Tetent TwySize [gd0040]

[15:30] First, I actually sketched a 1:1 with a pencil what I was going to model. I don't usually do this.

The main ideas is that there are 2 displays (since other Tetent devices would have one one each half anyway) and Finger5 would be shortened so that the finger doesn't hit a corner. I was also considering a 21700 battery, but the screens are 26mm on a side so the 26650 makes the most sense.

Well I started modelling and the geometries were lining up in different ways (this is the reason why I usually don't sketch) and Finger5 actually goes straight over the top of Finger4.

After modelling, I tried a dual tone thing but I think plain white looks better:

But 🎉🎉🎉 finally, after all these months, I've finally got a concept render for this project. Shame it took an hour to sketch and another 2 to 3D sketch.

The dimensions are around 220 x 82 x 30mm which unfortunately isn't all that small but looks kind of slim actually. It might also get larger if Finger5's ergonomic movement line doesn't line up with the Tetrinsics modelled above.

Thankfully, it means that Tetrinsic Gen 2X2 is good to go.

[22:45] I've now determined where the USB-C port is going to go. I wanted to avoid pointing out of the bottom because that would prevent being able to rest the device on a table. The top was also occupied, thus I decided for it to go somewhere on the back and I've gone for the top-back so that conflictions with straight and 90degree cables were minimised.

The reason why the USBC cable is orientated portrait is due to the 90degree cables, which are the ones used in #Teti [gd0022] for the portable monitors.

Hopefully, there should be enough remaining space for the 26650 to squeeze in.

I'm also thinking that this design might still be usable with one hand if the large flat side is placed on a desk and used with a similar grip to a mouse.

I've also removed the bezel inbetween displays and I now think it looks rather good from the 1st person perspective:

The screen itself looks rather nice too, and I can imagine a nice 60FPS boot animation (inspired by PS3) that will be similar to how I plan to do the #SecSavr Sol^2 [gd0045] startup animation (that I haven't yet gotten around to making).

Here's what it would look like with an iPhone X and 14 Pro:

Part of the thumb's job is to keep everything held stable, which means it's better if the centre of gravity is on the thumb side. That way, the thumbs can just apply a force to counteract the fingers and the phone can just rest ontop of the thumbs.

[17 March] Another render:

This design is now seriously being considered for Tetent (gd0090).

So I was going to start writing about what I'd been thinking 2 days ago, thought I'd give it a day or two to collimate my thoughts and ideas for coherency. 

For starters, I've got a new name idea: TwySize. It sounds a bit like "twice" and the w has that smol, uwu vibe. It's also got a similar sound to #Tetent TimerSpy [gd0136] and #T^2 TyMist [gd0138].

Secondly, I think that this will be the new #Tetent TestCut [gd0139]. TestCut is a bit of a dead-end venture that I persued because a futuristic cuboid input device was very intriguing. As a product design project, to see if aesthetics and ergonomics could coexist, it was very insightful and I'm grateful for the knowledge gained. However, I knew that there were more in-the-real-world situations where the ergonomics would falter. Most of that would probably be solved by an actual tenting system that changed the tilt of the device and perhaps a suction cup mount for the work surface, but I never wanted an input device that was landlocked to a table and I knew going in that I wasn't going to iterate on the design after acheiving MVP status because I've had my fair share of keyboards and requiring a surface is Team Annoying TM.

A wired version of this project would allow for much more freedom when in use, whilst still being as simple to implement as TestCut. I can then confidently improve the design with BT connectivity and a phone mount (similar to phone gaming controllers).The other style of gaming controller (like the PSP) is incompatible with the ergonomics required by #Tetrinsic [gd0041]. Essentially, the screen would be facing the user's belly and not their eyes, because those fingers are used for data entry and not holding the device up. Holding the device is mainly the job of the palms.

I tried different household objects and it seems like an A5 journal book is a good length for the device. While 200-210mm is kind of long, it's not that much longer than phones these days. 

It also seems that a slope (see image below) is more ergonomic than sliding on the flat side, and an inverted slope fails.

Due to the requirement of easy pocketability, it does mean that the ball-chain / screen side of the Tetrinsics will be on the outside. I don't think it's too bad of an idea since it would have an even higher cool factor than the white-only Nothing Phone 1 or RGB-Rainbow Unihertz Luna (image below).

I think part of the reason that I'm still cautious with #Tetrinsic [gd0041] -- even though I've got a potentially wearable form factor concept now -- is because a solution has not been computed for Tetent Tiny and #Tetent TestCut [gd0139] is ergonomicly inflexible. What I mean by that is that it seems to ergonomically work, but only under ideal conditions. It doesn't work all that well if the table is too tall / short / doesn't exist, if I'm standing, etc. Basically, it's quite rigid for an input device that is supposed to increase working flexibility. I'm also wondering if I'd need a 26650 battery inside regardless as a USB port may not provide enough power for 10 (small) BLDC motors.

The good news is that the focus on being able to slide #Tetent TimerSpy [gd0136] into a pocket could also help out for Tiny, even if the name should've been changed ages ago (since it won't be all that small at all).

https://hackaday.io/project/184181-tetent-gd0090/log/204811-t-feature-thoughts

https://hackaday.io/project/184181-tetent-gd0090/log/204201-t-alternative-mouse-control

[T] - Thoughts tag

Now, the reason why I got the Q3P is because it had a 120hz OLED screen and it was the cheapest on AliExpress, coming in at £192 total. Things like 5G, the cameras, 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage were extras I sure wasn't going to complain about. 

The only thing I knew was going to be an issue was the size. As you may have noticed, smartphones have been getting larger and larger these days, so the pocketability and holdability is getting a bit iffy these days. It's no Project Gem, for example:

Conveiniently, the Tetent Tiny is likely to be the same size (but much thicker) than the Q3P anyway, so it's not like i'd really get any benefits from a smaller phone. However, I am keeping my eyes open on any way of creating a wifi / BT synced, 240Hz device that's sufficiently cheaper than the Q3P, even though I feel it's outside the scope of this project. I also have heard that creating custom ROMS are harder for Mediatek based devices compared to Snapdragon ones, which could mean I am unable to develop optimised UX interactions.