A vision for a possible next Pandora Concept

[_David_]

When I see all this new tablet or smartphones (like the Samsung S3) , super fast , slim , cheap and available, I wonder : why don't we just add the missing part that we have on the pandora ? A keyboad with nubs and ABXY . It could click on the phone/tablet and create a shell PC just like the Pandora.


Yes it would not run our beloved Angstrom, but looking at the Android threads, this would not be that bad.


It would also be way cheaper and possibly easier to produce.


just an idea...


you can troll now

 

[ekianjo]

When I see all this new tablet or smartphones (like the Samsung S3) , super fast , slim , cheap and available, I wonder : why don't we just add the missing part that we have on the pandora ? A keyboad with nubs and ABXY . It could click on the phone/tablet and create a shell PC just like the Pandora.


Yes it would not run our beloved Angstrom, but looking at the Android threads, this would not be that bad.


It would also be way cheaper and possibly easier to produce.


just an idea...


you can troll now

-> talking about Android as a main system is not very popular around here


You can do what you mention with the ICP 2 I guess (Product 3) - if that is really what you are looking for.


But basically that means throwing away the whole concept of self-programmable/customizable system.

 

[_wb_]

I think this is what the ICP2 (aka Product 3) is all about.


Tablet/phone + ICP(2) is still not a full replacement for a Pandora, but for some of the purposes it comes quite close or is even better than the Pandora: playing games, browsing the web, etc. I prefer to have a full GNU/Linux OS available, having two full SD slots and USB ports, huge battery life, a hardware manufacturer that is not a huge evil company that wants to lock me down in every way, and a community consisting of (on average) very interesting and friendly people who enjoy sharing their contributions.


Edit: ninja'd by ekianjo h34r:

 

[ghostpatch]

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is not cheap!


Nobody (maybe a few people) would trade the Pandora OS for (only!) Android

 

[_David_]

The Samsung Galaxy S3 is not cheap!


Nobody (maybe a few people) would trade the Pandora OS for (only!) Android

the Galaxy Nexus is at $349 (unlocked) and the Tablet Nexus 7 is $199 - Could Angstrom run on this ? Would be nice to have a double boot to please everyone

 

[_wb_]

Technically it should be possible. Chances are that they're not going to make it easy to do though, they probably have undocumented proprietary bootloaders that are hard to replace. But I don't know anything about how to jailbreak those things. It's also possibly illegal to do so.

 

[Mr_Loon]

But I don't know anything about how to jailbreak those things. It's also possibly illegal to do so.

Rooting (i.e. Jailbreaking) an Android device is pretty simple and in no way illegal, it might void your warranty but as per the article it's easy to flash back to an unrooted state.


How easy it would be to get Linux up and running after unlocking the boot loader I've no idea.


I'd love to see my Nexus 7 running Linux paired with an ICP2

 

[_wb_]

Voiding warranty is something I wouldn't like to do on today's hardware which is designed for pretty short lifetimes. The fact that you can restore it to an unrooted state doesn't restore your warranty, it only means they might not be able to tell that you voided your warranty. There's a subtle difference.

 

[thatgui]

When I see all this new tablet or smartphones (like the Samsung S3) , super fast , slim , cheap and available, I wonder : why don't we just add the missing part that we have on the pandora ? A keyboad with nubs and ABXY . It could click on the phone/tablet and create a shell PC just like the Pandora.


Yes it would not run our beloved Angstrom, but looking at the Android threads, this would not be that bad.


It would also be way cheaper and possibly easier to produce.


just an idea...


you can troll now

That's no vision of the future that is already there - go grab a tablet/phone you like and combine it with one of the dozens controllers that are already available for these kind of usecases - like the ICP (2).


I hope the tablet hype will calm down in the near future - it just gets annyoing


@MR_Loon


For me, two of the key factors in favor of the Pandora are that I don't have to bother with "rooting" anything and that a real Linux system is running on it with "manufacturer" support (I know thats only have true, as most parts of the OS aren't there on the account of ed and craig, but rather notaz, skeezix, etc).


Thats also why it is highly unlikely I'll get a Pandora 2 (taking into account to current state of (dis) information about Pandora 2s OS) => Android will be main, Linux will be possible - but as long as there is no real support from the manufacturer it will always be some unloved stepchild, that won't get much attention from their parents.

