New handheld, much more than a gaming device

PogMoThoin

This thing could really take off. Being linux it has the prospect of being much more than just a gaming device with the ability to emulate older games or even NDS roms. Bet Nintendo aren't liking this.

Looks like its got a qwerty, 2 card readers, mini and full size Usb and mini HDMI. Why would anyone buy a stupid ipad?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CaU9jQQJ1o

http://kotaku.com/5549762/three-years-late-the-silent-ds-competitor-finally-hits-the-market

http://www.open-pandora.org/

Antar Bolaeisk

That looks quite cool.

witnessmenow

I dunno, for the same price you could nearly buy a DS and a cheap netbook.....

Skerries

$330 though!

OctavarIan

Looks like it came straight from the early 90s. I laughed out loud when he opened the lid.

Also what a random assortment of ports.

If anything it'll stand as a testament to the fact that design by community doesn't work.

Headshot

I was thinking of getting these a while back but they took forever to manufacture the product so i gave up

looks the business thou

looking_around

It does look pretty cool but me, I don't like playing with emulaters.

PogMoThoin

OctavarIan wrote: »

Looks like it came straight from the early 90s. I laughed out loud when he opened the lid.

Also what a random assortment of ports.

If anything it'll stand as a testament to the fact that design by community doesn't work.

At least its got ports and not tied down to any manufacturer or format. How many ports has a ds/psp/ipad?
The possibilities with this are endless as it runs linux

Showed it to my missis, now she's not got a DS, but plays the kids now and again, she's not got a netbook as there's several pc's and laptops in the house, but this she would buy, so there is a market

Yakult

ohhhh nintendo are gonna be pissed lol

TiGeR KiNgS

Ugly as hell but I suppose if it serves its function.

Monotype

I see he cut off the video just as he was crashing.

At least they're not stingy on the side of connectivity, so it's definitely of more value than an ipad. I have a netbook already which gets used for travelling. Maybe this could be for the shorter journeys, but I'd nearly need a free wireless internet infrastructure around me to tempt me.

I'll be interested to see what the 600Mhz ARM Cortex processor is capable of.

jazzymun

I have ordered one of these devices
Last July I am in the first 4000 orders
This will blow all handhelds away
Unlimited gaming through emulation
Runs Firefox bluetooth
N64 and dreamcast at full speed runs Doom 3 at full speed
Unlimited possibilities

noodler

HDMI?

So you can play 8bit games on a 40 inch Plasma?

jazzymun

Probably would but definition would be blocky

PogMoThoin

Its got a usb port, You could plug in some storage and play videos on the tv, even phones are getting HDMI these days, it'd look a little odd with a scart, composite or component

nitromaster

I don't see this killing off the ds...that has nintendo games. (and support from all publishers)
nothing for them to be scared of.

Looks coolish though.


The funny thing is...if a device by an unknown company did manage to miraculously take off..and looked like it poised a real threat, nintendo could just buy them out for spare change and kill the company.
But that'll never need to happen to be honest.

PogMoThoin

nitromaster wrote: »

I don't see this killing off the ds...that has nintendo games. (and support from all publishers)
nothing for them to be scared of.

I'd say they're very worried by it, piracy is absolutely huge on the DS and this has the advantage of being able to emulate the other handhelds (PSP) and older consoles too. It can browse the internet and be a netbook or e-reader, can be whatever You want it to be as it runs open source.

nitromaster wrote: »

The funny thing is...if a device by an unknown company did manage to miraculously take off..and looked like it poised a real threat, nintendo could just buy them out for spare change and kill the company.
But that'll never need to happen to be honest.

That won't happen, Its an open source device aimed to take advantage of free and open source software. They're just a group of guys from all over the world who got together to build a completely open device, it would be against everything they believe in...........read: http://www.opensource.org/

That looks cool but, once he opened the case, I got a headache as soon as I saw the configuration and placement of the buttons.

Looks dreadful, like someone took the professionally-designed form factor of the DS and then tried to shoehorn as many buttons and ports as possible.

Interesting to see but I don't think it'd interest the same people who are interested in the DS.

