GPD Are Back With Something A Little Different, The GPD WIN // UPDATE: Target Smashed!

 

It started in December 2015 as a bit of back and forth between GPD staff and the community of the Dingoonity boards – talk of the possibility in them building a Windows 10 handheld. Some (very) rough ideas were posted by the GPD team and discussion begun.

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61 pages later and things have really begun to take shape.

The project is officially go, and an Indiegogo campaign has begun to raise the capital to make it happen. I must admit, given GPD’s good track record and obviously decent R&D budget I don’t know why crowd funding is required to get this thing off the ground. I suppose this is a machine with more of a niche market than an Android Handheld, and more expensive hardware is required to power it – so the risk for GPD is greater.

Update: If you check the comments, you’ll see that Kendy from GPD has stated that the project will go ahead whether the target is reached or not – so no worries there 🙂

The GPD Win, as it’s called, is powered by an Intel Atom X5-Z8500 and 4GB of RAM. It’ll house a 5.5″ 720 display, 64GB of eMMC storage, an SD slot and will of course have WiFi built in.

 

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Being a former Pandora owner, I find this thing very intriguing. I don’t really know what I’d use it for though. It’s too small to be productive with, and Android emulation is so mature now that in some cases it will beat a Windows equivalent – at least on the low end hardware found in the GPD Win. Having said that, I don’t think I can live without one 😀

 

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The special price for backers is $300, not an obscene amount in my opinion. The delivery has been set for October 2016, and the timeline is laid out like this:

 

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I wonder what the Pyra crowd think of this thing? For me it’s an easy decision. Linux, especially on a tiny screen when you don’t know what you’re doing, is not as user friendly as Windows, and I really like Windows 10. I don’t know if I will back the project or not, but I will undoubtedly buy one of these once they’re available. I might hold out until April at least, just to see the prototype first. What do you guys think?

Check the Indiegogo campaign here for more details.

And lastly, here are some high resolution renders of the device.

Thanks to Victor for sending this in!

Update 4/3/16: As of writing, the $100,000 goal has officially been beaten. The project currently sits at $118,000  with just shy of 2 months to go. It’s safe to say that GPD are going to be doing some celebrating this weekend! Kendy has also confirmed in the campaign comments that the Win will now officially be upgraded to the x5-Z8550, from of the Z8500.

34 thoughts on “GPD Are Back With Something A Little Different, The GPD WIN // UPDATE: Target Smashed!”

  1. I am actually very excited about this device. This almost reminds me of my first Toshiba Libretto 70CT but with gaming controls.

    With that being said I think that the OS should be of some variant of Linux or Android. I am not too entirely crazy about it having Windows. Also I wonder if it will be possible to install Linux on it?

    This would be a great slap in the face to the “holy cow!! How much??” more expensive Pyra

    Reply
    • I’d imagine that there will be someone that will ship to the EU[and thus Germany]. It might be a little extra for shipping, but with Windows 10, the language support will be there. You might have to download a language pack update, but that should stand as no problem.

      Reply
    • Well I think I am gonna Contribute. Has anyone evee used Indiegogo, and are we positive this will happen. I would hate to be out $300 bucks. I have bought several GPD devices in the past, but I am nervous paying for something that doesn’t exist yet.

      Any help would be appreciated 🙂

      Reply
      • Well, the Win is larger, notably in the north to south direction. If you don’t mind having to use primarily your left thumb to type sentences, then the Win in its current degraded state is for you. I’d like GPD to fix this first before I take the financial risk myself as the device is almost worthless for most of what I’d buy it for. Game buttons Start, Select, L3, and R3 are also in bizarre positions and we haven’t heard certain confirmation that they’ll be upgrading from the Z8500 to the much needed Z8550. Again, it’s your prerogative if you think your money is worth supporting all that regardless.

        Yuoncong008 who posted the link to the Indiegogo above is one of the active campaign promoters from GPD headquarters so maybe he’ll read some of this, hopefully. 🙂

        Reply
  2. It will probably retail at around $300 even though the Indiegogo says differently.

