Where Is My £200 Handheld?

[jlepley]

^My thoughts exactly.

 

[devhace]

If its just a matter of clicking stuff together then absolutely I'd take this early. DIY adds to the baddassness of it too.

 

[christo930]

If assembling the case could be done with simple tools and there wouldn't be any soldering, I'm sure many people would opt-in. I certainly would.

Would there be any sort of partial refund for a diy kit? I'm sure that lowering the price a little would bring even more users. Price has been the sticking point for me. I just can't justify spending nearly $400 on a game system ($330 + shipping + memory cards"]. With the dollar dropping like a stone, it might go up from there. To me, it needs to be under $200. I know how powerful it is, but it's still a game system and I have bigger responsibilities. There are probably some younger guys who can afford to buy the latest things at any price, but when you have a household and kids and a wife to answer to...[/quote]Chris

Honestly, if you really believe self assembly could cut the price in half, you don't have much grasp on reality. You will not get a Pandora for under $200, even if you soldered the parts your self (afaik, the total sum of the parts is as much as that). Why even still hang out and post, is beyond me, with such expectations.

Edit: I would also do self assembly if offered, if only to speed up delivery. As mentioned, this places an issue with warranty though. Of course the base board and LCD should be under warranty, but they couldn't warranty the entire unit, especially the LCD cable. The idea of a free TV cable (or such"] to self assemblers would be nice though.

Hell, we could have an entire YouTube channel of various people self assembling.[/quote]Obviously it's not going to drop from 330 to 200, but it might drop some... I don't expect the Pandora to stay at such a high price forever. If it comes down to 230 and then 30 off for self assembly and you're down bellow 200.

Then there are some people who might think that 300 is their maximum and for them it might actually be the difference between buying one and not buying one.

edit:Take a look at my join date and the url. I have a gp32 and a gp2x. I will get a pandora eventually unless it becomes an over priced collectors item.
Chris

 

[gaterooze]

I doubt an unassembled unit would cost any less than an assembled one. I certainly wouldn't expect it. And I doubt the price of the Pandora will drop much over time, unless it starts selling gazillions (thereby opening up huge economies of scale). The parts often don't get much cheaper to make (at least not in small quantities), it's just that you can get better parts for the same price. For example, the GP32 and GP2X never dropped in price (IIRC).

 

[christo930]

.

You can get both fairly cheap when they pop up from time to time used on ebay. I also might end up splurging. In any event, I wouldn't pre-order something like this. it's nothing against the guys doing it, it's just not me. Riding the edge of tech can be fun, but it's expensive and usually troublesome. I like to ride the crest of tech. that is to say, I get stuff when it's still great, but not on the leading edge. From my POV, it's pointless to be the first guy with a new console, you pay the most money, take all the risk and get very little. When the Pandora is out and has a great library of software then I might get it, but I see no point in blowing the money now. To each their own. I also won't get much out of the Pandora that I wouldn't get out of a wiz. I don't like 3d games. I find them difficult and boring and the biggest challenge to them is the controls (not the actual game play). It would be nice to get the extra dosbox performance and newer mame games then the ones the gp2x plays though and I'm sure there will be some good 2d homebrewn games.

Chris

 

[BackAssward]

Obviously it's not going to drop from 330 to 200, but it might drop some... I don't expect the Pandora to stay at such a high price forever. If it comes down to 230 and then 30 off for self assembly and you're down bellow 200.

Well, we were talking about the first order in this thread and self assembly, not a theoretical future thing. Also, you said "below" $200 which implies a Wiz price range, even your future example is not below $200. Thirdly, I don't think self assembly would be offered (or even business wise, for a polished product) after the initial release (if it is even actually offered for the first release).

No, it doesn't make sense for them to have self assembly for the future runs... once the manufacturing process is all sorted out, parts will go to the factory and will be assembled there. It is actually not cost effective to re-route some parts to Craig or someone to box and ship. Hell, unassembled parts have their own issues. Static resistant sleeves for the LCD and Board, plastic bagging for the screws, printed assembly instructions, etc. Not very realistic for future runs. Probably costs more for all that than having a minimum wage drone put it together, and it exposes them to negative publicity (e.g. people fucking up their assembly and being vocal online about the product sucking, transferring blame).

Lastly, afaik, they will not be dropping the price in the next year or two for assembled units. Why would they? There is enough interest, and will be more after the first launch, for them to keep selling at the current price.

 

[danielliu88888]

i predict another post like this one in a week and three days. if i'm wrong... give me a cookie.