Overheal

Ambitious. But this wont take off for legal and practical reasons. I like the little joysticks and all, but if the main attraction is stuff I can already do on a laptop or a netbook, I dont see the attraction.

super_furry

Don't think it's for me. After being promised the world and buying both the GP32 and the GP2X only to find out they never lived up to the hype, I fear the Pandora may be the same. The best hand held for homebrew and emulation stuff is by far a jailbroken PSP.

Duggy747

Nah, why buy that when I can play all those roms on my perfectly fine 17'' laptop?

It's got the same ports too! :pac:

Though it is an ambitious little piece of kit I think it'll just be safe with a niche market. It does look like something from the 90s and the button configurations are crazy (nice touch with the dual analog pads, though)

Fanny Cradock

nitromaster wrote: »

I don't see this killing off the ds...that has nintendo games. (and support from all publishers)
nothing for them to be scared of.

I'm sure no one had in mind this killing off the DS. 4,000 were made (and that is after a 2-year delay). Unless something startling happens, I would imagine that this will remain an esoteric oddity - one wont challenge the DS.

K.O.Kiki

It's too bloody expensive.

I want a sub-€100 GameBoy, not some do-everything bloaty.

super_furry

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

It's too bloody expensive.

I want a sub-€100 GameBoy, not some do-everything bloaty.

Maybe have a look into the Dingoo A-320 then, it's a really nice little machine.

Bulktohulk

Think I'd prefer the iPad tbh.

Yakult

Bulktohulk wrote: »

Think I'd prefer the iPad tbh.

Door >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

blottedchimp

Dual analogues! Take note Sony...
That's what killed me about the PSP Go! It was a chance to correct the machine and give it a pair of analogues, but noooooo.
Anyway cool little machine, haven't really seen them playing anything more difficult than Mario at this point though.

martineatworld

blottedchimp wrote: »

Dual analogues! Take note Sony...
That's what killed me about the PSP Go! It was a chance to correct the machine and give it a pair of analogues, but noooooo.
Anyway cool little machine, haven't really seen them playing anything more difficult than Mario at this point though.

The PSP Go is more of an upgrade than a brand new handheld. If it had two analogues, games would have to be built specifically for it and would be unplayable on the original PSP. So two sets of the one game would need to be built for essentially the same console as I don't think Dual Analogue games can be easily changed...

Basically the PSP Go is a pretty looking disaster, and will probably be obsolete in the future due to the medium of software it uses. Retro gamers don't collect software... We want boxes and manuals damn it!

Bulktohulk

R_H_C_P wrote: »

Door >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sorry I like my technology to actually be modern. That thing looks like a pile of ****e if I'm being brutally honest. Sure the iPad ain't the best gaming device, but as a whole, it's feckin sweet.

PogMoThoin

Bulktohulk wrote: »

Sorry I like my technology to actually be modern. That thing looks like a pile of ****e if I'm being brutally honest. Sure the iPad ain't the best gaming device, but as a whole, it's feckin sweet.

Now that would be stupid. Whats modern about an iPad? Its a completely gimped product from the start. Where's the headphone jack, card reader, usb slot, HDMI. It doesn't do flash so no flash games and no Youtube. It doesn't emulate anything so its useless for any gaming other than with whats on the app store. And worst of all the battery is glued into the case and cannot ever be replaced, remember the first ipods, batteries went in them within a few mths.

At least the Pandora tried to add as much it can from the start. At least its open source and allows You do whatever You want with it, install a distro etc.

The real reason Apple don't allow flash is that it would affect sales of $15 mini-games on the app store, the ones like those that are free all over the internet in flash. 75% of all the video on the net is flash. The real reason they gimp their product is that the sheep, like You, will buy it, You know they're already working on the new model iPad with one or two of the missing features

Bulktohulk

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Now that would be stupid. Whats modern about an iPad? Its a completely gimped product from the start. Where's the headphone jack, card reader, usb slot, HDMI. It doesn't do flash so no flash games and no Youtube. It doesn't emulate anything so its useless for any gaming other than with whats on the app store. And worst of all the battery is glued into the case and cannot ever be replaced, remember the first ipods, batteries went in them within a few mths.