    The keyboard though is a major problem here as it is shifted over to the left edge where the right thumb won’t be able to reach many of the alphabet keys, leaving the left thumb to do most of the work typing. Also, Start, Select, L3, and R3 are on the lower bottom right edge which is an absolutely poor place for game buttons.

    To illustrate the drawback, imagine moving the right joystick and XYAB cluster leftward like so: http://i.imgur.com/MjyP1VN.png. No rational person would find this acceptable and it is the same exact thing GPD is doing with the keyboard on the Win.

    I’ve pushed and prodded as others to have the two right side columns of stacked keys moved somewhere above the main keyboard so both thumbs can be used in concert with each other. Since GPD has avoided placing buttons between the joysticks in the upper middle for some reason and costs may play a part, I have created an inexpensive to revise compromise layout: http://i.imgur.com/g6Bdv9w.png

    Reply
    • Well said. Completely agree! The keyboard needs to be dead center on the device and other key in another row above. The power button is most logically placed in the center on the lower part of the clam-shell. And a point that so far has been unaddressed, is speaker placement. The speakers need to be on the left and right side of the screen instead of being on the base of the device.

      Reply
  3. Hello,This is kendy from GPD company.Thanks so much for your kind concerns and support for us!!We are a company is specialized in the design and manufacture of video games consoles.And we all have a dream to make a portable handheld PC/Gaming consoles based on Windows system.so we make GPD WIN.Please don’t worry.No matter the found raise is succeed or not.we will be surely complete this perfect device!!!Of cause,we all hope you can help us to make this campaign success.So we will have more confidence for GPD WIN!!!Any concerns,just be free to let me know.With many thanks again!!!

    Reply
    • And nor should it be. That is not the focus for a device like this.

      If you want PS2, Wii and other high level emulation, use a PC.

      Reply
  4. Personally, Android is the better choice of OS. Windows 10 has more bugs than a bait store and and Microsoft can not be forgiven for the privacy invasion crap until they remove them completely. Also, given the specs it’s going to have, high-end or even mainstream gaming is not going be a thing here. Casual gaming and emulation is the limit for gaming aspects. However when factor in the audio/video side of things, it gets interesting. Here’s the catch, the metro screen must be turned off! Not using that tiles nonsense! EVER! But here’s where Android comes in. It’s a much better choice because it is designed for devices with these specs. Google Play can’t be beat. Games, Music, TV, Movies, Books. The Microsoft store pales in comparison. Also, size is a limiting factor. 5.5 inch screen is just to small. The XD is a great little machine that is just too small. If they’d made a 6 or 7 inch version I’d have bought one. I have a G5A that fit perfectly in my hands. The XD does not. And would this device. 6 or 7 inch screen will fit peoples needs much better. And a GSM SIM card would not go amiss.So GPD, if you folks are watching, please use dual boot(Android/Windows) at the very least and unlock the bootloader so we can install what we like if we’re not happy with what you provide! Otherwise I’m again out. FYI, if my Q9 had a slide-away qwerty keyboard I would be in freaken heaven!

    Reply
    • I agree that comparing the Google Play store to the Microsoft Store favors Google everytime. However, Windows is not in anyway limited to an app store. Windows the most widely used operating system of all time. You don’t have to buy apps through the Microsoft Store to put them on your Windows computer. (I literally can’t believe I’m having to explain this.)

      Maybe you’ve heard of a little company called “Valve” and a tiny app store they’ve come up with called “Steam”. In case you haven’t… you should Google it. And when you do, you’ll see that Steam >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Google Play Game Store.

      And, yes, the GPD WIN can install Steam.

      Windows is the biggest digital gaming platform the world has ever known. There is literally nothing that comes close.

      Reply
      • Steam is not a great example to cite for a device like this. Whether or not it can install the Steam client is irreverent because most of the titles available on Steam that make PC gaming compelling will not run on this device, even if they upped the specs to the Z8550. This device will not play Crysis, nor anything close to it. No serious PC gamer is going to give a second look to a device like this. This device is only going to appeal to a casual gamer or gamer on-the-go.

