It has been a big year for PGS Lab. Their Kickstarter project raised $300,000 before it was cancelled. The development team announced that the cancellation was a result of a legal agreement with a private investment firm. The cancellation coincided with allegations appearing online of the device being vaporware or a scam due to what appeared to be extremely early stage prototypes and misleading advertising. Since the Kickstarter cancellation, the company has been accepting pre-orders for the device through their website and has raised over $800,000; however, the original investment group has backed out of the project due to legal reasons according to PGS Lab. PGS Lab says they are in negotiation with new investors to provide the money for the production of the PGS Hardcore devices. The company says that the $800,000 they have raised is enough to cover the initial production stage, but have opted to not spend the pre-order funds until they are able to release the device entirely. PGS Lab believes the decision is the best path out of respect of the project’s dramatic history so far.
2016 has also been busy for PGS Lab on the development front. The company announced they revamped the design of the slider mechanism to utilize a dual hinged slider that allows the device to either lay completely flat or hinge the main screen at a 25 degree angle. The thumb sticks were also been replaced with improved thumb sticks that no longer telescope out and incorporate the L3 and R3 buttons.
Finally, the a big hurdle for PGS Labs has been crossed. Originally, the device needed to be rebooted to switch between Android and Windows 10. To allow for users to switch seamlessly between the two OSes, PGS Labs has added a second ARM SoC processor that will also include the LTE module. The second chip will only be available on the PGS Hardcore module. The addition of the second processor will not need additional active cooling, but PGS Labs has upgraded the cooling system anyways with a fan and ribbed heatsink that is rated well over the 4-5W heat that the device is putting out. The design should allow the PGS Hardcore to rely on passive cooling for all but the most intensive tasks.
PGS also announced they have managed to shrink the device to be about the size of an iPhone 6/7 Plus, but thicker. The battery will now have a capacity of 6800 mAh, which should provide 3-6 hours of continuous gaming. The screen has been downgraded to an FHD screen (1920×1080) so it will scale down without artifacts for visually demanding games. The new screen is still an IPS display.
PGS Labs is postponing the release date for the devices due to the extensive hardware modifications they have made. PGS Labs estimates they will begin shipping the PGS Hardcore devices between the first and second quarters of 2017. With all the changes, the PGS Hardcore edition will be priced at $319 USD for pre-orders and $379 USD at launch.
