Pandora (not the battery but the linux handheld)

[DK]

Guessing a few GP2X fans must have read about the Pandora or as it use to be known the Craiginator.

Crappy new official site
GP32.com's board for it. All the useful info for it is here

I can see this easily beating the PSP and GP2X in homebrew and emulation due to it's sheer power compared to them with hopefully fullspeed emulation of the N64.

Predicted release is March/April 2008 at a cost of $380/£200.

[nitro2k01]

The image on the official page looks very fake. (3D rendered) Do you have any viable proof hat this is not just a hoax?

[bicostp]

The image on the official page looks very fake. (3D rendered)

It is 3D rendered. [size=0]Typical of open source projects,[/size] They're still arguing over what it's going to look like in the end.

At least this one will have 3D hardware. Battery life? We'll have to see about that one. (My money's on 4 to 6 hours out of a pair of AAs.)

[lifeisbetterwithketchup]

Predicted release is March/April 2008 at a cost of $380/£200.

The projected cost in the US is ~$320.

Battery life? We'll have to see about that one. (My money's on 4 to 6 hours out of a pair of AAs.)

It won't use AA's. It's going to use some sort of Li-Ion battery pack. The battery life is supposedly going to be very good (apparently that's the reason the system is as fat as it is). Also, the SoC has some dynamic over/under/clocking thingy that will make it only run as many clock cycles as is necessitated by the software (I'm not sure I said that quite right, but I hope it's pretty clear what it is), which should help save power as well. No numbers have been released though regarding battery life.

[bacteria]

If it's like the GP2x when it was released, it probably won't be actually available until the end of the year, and it would be best to wait a few months for an updated version to come out in any case, when they have made improvements and take a bit more time in ironing out any issues.

[nitro2k01]

Also, the SoC has some dynamic over/under/clocking thingy that will make it only run as many clock cycles as is necessitated by the software (I'm not sure I said that quite right, but I hope it's pretty clear what it is), which should help save power as well.

If you're interested:
There are two major ways of doing this:
1) A special shallow sleep mode that you invoke with a special opcode or register write, which makes the CPU sleep a number of clock cycles until the next hardware interrupt happens.
2) Another, more advanced technique is to dynamically change the clock frequency depending on the CPU load. One example of such technology is Intel Speedstep.
1) is more likely than 2) in this case, IMO.

[myersn024]

The concept drawing is pretty cool looking. It'll be neat to see whether or not it winds up looking like that.

[DK]

The concept drawing is pretty cool looking. It'll be neat to see whether or not it winds up looking like that.

From what I've read in the GP32 forum, the looks will probably change a bit. Quite a few peeps there are moaning that it's butt ugly and uncool. In all fairness though, it's a linux handheld, doesn't exactly sound "cool" in the firstpalce. Awesome but not cool

[Negative_Creep]

The look is rather cramped and unstylish in comparison the ever-practical PSP (which wasnt sarcasm).

I seriously hope they do away with that horrible clamshell design.

[DK]

The look is rather cramped and unstylish in comparison the ever-practical PSP (which wasnt sarcasm).

I seriously hope they do away with that horrible clamshell design.

How is the PSP practical for emulation/homebrew

For 1 thing it only has 1 joystick, so PS1 emulation isn't that good, nor does it have L2 and R2 buttons. The screen is a weird size, it's easy to brick (Pandora will be "unbrickable") and the screen gets beat up easily.

With the Pandora's clamshell the touchscreen gets protected from bumps and scratchs. Who cares if it's fashionable. Will you really be going over to your mates and going "Look at my trendy Linux handheld console"?? If you did even I'd be laffing and I'm a real Geek

[Negative_Creep]

The look is rather cramped and unstylish in comparison the ever-practical PSP (which wasnt sarcasm).

I seriously hope they do away with that horrible clamshell design.

How is the PSP practical for emulation/homebrew

For 1 thing it only has 1 joystick, so PS1 emulation isn't that good, nor does it have L2 and R2 buttons. The screen is a weird size, it's easy to brick (Pandora will be "unbrickable") and the screen gets beat up easily.

With the Pandora's clamshell the touchscreen gets protected from bumps and scratchs. Who cares if it's fashionable. Will you really be going over to your mates and going "Look at my trendy Linux handheld console"?? If you did even I'd be laffing and I'm a real Geek

You interpreted it wrong friend

I meant the look, the PSP, may not be all too practical for emulation of certain consoles, but I meant the look and feel of PSP, it's extremely comfortable for extended play sessions.

The 3D Render of the Pandora, it's quite obvious, it would not be too good for extended play sessions.

Also, i'd never show off my "trendy linux handheld" infront of my friends lol, I don't usually show off obscure stuff like that anyway, I may be slightly geekish, but it's quite hard to tell lol (for people who don't know about BH etc.)

The Pandora is damn impressive hardware if it does end up costing £199.99 though.

[DK]

sorry Creep, but I've been over at the GP32 forum too much. Loads of people are moaning that its ugly and it's been getting on my nerves.

For me the Pandora will be a godsend as I have reaallyy big hands and my thumb gets sore from the joystick on the psp

[vskid]

Overall design looks decent enough, but the controls look like your hands would writhe in pain just from the thought of playing. High-res touchscreen and keyboard are nice features, though.

[Bibin]

The pandora seems like a very high quality and ambitious tank.

[bacteria]

There is a lot of hype about this on the GP32x forum. I don't see why it has its rubbish keyboard if it is a gaming platform, unless it also intends to be a PDA (which was commented on). If you have a games console you don't need a keyboard; also having one has made the Pandora look very awkward to use - how can you use the D-pad comfortably, especially with a sloping screen??

If the Pandora is trying to be a small PC (UMPC) then get a UMPC or the Eee PC; either option with an external joystick would do the job.

I hope the Pandora is a good system and gets well supported. I will be waiting for a few months after release to see how it progresses and if it is worth getting or not.

Interesting name, Pandora - Pandora was a character in Greek mythology. She came about when Zeus was tricked for the benefit of mankind. This angered Zeus greatly and so he created the woman, who would be an evil to man. This woman was Pandora and instead of being wicked, she was curious. The Greek Gods gave her a box, each putting something harmful inside it and forbade her to open the box but be the curious woman she was, she had to know what was in the box. When she lifted the lid out came plagues, sorrow, and mischief for mankind. However one good thing did come out of the box. This was hope, the one thing that can comfort a man during misfortune.

Strange name for a gaming system! It's like calling a console "Trojan Horse".