        The fact that you felt the need to even make the statement, quote; “(I literally can’t believe I’m having to explain this.)” shows that you seem to think that the versatility of Windows is somehow lost on those who prefer something other than Windows on a device like this. It is not. It is a simple matter of practicality. VERY few people like the MetroUI and Windows in desktop mode on a 5.5 inch screen is just not a great idea. This is why Windows Phone and the like are such a failures, one of Microsoft’s biggest.

        Windows is not useless for this kind of device, certainly, but Android is very much the better and more practical choice. And making the option to dual-boot Android and Windows is not difficult nor is it costly. GPD has two choices; Dual-boot or make two different models, one Android, one Windows. The easier option is both and leave the user the option to remove one or the other if they want just one.

        Reply
        • Dual-boot would be great… except this device isn’t touchscreen. Without touchscreen a giant chunk of Android games are useless. And the interface of Android is built around the touchscreen.

          Yes, custom-built variants of Android are used on other devices – like Amazon Fire TV, or OUYA, or the Nexus Play, but that would require custom programming on the part of GPD – not just a drag-and-drop vanilla Android.

          Even without AAA blockbuster titles, Steam has a TON of games. I have a cheap 2-year-old Windows tablet with Steam installed. I know what devices like this are capable of. And if you are counting out Steam games just because you can’t play Crisis on it – then you need to take another look at the Steam catalog. There are far, far, far more casual / retro / indie / low-spec titles than AAA FPS’es.

          This also ignores the fact that this is *not* a handheld game console. This is a laptop. It says so in the title of the campaign, “A Laptop Fitting in Your Pocket”. Yes, it has game controls – but if you just want a pocket-sized game console, there are many other choices, (including the New 3DS, Vita, as well as all the other products on this blog). Most of those are less than $300, and other than the big name ones, most do run some flavor of Android – or a custom firmware.

          The 2 things that make this device unique are the form-factor and Windows. If you take Windows away, it looses half of what makes it unique. In fact, that’s what they named it after – the GPD WIN.

          If you look at how GPD is marketing this – you can easily see that this is not meant to be just another pocket-emulator PSP clone. This is a full-on computer that you can fit in your pocket. It just so happens to have built-in game controls. It is a gaming-friendly UMPC when UMPCs are nearly impossible to find.

          I’m not 100% sold on it, myself. I know for the price I can get a pretty decent full-sized laptop and a wireless Xbox controller. But it form factor is something I’ve always wanted – since long before the Pandora was even an evil lying glimmer in CraigIX’s cold dead heart.

          And Windows is a big part of the appeal. Knowing that I can run not just games and apps – but full-on desktop programs, fills me with determination.

          Reply
          • Those are some interesting points. It’d be downright silly for GPD not to include a touchscreen. Unless they state otherwise, it should be safe to conclude it will have one based on the Indiegogo page. Of course if they don’t, it’s a deal-breaker.

            The Steam library is impressive for sure. That really wasn’t the point. The Crysis example was only that, an example.

            However, the concept of this device is clearly geared towards portable gaming. IE, it is a handheld gaming device with a qwerty keyboard, something that a great many of us have been asking for for several years. Ideally, a Q9 with a slide-away keyboard would be great! (HINT HINT GPD)

            The naming scheme, IFAIK, had nothing to do with Windows. It was based more on the idea, “GPD for the WIN”.

            Windows being a big part of the appeal is an opinion not shared by everyone. Microsoft is not very popular right now and while Windows 10 is being better received than 8/8.1 was, it is still not a well loved OS comparatively and for excellent reasons. If it only comes with Windows, there are plenty or people, myself included, who won’t give it a second look no matter what the price and specs. I have a very nice 10.1inch laptop with better specs than this device that suits me better. But that’s just me. There are likely lots of people that would dig on this. But it does mention Android on the Indiegogo page so there seems a very good chance it will.

