Accessories/ultimate Docking Station Thread


I know this may not necessarily be under developer control, but I hope that our battery options allow us to have a larger battery that may jut out for more life. I'm not sure how standard the batteries are though (plug n' play from joe blo's site) or repackaged for pandora use?

Also, I won't repeat all of the video out and external game controller options :D
 
It seems to me that a lot of the requested docking station features don't really require a docking station. If you buy a 7 port powered USB hub, you can plug an ethernet adapter, additional SD/CF card readers, external HDDs and DVD-ROM drives, USB battery packs, Bluetooth dongles, IR transceivers, etc. Assuming you don't plug all those things in at once, you'll still have a couple ports open for gamepads, mice and keyboards. You can leave your hub with all its various attachments wherever you would leave your docking station and just plug the whole thing into the Pandora's host port when needed. Instant docking station.

The only things you can't get off the shelf are decent HD video out and external battery charging.
 
You're right chip, this is another reason why I don't need a dockingstation, but i dont wan't to duct tape a hub under my pandora for mobile expansion.
 
Depending on exactly how close to the size of a DS it is, I'd like a slimline case/pouch. Maybe with a small pocket on the front for carrying SD cards or the TV-Out cable.

If it's close enough size to a DS, we could just use one of those, though.
 
Chip said:
It seems to me that a lot of the requested docking station features don't really require a docking station.
Click to expand...
Nothing really requires one.
What I was thinking of was mostly an extention (like battery extensions for laptops) rather than a docking station. A 3-4 usb hub without any wires and stuck in the space between the shoulder buttons would be usable on the run (literally).
 
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Chip said:
It seems to me that a lot of the requested docking station features don't really require a docking station. If you buy a 7 port powered USB hub, you can plug an ethernet adapter, additional SD/CF card readers, external HDDs and DVD-ROM drives, USB battery packs, Bluetooth dongles, IR transceivers, etc. Assuming you don't plug all those things in at once, you'll still have a couple ports open for gamepads, mice and keyboards. You can leave your hub with all its various attachments wherever you would leave your docking station and just plug the whole thing into the Pandora's host port when needed. Instant docking station.

The only things you can't get off the shelf are decent HD video out and external battery charging.
Click to expand...
Nothing requires one as said, but a clip on dock station is more portable, and less messy than a mesh of wires and peripherals. Also if you're carrying it around with you then you want a fast setup time.
Also you can charge externally through usb, which are fairly common.
 
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I have idea about expansion or dock station for Pandora with same groundplan as Pandora has, but it requires screw bases for attachment. So i think about additional box that can be attached to bottom of Pandora and at optionally screwed together. This bottom bag contains USB hub with some ports wired out to sides and some gor internal use, another battery (the same big one as in Pandora), BT, 1.8" or 2.5" HDD, 3D motion sensor, VGA out for external monitor with at least 1024 x 768 px. Internal devices will be attached to USB, even VGA out, so it can be easy done. Can be shipped without HDD, just with IDE connector. Price accordingly to implemented features and housing.

OR

If some expansoin slot can be used, so as above, but trough expansion slot for better performance.

I guess price about $150 - $200 without HDD drive (may be i wrong).
 
1. PVR dock (S-video and regular Analog Video input - 60GB HDD) - $100 max

2. Slim DVD-ROM drive - $60 max (maybe $80 for 8x DVD and 32x CD writing)

3. FM/AM radio tuner (preferably Sdio) - $40 max

4. Digital TV Tuner - $80 max

5. 3.5mm headphone jack input - $5 max

I suppose the Slim DVD-ROM drive and PVR dock could be combined, as long as it could maintain a Wifi connection with the Pandora.

EDIT: The more I think about it, the better it sounds. The PVR dock and DVD-ROM drive should be combined and Wifi be added in.
 
I would like a small device that plugs into the usb port on the pandora, and adds bluetooth for my bluetooth a2dp headphones, and an accelerometer.
 
arconreef said:
1. PVR dock (S-video and regular Analog Video input - 60GB HDD) - $100 max
Click to expand...
You do realize that for that price you could have something like a SanDisk V-Mate that will record directly to your SD card? Or, for a little (maybe not just a "little") more money, a Neuros OSD?
 
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Karel Jansens said:
arconreef said:
1. PVR dock (S-video and regular Analog Video input - 60GB HDD) - $100 max
Click to expand...
You do realize that for that price you could have something like a SanDisk V-Mate that will record directly to your SD card? Or, for a little (maybe not just a "little") more money, a Neuros OSD?


Yes, but and SD can only hold about 5 full quality movies (in divx), and I would like a replacement for my portable DVD player. I'm almost always near an outlet, so it doesn't really matter that it doesn't have batteries. It would save a lot of space to have all my movies as digital files.
Click to expand...
 
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arconreef said:
Yes, but and SD can only hold about 5 full quality movies (in divx), and I would like a replacement for my portable DVD player. I'm almost always near an outlet, so it doesn't really matter that it doesn't have batteries. It would save a lot of space to have all my movies as digital files.
Click to expand...
Depends on the SD. Once you hit SDHC cards, then it's quite conceivable you could fit ~22 movies on a card (assuming 16gb and 700mb divx files).

Of course, if you're recording at silly bitrates, then that's another matter.
 
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Tobriand said:
arconreef said:
Yes, but and SD can only hold about 5 full quality movies (in divx), and I would like a replacement for my portable DVD player. I'm almost always near an outlet, so it doesn't really matter that it doesn't have batteries. It would save a lot of space to have all my movies as digital files.
Click to expand...
Depends on the SD. Once you hit SDHC cards, then it's quite conceivable you could fit ~22 movies on a card (assuming 16gb and 700mb divx files).

Of course, if you're recording at silly bitrates, then that's another matter.


I was thinking about the size it takes for a movie to look decent on my HDTV (about 1.5GB). I haven't had any success converting a full movie into a 700mb divx video. It's too low of a bitrate to look good on a TV. I suppose I can re-convert them to 700mb, but I'd rather just copy the 1.5GB versions to a HDD.
Click to expand...
 
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parag0n said:
I would like a small device that plugs into the usb port on the pandora, and adds bluetooth for my bluetooth a2dp headphones, and an accelerometer.
Click to expand...
Very small A2DP Adapter would be really nice.
Small, BT, but no A2DP: Trust BT-2400p
15542.jpg


I hope I'll find A2DP-"Stick" that small by the time the pandora is released.
 
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Back in the late 80's NEC almost brought out a Giant contoller add-on for the Supergrafx where the system slotted inside the add on unit!

So...........(keep with me on this one)............what we need is an all-in-one case (which the Pandora slides inside of out of sight) with a built in TFT screen, lets say a 19" 4:3, proper arcade cabinet style sticks with 6 buttons per player, multiple usb's, a decent sized hard drive (320gb?) and since i'm getting slightly carried away, a slide out full size keyboard!

I can picture it in my mind, so if anyone wants to see it just hack into my telepathic network to take a look at the designs!

BTW, i'd pay $400 for it.
 
I want a pandora controller so that I can play multiplayer onone system with my friends.
 
EvanB said:
I want a pandora controller so that I can play multiplayer onone system with my friends.
Click to expand...
Most USB gamepads should work without any problems.
 
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Chip said:
EvanB said:
I want a pandora controller so that I can play multiplayer onone system with my friends.
Click to expand...
Most USB gamepads should work without any problems.


Maybe a standard one for the Pandora would be better then having seperate controllers for psx,snes etc.
Click to expand...
 
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