The End......IS NEAR D:

[Timmy]

I trust you've all been following the progress of the pandora console, to refresh your memory, that new handheld that's been in development for years, portable gaming device come pocket pc that is more powerful then the original xbox D:

Ok so maybe not EVERYONE has been following openpandora.org and have witnessed the long winded, drama saturated and almost painful waiting process for what is set to be the next big console.

But that is almost at an end with this video being posted just a few days ago

Complete, working, portable Pandora.

That's pretty much it, complete, whole, and running stuff. Just a few tweaks left and it's ready for the market

It run's quakes 1-3 a plethora emulators and Linux apps such as GIMP with no trouble and it's not even released yet, purely homebrew and community based with price to match.

Pumped

[EliteGamer83]

D: D: D: OH MAH....!!!1111!!!ONEONEONE!!!

Looks almost like a DS lite

Dude try the app Frets on Fire like GH but for PC and free, see if tat works BTW WHO canttualy HAS the first Pandora in their hands right now?

And how much?

And was that a touch screen??

And Yeah I know it has so much power and can do so much etc, but I doubt alot of people will know about it or want to spent that much for it, I mean in these economic time I'm sure alot of people will but most won't.

[VoX]

I've really liked the Pandora since I first saw it a year or more ago but since my intrest has been lost with the introduction of netbooks. Depending on the final price, I might change my mind. Still  a very cool project though

[EliteGamer83]

One HUGE thing I don't like about it is I could get a full acstually nice laptop to carry around with me for only $70 more which I would choose any day over this.

And what "games" can you actually even play? cause if it doesn't have that many games then it's like I said, if it's meant to be a small powerful computer then I'd rather have a Laptop.

[dedafmonteur]

does some one know any specs of this device?

[EliteGamer83]

does some one know any specs of this device?

http://openpandora.org/

[dedafmonteur]

k thanks.  bit lazy atm...lol


i think it will take at least 4 months before its on the market

[EliteGamer83]

I think it won't sell very well.
Sure it's great and everything but it costs as much as a cheap laptop and I think most people would choose a laptop over this.

[PspKicks316]

It's about time!

I've been waiting forever. This is one handheld I'm strongly considering buying. =D

Elitegamer, most people HAVE laptops already. Lol.

[bustinthejustin]

Damn... now i want one lol

[tmandt]

i forgot what this can do

[PspKicks316]

i forgot what this can do

Everything.

[dedafmonteur]

except making toast....

thats kinda a bummer.....

[FreeK]

i havent really been following it closely but i have kept an idea in mind. and this is (most likely) a future purchase for me.

[TW1NKY]

I'll stick with my eee with a 8.9 inch screen

[Timmy]

what games are available?

Anything and everything the community develops for it , it's a homebrew console, the quake 3 run's with no issues, there's PSX, spectrum, neo geo, snes and quite possibly n64 emulators in development/already running at full speed

can it make toast?

Well i have seen usb toasters and this can thing can run usb devices......such as hardrives

what else?

Someone's already got ps3 sixxaxis controllers working with it.....

Laptops?

For the hardware, it's still a damn good price , but yeah i suppose that would be the main threat to sales

[EliteGamer83]

It's about time!

I've been waiting forever. This is one handheld I'm strongly considering buying. =D

Elitegamer, most people HAVE laptops already. Lol.

I know, but for your avg customer the non-modding everything stock people they would buy ANOTHER laptop over this.

[PspKicks316]

N64 EMULATOR??????????????????????????????????/

THAT'S IT. I'M SOLD.
Now I need money.

IT HAS WIFI RIGHT?

[Jumbo]

Yup

Im also considering this purchase when its released

Hope its soon (Soon= Enough time for me to raise the money LOL.)

[bustinthejustin]

LOL same... this would be 1 kickass piece of hardware.

[~:Dhruv:~]

I was really interested in this console and i guess i still am , but when someone doesnt have too much cash to spare , a netbook suddenly appears more appealing. I mean an eeepc 1000HE with around 8hours of battery atleast , is the max i'm gonna need. Needless to say, this console has basically only emulation going for it as it does not have any commercial game manufacturers backing.
Also seeing that it costs 330$ which is even more than the PSP , it is another factor which would go against when considering an average non tech savvy consumer. This would of course keep commercial games off it.

On the other hand, today's netbooks can run all the emulators, N64 included, AND run old PC games , AOE ??? , and of course CS runs beautifully on it. With a higher capacity , more expansion ports ,etc . Sure you are carrying a bit larger device but it is still many times smaller than a full sized laptops, and gives a coplete balance of utility and portability.

This is just my opinion though, even i'd like to buy one of these someday

[Timmy]

n64 is just rumoured, but people have reason to believe strmnnrmn has a dev board, and it could run it EASY

and yeah, wifi, bluetooth, i think ir too.....

