Dingoonity.org

Note that the "replacement D-Pad which is being made slightly smaller and appears to resolve the issue" is not the same d-pad which the OP is talking about (which is in prototype stage).
The "replacement D-Pad which is being made slightly smaller and appears to resolve the issue" is the one already present in the Thinkgeek units, which is a batch made after the cause of the d-pad issue was spotted.

I'm sorry, but I don't see where are you going with that.

Thanks for the responses guys! Just wanted to follow up on some of the similar questions.

Right now these new parts are one off's, experimental only, and being internally tested. We are still working on them as prototypes and are not sure when or if they could be produced in mass quantity. This post was mainly to gauge public interest in what we're working on as there are large costs and logistics associated with getting parts like these produced in mass quantities.

The software developers have done amazing things so far with the Zero! We're hoping to open this device up with some sweet hardware mods too so keep leaving cool and interesting ideas that you may have about hardware mods in this post, I know you guys will not disappoint! 

Personally I think a little qwerty keyboard a la xbox 360 controller would be just the bees knees. 

The new analogue stick looks great.  If these were to make it into a final product, could you give a ball park estimate on when it would go on sale?

would attempting to install these void any warranty?

So I'd like it if someone I can hold accountable for his or her words can expand a little on whether this "entirely different project" will be treated as an integral part of the GCW Zero project, counting as the resolution of Justin's d-pad promise instead of the improved tolerance d-pad discussed in #21 and being retroactively mailed to everyone who backed and received a first-batch product for free. Thanks in advance.

Is this what you really mean?

I have to agree with alyinsanfran on this. A very small amount and my sticky dpad was no longer an issue. Never had to reapply in the time I had my zero. Considering the mostly positive results I read about & how cheap it is, you really have nothing to lose by trying.

I just want to state that the silicon grease worked wonders for me. The transition from straight -> diagonal ->  straight  (includes transition from straight left -> straight down) was impossible to do reliably originally, but works now without any issues. I used a non-foog-grade grease that I found at a local hardware store, because I didn't want to wait for the delivery by mail. Hope it is not poisonous  .

(seriously: the amount needed was in the order of 10s of ?grams, so I do believe I'm safe)

Also, people who are complaining: please do read the KS FAQ. It is not a store. If you want something ready and 100% working, go to a store and buy something that is 100% ready, tested and reviewed. Also, from the nature of the project, it should have been clear (it was to me when I backed) that this is somewhat of an experimental project, with only a few people (no large company) behind it. So, minor issues like this could have been expected to occur from the beginning. Give some slack to the people behind the project.

For the nature of the project and price of the backup amount I think it is an excellent project that has delivered so far.

I used some silicon grease from the automotive store and it made my DPAD 400x better. However, it still is imperfect. I think it has to do with the way it rocks from the center, or the design of the buttons underneath, I'm unsure.

If I hold DOWN on the DAPD, I can easily lean left or right and rock the entire DPAD to sometimes trigger a diagonal button press, even though my thumb is only focused on the DOWN part. It's very annoying. I only want a diagonal to trigger if my thumb is actually in that region.

Will your new DPADs fix this issue?

I have given my GCW Zero a silicone grease treatment, which has definitely improved the d-pad and button responsiveness, but the diagonals remain to be a bit of an issue.
The diagonals are still too sensitive, for example playing a game of Tetris and you press down to drop the block, and instead find it careening off to the right.

So yeah, still very much interested in the prospect of replacement d-pad/buttons, even if I have to install it myself!

for those who would be interested, these are inside:




I took the sharp knife and scraped the layer of color on the sides of dpad cross. it's definitely a lot better now

It helps to get rid off squeaks and Dpad stuttering.
All the plastic covers including buttons are sprayed with a thin "color layer" (black/white units). this layer can be scraped off but be aware that underlying plastic is white color even for black units, so the marks could be visible. With white units you don't even notice...