PlayStation 4 (codename Orbis) technical hardware investigation (news and rumours)

[Strange]

Yes, do you have the link to that rumor ? I can't find it anymore because most people dropped it like a hot potato.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02/14/a-closer-look-at-the-playstation-4-controller-prototype

This one's the new one everyone's chasing after. Picture looks valid enough and looks right.


This is the old one that looks like bogus.

http://www.vgrevolution.com/2013/02...ntroller-information-with-images-and-details/

Missing too much and adding too much.
Also looks like PITA to manufacture.

 

[MrFox]

They would use SmartGlass if present. And then toggle between 2 apps. The 2 apps can overlap or tile.

For Sony, if they follow Vita, it would be like iOS. ^_^




Yes, regarding the small pad...

If I were to combine a recent rumor (this morning) that Sony is replacing the sticks with touchpad, then this patent may be handy:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=46709969&postcount=1418

Basically, the touchpad supports 2 point tracking. The sticks are really props housed above the pad.

In this way, the touchpad is larger and lies below the sticks. ^_^

There's a pet grooming brush in that patent. Seriously.

 

[patsu]

There's a pet grooming brush in that patent. Seriously.

Yep. I love that patent because it reminds me of the crazy Japanese engineers and their half serious, half mad ideas.

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/02/14/a-closer-look-at-the-playstation-4-controller-prototype

This one's the new one everyone's chasing after. Picture looks valid enough and looks right.

Yes, I'm wondering if the panel with the 2 sticks are removable.

Probably not since the speaker is in the way.

 

[Hecatoncheires]

But for ergonomics, holding a DS3 I can reach that area very comfortably, maybe they thought it out correctly, because when holding the controller the worst thing you can do is move the fingers holding it. If they need me to change my holding position while playing it would be awkward.

I agree. Assuming this controller has the same size as a DS3 then the touchpad would be comfortably reachable with both thumbs. Zooming, rotating and scrolling would be no problem with the two point multitouch pad.

"ORBIS Controller has an electrical capacitance touchpad where the position at wich the user’s finger is touching the pad can be detected." - VGLeaks

I guess it works the same as a drawing tablet: Touching the lower left corner of the pad automatically lets your cursor (or whatever) jump to the lower left corner on the screen, touching the upper right corner on the pad lets it jump to the upper right corner on the screen, etc. This takes getting used to but it's much faster than a classical notebook touchpad where you have to wipe over the pad until the cursor has reached its destination on a high-res screen.

 

[GuestLV]

I wonder , upper front layout for touch panel is good ergonomic decision? personally I prefer bottom layout ,below analog sticks,much easier to reach and operate

 

[Hecatoncheires]

Do you have a DS3 at hand? This area is perfectly reachable with both thumbs.

 

[GuestLV]

That depends what type of manipulations You do,not only how good this panel is reachable

 

[Aeoniss]

 

[Gitaroo]

I want to see L2 and R2, better be real triggers and not place it too low.

 

[Angelcurio]

Having a touch pad would be a blessing for web browsing since actually it's really painfull to do so with a pad. But as others have said, i think that the touchpad area is somewhat small. I would really like to know , if the center part under the touch pad is actually a mic, because i wonder if it wouldn't make you hear the button presses of your friends while gaming and chatting, making it somewhat annoying.

 

[Kb-Smoker]

Man i hope they keep that 3.5mm headphone jack.

Can anyone estimate the size of the touchpad?

 

[patsu]

Having a touch pad would be a blessing for web browsing since actually it's really painfull to do so with a pad. But as others have said, i think that the touchpad area is somewhat small. I would really like to know , if the center part under the touch pad is actually a mic, because i wonder if it wouldn't make you hear the button presses of your friends while gaming and chatting, making it somewhat annoying.

Based on unofficial confirmation, it's a speaker.

Man i hope they keep that 3.5mm headphone jack.

Can anyone estimate the size of the touchpad?

The headphone jack... Is it because you have a favorite pair of wired headphones, or more because you hate cable clutter ? Why not go wireless ?

 

[patsu]

I wonder , upper front layout for touch panel is good ergonomic decision? personally I prefer bottom layout ,below analog sticks,much easier to reach and operate

May be too low for me. I think any serious touchpad usage is more natural with your index or middle finger. Hold the controller with secondary hand, and navigate with master hand.

I don't think it will be used much in the heat of a battle, but good for supporting and housekeeping. "They" all hated the swiping in fast paced games on Vita.

 

[french toast]

I must say I hope this is legit, I might be going with sony as they are starting to tick all the right boxes for me

A decent speaker/touchscreen combo would open up some interesting gaming scenarios...whilst the general pad layout will fit in very nicely with the core gamers

 

[Kb-Smoker]

The headphone jack... Is it because you have a favorite pair of wired headphones, or more because you hate cable clutter ? Why not go wireless ?

I love wired headphones. Plus it would be cheap to replace since almost every phone uses 3.5mm headphone + mic.

Not a fan of wireless blutooth mics. I used a wired usb mic on my ps3 now.

 

[patsu]

I am trying to get rid of all wires and cables. Too much crap in my room. ^_^

So it's very strange to see other people asking for headphone jack.

 

[Strange]

Wireless headphones pose unwarranted connection and battery issues

 

[Scott_Arm]

I am trying to get rid of all wires and cables. Too much crap in my room. ^_^

So it's very strange to see other people asking for headphone jack.

The headphone jack is the way to go. It's incredibly cheap to bundle a headset compared to a bluetooth earpiece. This way everyone is guaranteed to have a mic and voice chat quality will be far more consistent in terms of volume.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Can anyone estimate the size of the touchpad?

I estimate it's about 6 cms or 2.5" long (measure a DS3's button size and assume the same for this protocontroller, and extrapolate) and about 2.5 cm or 1" wide. The aspect's way narrower than 16:9 widescreen so it doesn't map 1:1 with the TV.

 

[onQ]

I think that the speaker/ mic will also be used for Ultrasonic motion tracking.