[~:Dhruv:~]

Nope no iR ..... N64 can be awhile though

[Timmy]

yeah not sure, but the psx one seemed to pop up pretty much the day the dev boards were announced

[~:Dhruv:~]

PSX Emulation is really well documented actually. I believe Zodttd Had to make just some minor adjustments to the PSX Emulator he was working on for the iPhone. Both shared the same ARM Architecture. It was just that the iPhone was underpowered for all the titles.

[Timmy]

yeah but the n64 functions are pretty well documented too, the only two things that aren't much are the COP2 and DD functions, which aren't used a whole lot, DD not really at all as i don't think there are any DD rom's as of yet.

not saying it'll be easy, a MIPS - ARM conversion wont be a nights work but im pretty sure it'll happen and if the psp can run them as well as it does (although admittidly that is MIPS/MIPS) the pandora should be able to.

also just thinking about, it could do iR through a usb dongle :P just needs the software knocked up

[~:Dhruv:~]

Does the psp really emulate n64 well ? I don't think so, atleast not for me. In any case they'll work out something as they have got some simple dreamcast games running on it. So n64 should be technically possible.
Yeah iR through usb would work , its a otg slot right ? And when running ubuntu or any other proper linux distro , there must be some software to control it. This device could actually be revolutionary ! 

[PhenomenalDesigns]

except making toast....

thats kinda a bummer.....

Mod a toaster on it?

[Kenshinffx]

The only thing I'm worried about is the battery Life...   Laptops die so fast...

[ApheX]

This is not something i want, it's something i need!

[dedafmonteur]

The only thing I'm worried about is the battery Life...   Laptops die so fast...

i agree with ken on this, i wonder how they are going to handle this

[PspKicks316]

Have you seen the vid? The battery is the same length as the Pandora and I'd say about half of the width. It's got an expected battery life of 10+ hours, and if you have it in standby it can last weeks I heard. If you have it suspend to ram and shut it off, it can boot up fast and it will last months like that.

[~:Dhruv:~]

its a 4000 mah battery. Thats huge !

[PspKicks316]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBW8qR0uRVQ&feature=player_embedded#ws-lq-lq2-hq-vhq

[Timmy]

TV Out Working:

TV OUT TEST, New Attempt #1 Combined with the sixpair plugin would be AWESOME. (Ps3 controller connectivity)

They Also posted a few other things:

The Final Countdown

Yep, we're still alive!
And we all do hope you had a very happy easter and some free days.
It's time for a very comprehensive blog post - the best prediction we can give at the moment.
It definately is kinda hard to predict some stuff, as communication between the various timezones is taking some time...
For example, if I send the battery layout to Michael to check it for sizes and afterwards he sends it to the Chinese factory... geez, there are three VERY different timezones involved...
Anyways, back to the topic. I had quite a bit of work to do during the easter days, I created the battery label (not only the part you already seen, but the label with exact cuttings and measurements).
And I had to translate the complete GP2X WIZ Manual into german language (about 70 pages... whoooopsie... yeah, I know it's not Pandora related, but I do multiple things at once )

Okay, now onto our (best case) prediction...

Our current plan is to build a half dozen prototypes for rev3 by the end of April or first week of May (depending on how far the devs get with the software).
Michael will test them thoroughly with a new kernel from Notaz/DJWillis. The tests will mainly be to make sure the boards were manufactured properly (since they will be from the company who will provide production quantities) and to make sure they were soldered properly.
So basically, our final hardware test will start soon!

We're trying to make sure we can build up to the first 500 units in May (at most). The next 3500 should be finished in June.
The transparent case should arrive within the next few days. After that, we can finally start the moulding process!
It does seem like the best date we will have cases is the end of May. After they arrive, we can finally start shipping, as the boards will be ready at that time.

Some things can and will be done in parallel, so that that stuff will be ready when the Pandora is finished:

- Get carry cases manufactured
- Do CE and FCC (CE will be done with one of those Rev3 Boards, FCC can't be done before we have the first final unit)

I guess this is the most comprehensive route map you ever got, eh? We're getting there

And again: A BIG thanks to all of you for sitting this out with us. Every one of us does owe a LOT to you!

and an interview on pocketgamer.com

"The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

It's worth bearing this famous quote in mind when calling to mind the incredibly exciting Pandora handheld; when we interviewed the guys behind the project back in August 2008 the plan was to launch this groundbreaking machine at the start of 2009. It never happened.

This was hardly a massive shock – given the ambitious nature of the venture, delays were always on the cards. However, we were keen to get the word straight from the horse's mouth and spoke to Craig Rothwell – one of the key figures behind Pandora – to bring you this exclusive interview.