 

[gp2.eXe]

i predict another post like this one in a week and three days. if i'm wrong... give me a cookie.

Admins (or Mods if you have the ability):
Could you please mark those words in the Community Calendar?

...

Oh and bake some cookies too.

 

[christo930]

Obviously it's not going to drop from 330 to 200, but it might drop some... I don't expect the Pandora to stay at such a high price forever. If it comes down to 230 and then 30 off for self assembly and you're down bellow 200.

Well, we were talking about the first order in this thread and self assembly, not a theoretical future thing. Also, you said "below" $200 which implies a Wiz price range, even your future example is not below $200. Thirdly, I don't think self assembly would be offered (or even business wise, for a polished product) after the initial release (if it is even actually offered for the first release).

No, it doesn't make sense for them to have self assembly for the future runs... once the manufacturing process is all sorted out, parts will go to the factory and will be assembled there. It is actually not cost effective to re-route some parts to Craig or someone to box and ship. Hell, unassembled parts have their own issues. Static resistant sleeves for the LCD and Board, plastic bagging for the screws, printed assembly instructions, etc. Not very realistic for future runs. Probably costs more for all that than having a minimum wage drone put it together, and it exposes them to negative publicity (e.g. people fucking up their assembly and being vocal online about the product sucking, transferring blame"].

Lastly, afaik, they will not be dropping the price in the next year or two for assembled units. Why would they? There is enough interest, and will be more after the first launch, for them to keep selling at the current price.[/quote]Your probably right, we are just talking theoretical. It is my personal opinion that they chose too high of a price point for the Pandora. I do think you get a good deal of hardware for the price, I just think they overshot the mark for me at least. I do imagine that at some point in the future it will be available cheaper on ebay used. I have no problem waiting. For one, my laptop is far more powerful than a Pandora (if not as small) and if I really need it, I could pick up a net book. Despite the size difference between a net book and a Pandora, I think the Pandora gets it's ass kicked by the net book, especially the acer aspire one. That net book is incredible and I will probably be getting one soon. For the tradeoff of being bigger, I spend less and get far more power with a full size kb. Now, I realize there are people who want that really small size and proper gaming controls and that's great for THEM. I prefer a KB to a thumbpad and the extra size doesn't bother me either. Battery life is a big tradeoff, but to be honest I rarely need more than a couple hours of battery life when I travel. Who travels for 10 hours without an outlet?

Chris

 

[BackAssward]

...
Who travels for 10 hours without an outlet?

Chris

Well, no need to beat the dead horse, we've both presented our sides, so that part I didn't quote. As for the part I did quote: One example is me. I did a Vancouver-Chicago / Chicago-Vancouver run every three weeks for 3 1/2 years... so there's that.

 

[lulzfish]

I don't travel long distances that often, but I'll be using the Pandora a lot as a PDA, so it will alternate between long segments of low-power mode and minimal use [Maybe check the GP32X forums, answer a few posts, and put it away again]

And I hate having to plug in my laptop everywhere. I have a huge desktop replacement that needs two hands to carry, so the power adapter requires either a backpack, an extra hand, or a second trip. And I have to stay within like 6 feet of an outlet, too.

I don't need 10 or 12 hours of battery, but it will make the Pandora much more enjoyable.

 

[CCmachined]

I don't blame Cew27 for being angry because being a 16 year old myself $330 is alot. Like Cew, the Pandora has made me really distracted checking the forums daily but at the same time I got to focus on school. Whats really wrong with complaining. Its been long over due and I have to explain to my parents why, when I'm not even getting a decent explanation or estimate date. It always seems its going to be 2 months away. The progress is like an asymptote. It always getting closer to finishing but it never seems to reach the point of completion. I honestly think that our patience is being taken advantage of but its really not worth getting a refund because that long wait would of been for nothing.

bang on

+1. My sig is taking a good record of it

 

[BaDToaD]

Will you whinging gits FGS just shut up. If you don't like it just bail out.

No one is forcing you to stay onboard.

 

[CCmachined]

If assembling the case could be done with simple tools and there wouldn't be any soldering, I'm sure many people would opt-in. I certainly would.

