. 256M RAM
800x480 or greater screen res, min. 4.1"
uSD SXDC slot
powered USB OTG
dual shoulder buttons, i.e. 4
WiFi/bluetooth

Release: yesterday

Nice to have but likely not worth the cost:
analog stick
camera
accelerometer
512MB-1GB RAM
kal-el Tegra or Qualcomm APQ8XXX (well anything as long as it's not a Samsung as IME their ARM SoCs(CPU) are pretty pokey v. the same class competition, probably why they're using Tegra 2 for phones/tablets)
HDMI (nice extra, but to me it's a PORTABLE HANDHELD console not something stuck onto a TV like a midget console)
keyboard(mini) for those dosbox/computer emulators but if it's got bt it's not needed.

Caanoo/Wiz are just too archaic to be interesting. They made a HUGE mistake in using the relatively ancient ARM9 SoC and should have at LEAST gone with ARM11. (I looked at the Caanoo, PSP3000, Dingo Digital A320, Dingo/Gemei A330, OpenPandora(ROFLMAO pricing/still trying to finish off batch 1 2+y later), and Dingo Tech A380 but ended up with an A320 to play around with for now as it still seems to have a lively community. Dingo/Gemei A330 and Dingoo Tech A380 were strong runners up but lack of SDKs and negative perception of the A380 plus availability made me drop these. The PSP3000 was interesting, but a dead end given that I'm pretty sure that the Vita will be getting all the attention before long, plus the specs weren't that great although the co-procs and GPU were VERY nice. And the Caanoo? Just couldn't get past seeing a company still trying to sell an ARM9 based product...

i.e. A320 is a placeholder while I watch what shakes out.

2 THz quantum computer core
unlimited screen resolution
London Philharmonic Orchestra as sound card
250 TB RAM
neurologic controls, driven by thoughts
not more than 10$
not so important:
warp drive
teleporter
either gph develops this machine now, or i´ll buy a dingoo.

 

[idarwin]

[/quote]
2 THz quantum computer core
unlimited screen resolution
London Philharmonic Orchestra as sound card
250 TB RAM
neurologic controls, driven by thoughts
not more than 10$
not so important:
warp drive
teleporter
either gph develops this machine now, or i´ll buy a dingoo.
[/quote]

Hahahahah.... good one mate

 

[Luo=-_]

6 buttons! ABCXYZ like Mega Drive joystick...

Luo=-_

 

[cmunoz]

Retro Vortex: Thanks for that awesome sketch. Looks great! Incorporates a lot of our desires while keeping the design aesthetic we know and love.
 
Well first of all, I LOVE my CAANOO. It has been (and continues to be) a learning experience. Which is why I bought a Caanoo: to cut my teeth on developing gaming software and repairing gaming hardware. Given that, here's a list of things I'd consider for a Mark II Caanoo.
 
*slide-out or clip-on keypad for fast and efficient text entry
 
*move speakers so that they don't get muted by the player's fingers, and if they're on the front they would sound louder since they're directed towards the player: more efficient, less wasted energy.
 
*Much more ram. 1GB at LEAST! It should be able to run all MAME games quickly and efficiently, plus 3D games, movie files, etc.
 
*Battery warning graphic that pops up in front of whatever game you're playing so you have time to save your game. Nothing more frustrating than getting really far and having the battery die.
 
*TV Out with less latency. The current one is so laggy it's not even worth using
 
*More durable touch screen surface. My caanoo screen has sort of a grid pattern etched into it from playing Animatch. And let's face it, screen protectors look like crap, you can't even see the game clearly.
 
*Dual screen, one touch and one non touch, maybe even 3D on the non-touch, like the DS. Maybe. But at least Dual screen, so us homebrewers can try coding for 2 screens.
 
*Clamshell design would be nice, to protect the screen(s) and analog stick when not in use, and would make sense with my dual screen request.
 
*A camera would be nice.
 
*A D-Pad would be nice, but not at the expense of the "analog" stick. It's important for homebrewers to be able code and test on an analog stick. A D-pad would be better for playing emulaters. I'd say add a D-Pad but don't lose the analog.
 
*Easier to open and service. A list of all electronic components and part numbers for when you need to replace a broken component.
 
As far as the screen being blocked by the edge of the frame, this is known as overscan, and exists in the real world. Someone is going to play your game on some device that you didn't get to test on. This is why it's important to take that into account and create a safe zone. I'm glad the caanoo has this overscan issue, after seeing one app on the Caanoo where I couldn't tap the needed area because it was too close to the edge, I learned that this is something I'll need to take into account with my own projects. What is the caanoo if not a learning tool?