Pocket Gamer: The original release date for the Pandora has been and gone. Can you give us a little insight into why the launch has slipped and the issues you've encountered since we last spoke to you?

Craig Rothwell: The main issue was our bank letting down our main distributor. Incredibly, once the bank saw how much interest there was in ordering the Pandora they decided it was too much of a risk to them and froze the account.

I don't think they really believed some chaps from random places around the world could make something like the Pandora which, as far as they were concerned, took millions of dollars and a big company like Sony or Nintendo.

So we had to start the whole process again.

The silver lining from that was that the Pandora was able to go from 128MB to 256MB of RAM and have more internal NAND, too.

How badly has the global 'credit crunch' impacted the production of the Pandora?

The main issue is that because currencies have fluctuated so much the Pandora is more expensive in some countries now. Another issue is suppliers of parts such as the LCD no longer keep parts in stock, so built times are longer.

I suppose it's best to start in this kind of situation, things can only get better. We are hardly going to let a bunch of bankers get the better of us.



Some of the issues you've had to cope with are things that major companies like Nintendo and Sony would simply throw money at to solve, but you're obviously a smaller operation and don't have that option. Have there been any moments when you thought that perhaps what you are attempting might not be possible?

Picture this: You get a new car, a sports car, and you and some friends take it for a spin, off on to the moors.

Then the car starts to misfire; then it gets dark. You don't have a map.

At this point you of course have to find a solution and work though it, and that's rather how the Pandora project went and maybe that's the best position to be in – because you know you have to solve things and you come up the next morning smiling.

It's probably true that if we went back to the start we would not try something quite so ambitious, good thing we didn't know then what we know now or the Pandora might not have happened.

How has the community dealt with the delays?

They have been very good about it; they (and usually any niche market) are used to delays as it's the nature of cutting-edge projects. At the same time we have been able to get drivers for the 3D chip going and post them on going videos of what is happening.

Have you had to make any significant changes to the hardware or case design as the device moves closer to the stage of mass production?

The only changes we have made are improvements; I don't think we would dare downgrade anything!

How is the software side of things progressing? Has the operating system been completed and what kind of emulators and applications are supported at present?

Due to the delay this is one area which has gone on leaps and bounds, rather than getting a v0.1 OS customers are going to be seeing a very mature OS from the start with things like 3D and Video acceleration from the start. Quake III runs, high resolution video plays and full desktops operate smoothly.



When the final unit ships what kind of software do you expect to bundle with it?

We expect to ship with a basic OS which will be able to run in iPhone-like 'big icons' set up, or you will be able to choose to run a full desktop like you would see on a PC. There will also be stuff like Firefox, other applications, games and demos to show off the hardware.

Once the first lot of units is out of the door will you be concentrating solely on software or will you be looking to tweak the hardware, pending feedback from the community?

Well we hope the hardware will be pretty solid. Then the next step is to ramp up production and see just how big the project can get. We will always be updating the OS but the neat nature of open source means a lot of this is done for us.



It's been hinted that commercial games might become a reality on the Pandora. Can you give us a little more information on this? Have you been approached by any interested publishers or developers?

There are some interested in the OMAP3 platform which the Pandora uses – this is quite a unique situation; the Pandora does not need to attract developers by itself, the OMAP3 platform does – which is to be in millions of peoples hands via phones, netbooks, PDAs and games systems. I think we will see commercial games for the OMAP3 which should run on the Pandora.

What lessons have you learnt from developing the Pandora and what would you do differently if you were able to start over again?

I think we would be able to avoid so many mistakes. It's a learning curve and people have no idea how much is involved in making a product like this, you see many of these systems come out of China but the truth is most of them are just the same internals with a different case on the outside. To do the whole lot, from the ground up, is exceptionally complex and time consuming.

If we did this again – let's say the Pandora 2 in a few years – we could certainly move faster with a much more accurate plan and it would probably be an enjoyable experience as opposed to a bit of a nightmare.

Ironically, Gamepark's Wiz – which is seen as the Pandora's rival – has also experienced delays. Are you still looking to distribute the machine in the UK via your own company and what's the latest you've heard about its status?

Yes we will still be distributing it, as well as various other devices like the A320 and the Smart Q5. It's just a sign of the times right now that projects like this have delays. GPH might have had similar bank issues to us but they choose not to be open about their situation.

I understand we will see the Wiz in May.

If anyone reading this is interested in purchasing a machine, are there any pre-order slots available for the first batch? If not, when do you expect the second batch to roll of the production line?

It is possible to order one from the first batch, we kept about 200 places free during the re-order period for people who were not sure if they wanted a unit – those untaken slots are now available to new customers, if they want a unit they can email openpandorasales@gmail.com.

Our thanks go to Craig Rothwell for taking the time out to speak with us.

[Slim Hacker]

I might actually get one of these D: its awsome