Would there be any sort of partial refund for a diy kit? I'm sure that lowering the price a little would bring even more users. Price has been the sticking point for me. I just can't justify spending nearly $400 on a game system ($330 + shipping + memory cards"]. With the dollar dropping like a stone, it might go up from there. To me, it needs to be under $200. I know how powerful it is, but it's still a game system and I have bigger responsibilities. There are probably some younger guys who can afford to buy the latest things at any price, but when you have a household and kids and a wife to answer to...[/quote]Chris

Honestly, if you really believe self assembly could cut the price in half, you don't have much grasp on reality. You will not get a Pandora for under $200, even if you soldered the parts your self (afaik, the total sum of the parts is as much as that"]. Why even still hang out and post, is beyond me, with such expectations.

Edit: I would also do self assembly if offered, if only to speed up delivery. As mentioned, this places an issue with warranty though. Of course the base board and LCD should be under warranty, but they couldn't warranty the entire unit, especially the LCD cable. The idea of a free TV cable (or such"] to self assemblers would be nice though.

Hell, we could have an entire YouTube channel of various people self assembling.[/quote]Obviously it's not going to drop from 330 to 200, but it might drop some... I don't expect the Pandora to stay at such a high price forever. If it comes down to 230 and then 30 off for self assembly and you're down bellow 200.

Then there are some people who might think that 300 is their maximum and for them it might actually be the difference between buying one and not buying one.

edit:Take a look at my join date and the url. I have a gp32 and a gp2x. I will get a pandora eventually unless it becomes an over priced collectors item.
Chris[/quote]The Pandora is:

1. Games System
2. Internet device
3. File storage (upto 64GB)
4. Bluetooth device (move files around / etc)
5. Workstation (office apps, plus USB to save to a disk just as a PC would)
6. Dev device (C++, SDL, GL, whatever)
7. MP3(&OGG) Player / Media Center (TV out, lots of storage, every codec under the sun, etc)
8. Completely open and non-proprietary (no dev license fees, no forced hacking about with firmware)
9. Really powerful for all these things (GP2X, Wiz, DS, etc were less powerful than current consoles (relatively speaking here), Pandora will outperform almost everything on release)

You need to realise that the Pandora is way more than "just a games system". This was the problem i had with the GP2X. It's fun, but it's compeltely unversatile. No "work" related potential whatsoever. Emulation and homebrew, maybe some misc apps like a terminal, and thats it. The Panda is well worth $330 / £200. I'm proud to say I'd pay more. Portable devving is an awesome idea. I can't wait, personally (but i'll be forced to for quite a while, i guess)

Pandora FTW

 

[jlepley]

And the Pandora is being sold at wholesale price. That means you get more for your money than something you would buy at a retailer.

 

[atomicthumbs]

[/LIST]

16.0000001 exabytes with a magic ZFS hard drive hooked into the USB port.

 

[joa]

here[/URL]. (I do understand the frustration. I'm going to move on from these forums by August if the Pandora doesn't ship, and cancel my order if it's still possible."]

No don't do that! It'll arrive, We'll all be getting hysterical, It'll be a bundle of laughs, Plus! We need our beloved JavaJake

 

[Grench]

This thread is a hoot. I hope it's allowed to stay open. Where's my popcorn?

I'll take my Pandora when it's done, FCC tested, assembled, packaged safely and arrives on my doorstep in a plain brown box. I'll wait until then.

When I ordered, I had a family vacation lined up in February that I thought would be fun to bring a Pandora on... Oh well. Brought my laptop instead.

Then I thought it might be ready for a business trip in April...

Well, surely it will be ready for my vacation in July...

There are all sorts of arbitrary 'deadlines' we can make. It'll be done when it's done. I'll wait until then.

/* Back to silliness */
So far nobody's said they need their Pandora immediately to run life support for their ailing 4 year old kid sister while she's transported to China for acupuncture. I wonder... would it be better to connect to that kind of hardware via the SDIO or the bluetooth or the USB?

 

[lulzfish]

Here's some arbitrary deadlines, but they'll be for the second batch since I'm not an early adopter.

School starts ... around September. I forget when. It would be nice to have a Pandora by then.
My birthday is in early December. It would also be nice to order one to arrive around then.
Then there's Christmas.
Then spring semester.
Then spring break.
And then summer again.

Rinse and repeat, except I'm graduating a semester early, so replace "spring semester" through "Summer" with "graduation".
After that, I'll add new arbitrary deadlines 3 times a year, so that on average, the Pandora will be 2 months earlier than I expected. Awesome.

 

[kattle87]

IMHO: this time we are at less than 2 months from first unit shipping.
This time I tell you I really feel like this for the first time. Don't ask me why but HELL they will start shipping before August! I just know it!