GPD Pocket 2 Announced


There are great cables for the microUSB 3.0 standard (the wide connectors like the Pyra uses). It seems easier to find heavy versions of those than the standard microUSB 2.0 cables.
 
Exactly why most people wouldn't want usb c. Me, and my wife both have phones with micro usb, and had micro usb phones in the past. Only top end phones use usb-c with the mid rangers using Micro usb. Our media centers are raspberry pis three of them (micro usb). The media network router is....micro usb... all the media avi/hdmi/component switches.,..micro usb. I may have 10-15 different things powered by it.

Face it most people have micro usb just sitting around. Usb -c, not so much as only a few phones and a couple chromebooks use it.

I for one am glad the Pyra will have the standard and common micro usb.

And that will change soon. It's fine that Pyra supports the OLD standard and I would be fine if he kept one of the micro USB ports for legacy support while changing just the relatively underused micro USB 3.0 port (I've only ever seen that used with older external portable drives) to USB-C.
But face it, micro USB is OLD. It's still common to have cables laying around now, but that's the same as when Mini USB was being phased out. Newer phones are using USB C. Laptops these days have USB C. Even game consoles will likely just use USB in the next generation (hell even Nintendo, the company that's perpetually behind the rest of the world technologically, adopted USB-C for use on the Swiitch). It's the NEW standard (for everything, really). That's what it was built for.
Again, it's fine for the Pyra to have micro USB for legacy support, after all the Pyra has A TON OF PORTS for a portable device. But as a device that has some level of future proofing through upgradeable daughterboards as a potential selling point, including USB-C could give more utility now and in the future.
You're free to get your current Pyra. I wouldn't know how many of those weird Micro USB 3.0 Type B cables you have lying around, but if ED says he may add USB-C in a future board revision, I'm jumping on that.
 
I wouldn't know how many of those weird Micro USB 3.0 Type B cables you have lying around, but if ED says he may add USB-C in a future board revision, I'm jumping on that.

Quite a few actually. The entire family has Galaxy Note 3 phones. I have a Galaxy Note 12.2 tablet too. I have hubs, card readers, portable hard drives and more all on that standard.

The "weird Micro USB 3.0" is backwards compatible to the microUSB 2.0 cables as well. They plug into one-side of the connector.

Any device that has a microUSB 3.0 connector is pretty much guaranteed to run at USB 3 speeds - many times faster than USB 2. There is no reason to use that connector on a USB 2 device as a microUSB 2.0 cable would be more universal.

The microUSB 3.0 specification allows for more current to the device - without requiring a super-proprietary one-brand-only fast charger specification.

The same cannot be said for USB C devices. Many of them simply use the type C connector, but only use USB 2 speeds through it. They often fail to handshake properly over the USB power standards and instead implement device specific power calls - which breaks compatibility from one device or charger to the next.

The Pyra, having a microUSB 3.0 connector (the weird wide one) gives it instant compatibility with microUSB 3.0 cables AND all microUSB 2.0 cables.

All of that said, the USB C connector is a superior port - if device manufacturers would use it appropriately. That there are multiple incompatible power standards being implemented over the same physical port is a stupid move.
 
I have exactly 1 Micro USB 3.0 cable and it's broken. The only device I've ever owned that used one was my old Galaxy S 5 that I used until I couldn't get replacement batteries that actually worked for it anymore.
 
Quite a few actually. The entire family has Galaxy Note 3 phones. I have a Galaxy Note 12.2 tablet too. I have hubs, card readers, portable hard drives and more all on that standard.

The "weird Micro USB 3.0" is backwards compatible to the microUSB 2.0 cables as well. They plug into one-side of the connector.

Any device that has a microUSB 3.0 connector is pretty much guaranteed to run at USB 3 speeds - many times faster than USB 2. There is no reason to use that connector on a USB 2 device as a microUSB 2.0 cable would be more universal.

The microUSB 3.0 specification allows for more current to the device - without requiring a super-proprietary one-brand-only fast charger specification.

The same cannot be said for USB C devices. Many of them simply use the type C connector, but only use USB 2 speeds through it. They often fail to handshake properly over the USB power standards and instead implement device specific power calls - which breaks compatibility from one device or charger to the next.

The Pyra, having a microUSB 3.0 connector (the weird wide one) gives it instant compatibility with microUSB 3.0 cables AND all microUSB 2.0 cables.

All of that said, the USB C connector is a superior port - if device manufacturers would use it appropriately. That there are multiple incompatible power standards being implemented over the same physical port is a stupid move.
You do have a point there, especially with how fragmented USB-C is at the moment. Still, I would trust ED to implement USB-C properly and if he does I would very much prefer that.
 
Lol. That wont change anytime soon. Adoption is very slow with little to no benefit ove micro usb 3.0
 
I hate micro usb. I always put it in the wrong way first, then turn it around and it is again wrong and then realize that it was correct at the first try but it did not feel like it fit (because it is...well...micro usb). There are lots of memes for this phenomenon on internet, so I think there are probably more people with this problem. ;) After several micro usb phones, my new one now charges via USB-C and I never want to go back. Luckily, all the big mobile manufacturers now signed a document that this will be the standard from now on.

Additionally, you can have nice stuff like power delivery for faster charging and builtin display port.
 
USB type A's the worse for me, especially if the socket is angled away from me so that I can't inspect it first. Goes in a little bit, but you can't tell so easily if it's blocking you or you just haven't got the plug quite oriented right. I can imagine microUSB would be bad for similar reasons, except it's usually on mobile units so I can almost always swing them round to inspect it. Then I know to put the side with the little teeth on it into the widest side. Pulling it out again is always a joy, as those teeth make it feel like you're ripping the socket off of it's little PCB (and reportedly, can do on devices with poorly designed ports that didn't take the teeth into account).
 
Protip: To correctly insert USB-A plugs, have the side with the USB logo face upwards. That obviously doesn't work when you don't have one there, but it's typically the upper side of the device then.
Also doesn't work on the Pandora. I have no clue if you could say it's wrong, but it's oriented upside down compared to the ports I have everywhere else.
 
Protip: To correctly insert USB-A plugs, have the side with the USB logo face upwards. That obviously doesn't work when you don't have one there, but it's typically the upper side of the device then.
Also doesn't work on the Pandora. I have no clue if you could say it's wrong, but it's oriented upside down compared to the ports I have everywhere else.
That is reversed from each of the Desktops i have but matches the laptops I have so the rule is there is no right way to do it
 
GPD have proposed a change to the Pocket 2. The proposed change adds an optical mouse sensor and real L/R buttons in the top bar as per the image below
L and R mouse buttons will be located on the left side of the top bar as indicated, and the optical mouse sensor will be on the right side

Wade (one of GPDs owners) mentioned he tried the optical sensor they have in mind and it is as good as , if not better than the pointer nub they used in the current GPD Pocket

What do you think about the proposal?

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/451985934649655296/454484197235621888/unknown.png(edited)

 
Going optical for mouse? Is this its not now copying the OneMix Yoga thing? :cool:
I hope they reconsider their fn+arrow map
 
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