At least the Pandora tried to add as much it can from the start. At least its open source and allows You do whatever You want with it, install a distro etc.

The real reason Apple don't allow flash is that it would affect sales of $15 mini-games on the app store, the ones like those that are free all over the internet in flash. 75% of all the video on the net is flash. The real reason they gimp their product is that the sheep, like You, will buy it, You know they're already working on the new model iPad with one or two of the missing features

I'm not some blind apple fanboy,and I know the iPad is lacking in a lot of areas. If I had to choose between my sleek tablet though, that's replaced my laptop for a lot of the daily stuff or that brick, I know which I'd go with. When there's a tablet I consider better on the market, I'll mostly likely replace the iPad. Until then, it's doing me fine, and it's a fine piece of design. A limited fine piece of design albeit, but it's certainly fun to use.

Thanks for calling me a sheep by the way, real mature. I bought the iPad because I can afford it and because I wanted a tablet that doesn't run a full pc operating system, which is not the way tablets should go. It's the first apple product I've bought in years(the only other apple product I own is a 5 year old iMac). My current phone is a HTC and my next will be a Dell. So please don't jump to conclusions.

PogMoThoin

Bulktohulk wrote: »

I'm not some blind apple fanboy,and I know the iPad is lacking in a lot of areas. If I had to choose between my sleek tablet though, that's replaced my laptop for a lot of the daily stuff or that brick, I know which I'd go with. When there's a tablet I consider better on the market, I'll mostly likely replace the iPad. Until then, it's doing me fine, and it's a fine piece of design. A limited fine piece of design albeit, but it's certainly fun to use.

Thanks for calling me a sheep by the way, real mature. I bought the iPad because I can afford it and because I wanted a tablet that doesn't run a full pc operating system, which is not the way tablets should go. It's the first apple product I've bought in years(the only other apple product I own is a 5 year old iMac). My current phone is a HTC and my next will be a Dell. So please don't jump to conclusions.

Baa!

Sorry, but there are lots of android devices appearing for much less money which have ports and aren't purposely gimped like the iPad.

Anyway, this thread is about an open gaming device, the ipad can't be classed as a gaming device (though Apple would like it classed as such) so its wrong to compare. Compare it to a DS or a PSP and its a winner as it emulates all other handhelds and older games consoles. I can see it being a winner, in fact I'd probably buy one.

Bulktohulk

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Baa!

Sorry, but there are lots of android devices appearing for much less money which have ports and aren't purposely gimped like the iPad.

Anyway, this thread is about an open gaming device, the ipad can't be classed as a gaming device (though Apple would like it classed as such) so its wrong to compare. Compare it to a DS or a PSP and its a winner as it emulates all other handhelds and older games consoles. I can see it being a winner, in fact I'd probably buy one.

Not really a fan of Android tbh, which is why I'm looking forward to Windows Phone 7 so much. It's a pity though that Microsoft are being so stubborn and committing to only putting Windows 7 on tablets and not Windows Phone 7. A Windows Phone 7 tablet would have me throwing out my iPad in a flash.

Someone else compared it to the ipad earlier, that's the only reason I mentioned it, I suppose they're not really in the same category of devices.

WolfForager

Dual Analogues?? On a handheld console?! That's just too practical to be any good :pac:

Your Airbag

Might be worth a look.

Helix

Bulktohulk wrote: »

Sorry I like my technology to actually be modern. That thing looks like a pile of ****e if I'm being brutally honest. Sure the iPad ain't the best gaming device, but as a whole, it's feckin sweet.

youre crazy!

this thing looks absolutely majestic. its boxy and manly, not like that sleek curvy girly ipad nonsense

Twilightning

Polar101

So.. why would I want to buy a "modern, powerful" handheld console in order to play old games on an emulator?

PogMoThoin

Polar101 wrote: »

So.. why would I want to buy a "modern, powerful" handheld console in order to play old games on an emulator?

