This is something I'd been thinking about for a while, and this seems like the best thread for it.
Fact: Pandora would make a wicked cameraphone, especially if you paired it with a Bluetooth headset (so as not to have to hold the device up to your head in an awkward fashion).
Problem: Pandora is not a phone and does not contain a camera.
Solution: Connect small USB webcam and mobile broadband device. Use Skype and email for basic phone functions.
Problem: Only one USB2 port.
Solution: Someone linked to
this in another thread. Small, cheap, 4-port unpowered USB2 hub with short cord. Attach to the back of the Pandora and plug accessories in as needed.
I mocked up an image of such a device attached to the back (i.e. lid), showing how you could plug in a mobile broadband stick and camera, and still have room for, say, a memory stick, and who knows? An IR transmitter would be pretty nice.
Problems this idea has:
1) How to attach it? Anything permanent (glue) is not ideal, as cords break, and if the cord on this thing breaks then you've got to try to pry it off. Velcro just loses its sticking power after too many uses, and it's likely to reach that limit quickly being tugged on in a pocket as one's leg moves.
2) Where to find a camera with that form factor? Most have nice long cords of their own.
One solution to both of these problems would be for the Pandora team to make a version that clips on, and a camera that fits it. Now that you've already put together an entire handheld game console and got all the mass production and such straightened out, it shouldn't be much trouble to build some of these things, and they probably wouldn't end up costing much more than the usual retail prices for USB hubs and cameras. (Hubs can be horridly expensive, but the one linked is only $10... cameras with nice resolutions, say 6-7MP, might be a bit more expensive, since the average USB webcam is in the 1.2MP range, but I'd love to have a real, nice camera on it.
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It may not be difficult either to just buy off-the-shelf devices and modify them, but I bet it'd be more expensive.
Stick one of those on the back, get a good data plan (data only if possible) and a Bluetooth headset, get a Skype client going, and there you go, one sweet cameraphone.
There are still two problems I can see with using it as an actual phone:
1) Is there an ARM version of Skype? Could we convince them to make one? Is there an alternative we could use?
2) Would the battery last long enough with Bluetooth and a cellular modem going?
I imagine most people who'd buy a Pandora either work in an office or go to college; in either case they probably have enough time to charge it during the day that battery life wouldn't be a big deal. There's also the possibility of a larger battery (would increase physical size, but may well be worth it) or a second battery pack that can be plugged into the charge port when needed. Of course, even if these issues prevent Pandora from being usable as an actual phone, you have to admit, having a cellular modem (that you can just turn on when you want to check email) and camera attached to the back would still rock.
A larger battery wouldn't require a different case; it could simply stick out the back and come with (or function as) a replacement battery cover. PSP had such an accessory.