 

[ekianjo]

Thats also why it is highly unlikely I'll get a Pandora 2 (taking into account to current state of (dis) information about Pandora 2s OS) => Android will be main, Linux will be possible - but as long as there is no real support from the manufacturer it will always be some unloved stepchild, that won't get much attention from their parents.

Exactly my point. One has to wonder, by the way, how "strategic" is Android for the Pandora 2, since it seems, based on the poll I just created earlier today, that no-one considers Android as key feature for the Pandora.


So, unless you want to alienate your current user base, I don't really see the point of having Android as a main system on P2. But I agree with you, even if there is a linux distro, if there is no notaz / other op team members working actively on it, it would just be a hack and nothing great most probably.

Yes it would not run our beloved Angstrom, but looking at the Android threads, this would not be that bad.

Not that bad? Forgetting about all the Linux applications we have now IS BAD. Having the choice is BEST.

 

[TrashyMG]

^ Totally Agree.. native Linux needs to be the Primary focus on release, need to add some honey for the developers that wish to contribute to OS Development.

 

[Dionysus]

Personally rather than re-inventing the laptop I'd just keep upgrading the current design and keep customising and upgrading the existing OS like apple do with snowlepard and then put the money that would've gone into development from scratch into aluminium casings.


I think you'd get a far stronger brand this way. The console business model grew in a climate of the new becoming old and out of fashion very quickly and so wanted to distinguish between gens but that's not the case now with the ds, iphone etc wanting to keep their recognisable identities. Even the ps3 is ps2 ish. Total redesign is an out of date business model unless you have an industry changing innovation.

 

[_David_]

I just watched this > http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1703567677/icontrolpad-2-the-open-source-controller


I think its a great idea and , connected to an android device, would be a real Pandora alternative.

 

[Binky]

I just watched this > http://www.kickstart...urce-controller


I think its a great idea and , connected to an android device, would be a real Pandora alternative.

Not for me, thanks.


The feature that made me buy a pandora are:

• twin SDXC slots
  
• real Linux
  
• hardware hacking guide
  
• awesome community
  
• resistive touchscreen
  
• clamshell
  
• huge battery life
  
• ability to run desktop apps
  
• good SQ
  
• USB host
  
• keyboard & buttons etc
  

If a smartphone + iCP2 combo only supplies two of these, I'm not buying.


I might consider an iCP(2) as a pandora(2) accessory, though.

 

[_David_]

i agree and I bought a Pandora for the same reasons.


Now, this is not for everyone's budget. A lot of people just want to play retro games for a reasonable price.


The world wide economy is not that good.

 

[jontheramer2]

I would like the icp2 as clamshell; so you would hook your s2/s3 into the enclosure (different plastic screwables for different phones so it looks like just a screen to the outside and it's snuggly connected, support only the most popular androids which support linux and rooting preferably), have a micro usb hub connector so the phone is connected to that. Have a battery in the keyboard part powering the phone and the hub, having the hub expose several connections to the outsides of the keyboard (usb, sd, hdmi (s2 and s3 have that I think with a special cable to the micro usb), ...).


The best linux handheld I ever had (and still have and use 3 of) is the Zaurus c860 (http://cfile4.uf.tistory.com/image/195FF4264C04A6B65DB3BE); very nice feel, thin, smooth, long battery life, good battery life and you can flip it so you can use your phone as phone still in my idea. I would imagine it is very hard to make that kind of thing if you don't mass produce, but it was plastic and I have had an used it for many many years; there is no wear and tear at all...


Not sure if this is possible or feasible; making a clamshell with controls like the icp2 is possible, I can imaging the extra battery as well, but I know too little about USB and it's connections to know if the rest is feasible. For the S2, I know you can connect keyboard and mouse to usb at the same time and it works via a hub, but I don't know if you can connect, at the same time; power, sds or hdmi (which it does support with a special cable).


This would be a great device nonetheless as it's entry barrier would be much lower (depending on what phone you own; you cannot support a lot of phones in this scheme, but everyone I know has a s1,s2 and/or s3, so maybe i'm living in a closed off world .