Its not just old games, lots of DS and PSP games are modern, You can emulate these, You're not purposely locked out of emulating anything unlike other handhelds that You gotta hack them to do anything on.

noodler

Would games need to be customised for it? Or could you use any PC emulator currently available?

Interesting if nothing else.

Dozen Wicked Words

If emulating old games and DS games is the big selling point why not just get a DS and save yourself a few squid?

There are lists of emulators taken from

<snip>

Monotype

dooferoaks wrote: »

If emulating old games and DS games is the big selling point why not just get a DS and save yourself a few squid?

The emulation of old games might be worth the extra few quid.
It's like having a PC and a games console. In a situation where the games are the same, the PC can be used for many functions while the games console just (effectively) plays games.
Except that this is a little different since it's built on a different architecture who knows what it runs.

It's much more customisable and has all those extra nice ports so you can copy pictures from your friend's camera without taking away the card or being at your PC.

PogMoThoin

dooferoaks wrote: »

If emulating old games and DS games is the big selling point why not just get a DS and save yourself a few squid?

There are lists of emulators taken from

<snip>

A DS doesn't play PSP games

wayne040576

They're calling it Pandora now? I remember when it was called Opie or open zauraus. I had it on a sharp zauraus device (still do actually). It was a bug riddled mess and far too slow. It will never go beyond being a community project and something to mess around with as a hobby and won't get any dev support. You may get some emulators running on it, that's about it.

The best thing I could do with it was mount a 100GB drive from my linux pc on it over the network. Couldn't do anything with the files though as most of the apps would crash. I'm sure it's more stable now...

The inteface is based on QT, anyone who uses linux knows that that is the base frame work for the KDE desktop. Incidently the interface looks almost identical to what I was running 4/5 years ago.

There were loads of devices (most from sharp) that ran this a few years ago. They got very little support outside of Asia.

wayne040576

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Now that would be stupid. Whats modern about an iPad? Its a completely gimped product from the start. Where's the headphone jack, card reader, usb slot, HDMI. It doesn't do flash so no flash games and no Youtube. It doesn't emulate anything so its useless for any gaming other than with whats on the app store. And worst of all the battery is glued into the case and cannot ever be replaced, remember the first ipods, batteries went in them within a few mths.

At least the Pandora tried to add as much it can from the start. At least its open source and allows You do whatever You want with it, install a distro etc.

The real reason Apple don't allow flash is that it would affect sales of $15 mini-games on the app store, the ones like those that are free all over the internet in flash. 75% of all the video on the net is flash. The real reason they gimp their product is that the sheep, like You, will buy it, You know they're already working on the new model iPad with one or two of the missing features

The ipad has a headphone jack and you can get component out on it for video.
Flash won't work properly with touchscreens. How do you handle mouse hover events? Youtube works fine on it if you go to the HTML5 site as does vimeo and many others. The biggest problem is on sites that use flash as an easy way to build a client side interface. But as I said, they won't work properly on a touch interface anyways.

You won't be installing much on Pandora either. I followed that project for years. It has it's own package system, the manager may or may not install an app depending on the state of the repos. You definitely won't be able to drag in packages from other distros as you need to get the code onto your linux desktop then recompile the code for the arm based processors using the cross compiler and pray that it works. I don't think I ever got a single package installed that way.
Again, other distros won't install on it onless they are aimed at the cpu family and even then it'll take a lot of messing.

witnessmenow

PogMoThoin wrote: »

A DS doesn't play PSP games

In fairness Pog, i doubt this is a viable option for emulating DS or PSP games. The PSP is a powerful machine, has there even ever been a decent PC emu? Lack of touch screen for the DS

dr gonzo

jazzymun wrote: »

runs Doom 3 at full speed

WTF?

PogMoThoin wrote: »

That won't happen, Its an open source device aimed to take advantage of free and open source software. They're just a group of guys from all over the world who got together to build a completely open device, it would be against everything they believe in...........

Not to be cynical but i'd say they'd maintain that position right up until they're handed a fat cheque.


Also not to kick it while its down, i certainly like the attempt but the build quality looks dreadful and for that price i think ill go ahead and pass.