            Now with Android I’m all in. Would like to see tweaks to the button layout, keyboard and power button perfectly centered and gaming buttons L3/R3 up where the fingers can easily get at them. Other than that it seems like a very winning device.

  5. We’ve come a long way since the Pandora, really quite impressive. GPD is definitely a fun company to keep an eye on these days.

    As you mentioned, emulation on Android has matured very well. My main use for a portable device is for emulation, so this is overkill for my needs (I’m also skeptical that it’s optimized for emulation). Hopefully they can transplant a few of the learnings from making this project into the GPD XD successor.

    Reply
  6. They stopped listening to the community as soon as they finished determining the internals specs. People have been repeatedly requesting that they revise the design of the keyboard for like a month at least, yet they’ve ignored everything. The price is also really, REALLY high considering the internal specs (Windows 10 is free to all manufacturers making machines with screens 10 inch and smaller, so that’s not a factor). $300 is the absolute limit that can be considered attractive to consumers with those specs, but they’re going to be asking for $500. Just don’t think $500 for weak specs, bad keyboard, and their usual build quality will be worth, even though I’ve been wanting a machine like this for a long time now.

    Reply
    • Complaining about the keyboard for a month? This campaign probably took more than a month to put together. At some point you need to ship a product, and they’re not even selling a finished product yet (i.e. they can still change it if the proposal is good enough).

      Why complain about it being so expensive at $500 when you can get it for $300? This is a niche product, even more so than the GPD XD, as made evident that it’s on Indiegogo. Smaller runs cost more money to produce.

      I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.

      Reply
      • Thing is, they opened the discussions for this idea to the Dingoonity community back in December and the keyboard was always a point of discussion. I believe layout ideas were being thrown around before they showed their first official render as well. So perhaps for MORE than a month we’ve been complaining about the current layout. It’s not a matter of pleasing everyone; they didn’t even try to take in keyboard suggestions at all until it was too late. In fact the only the only suggestions they took seriously were internal specs, screen resolution, and ports.
        Of course we all understand that it’s likely that there are components or other difficulties in their PCB design that might make having a sensible layout hard to implement. Still it would’ve been good to have been kept in the know.

        And yeah, I understand about the price and that a really small Windows device will likely be pretty niche. They have said that they’ll likely have coupons and sale opportunities after the device has released, so I’ll likely just wait for that to happen since I want to see some reviews as well.

        Reply
    • I think you’re being a bit harsh on GPD. Their build quality has never been bad and has greatly improved in the recent past. They are very clearly passionate about their work, as is many of their competitors. I agree with you about the keyboard, as is mentioned in another post, it should be centered perfectly and the extra buttons in a row above the keyboard. The power button needs to be centered as well. You also have a good point with the cost. $500 is very much to high. $350 is a much better and more reasonable price.

      Although, for $500 would be a fair price if it had a bigger 1080p screen, 128gb of good performance storage and a little bit bigger battery.

      This device, as is, will not please everyone, but if they can get the key points right they’ll have a winner.

      Reply
  7. Trying to give the Smach Z a run for its money. The form factor is a problem. I have big meaty hands and if it is the same size as the GPD XD I’m in trouble. However, hand cramps aside I will probably get one as well. Later than soone .

    Reply
    • Completely with you on that one. A 7 inch device in this configuration would be well received but the sector of the population that have larger hands. A friend ordered a couple of the XD’s for her kids and have me config them[root, firewall and other tweaks] which gave me a chance to play with them for a time. Cramped hands indeed! LOL! I have a Q9 that I love! I wish someone would make an 8 or 9 inch version of the above device. Small enough to still be very portable but big enough to be comfortable.

      Reply
      • +1
        Then they would also be able to have something more akin to a real keyboard (like a psion 5 or UMPC keyboard). I have a pandora (an original preorder) and was expecting a lot more from the keyboard, I basically never used it because the keyboard was rubbish. You can play games on a tablet so why pay so much more for what is basically a thumb pad? This, and the pyra, have the same flaw. A keyboard should be good enough to actually use the device as a computer, not a console with a thumb pad.

        Reply

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