Android Based Handheld Game?

[Exophase]

Pandora, but I guess we could be splitting semantics on this one.

From a design and manufacturing standpoint, it's pretty obvious which device required more effort.[/quote]

And where do you get the idea that effort equates complexity? This was about price, and yes, effort does relate to price, but it's a one time cost. Higher volume devices can swallow greater design challenges without it significantly impacting price. In Pandora's case there is a price hit, but at the same time the PCB design is still something that was largely accomplished in a few months by only one person so I can't imagine this is adding millions to Pandora's budget. The manufacturing cost is something else, I don't really know how much the boards would cost vs something like Odroid's.

But anyway, what I'm trying to get at here is that when we're talking about complexity due to price the first thing anyone is going to relate it with is what it's capable of doing. IE, roughly speaking, components. Not board design, not case design.

 

[D.C.]

... If they'd used a real d-pad, properly placed shoulder buttons and at least one analog control, I'd have to admit it was a legitimate competitor to the Pandora on the gaming front...

I wonder why GPH doesn't come out with something like that. Combined with a solid development platform (especially for games), it would definitely sell well.

 

[omega5]

Odroid comes with 8GB SD-CARD as well as 2GB T-Flash in the box. Includes Total 10G !!
There are also a serial debugging board and full schematics in the box.
PCB is 12 layers. As I know 12 layers is more complex/expansive than 8 layers..

I heard normal retail version will be about US$250 without Debug-board, schematics..
I think a lot of people will join if it is $199

 

[Orkie]

Incidentally that's exactly what Orkie told me when I asked why GPH only has half a software engineer. Something about South Korea not having a lot of embedded programmers. I don't know if I really buy it, but this company is indeed also Korean.

I don't really know what to make of it either, that is just what I was told.

I'm a bit unsure why Android is so terrible? There is a native development kit, not just Java. Also when did the Wonderswan become so hated?

 

[second exodous]

I'm a bit unsure why Android is so terrible? There is a native development kit, not just Java.

The problem I see with it is stated above. It's pointless to use, controls on the Android vary wildly, Google has never put fourth any requirements for controls that a device must have to run Android. So right there games that use the controls this device has are not going to be in the library anyway.

Second thing is they are tying themselves to Android, Google controls it so if there is an update that somehow conflicts with their hardware it will be outdated. Even if Android is open enough for them to make their own updates people will think 'But I want to run the latest Android' so why use it in the first place?

As a hardware maker you don't want to be tied to any commercial platform unless you own that platform, if that wasn't the case every phone/game system would run winCE. Nokia has there own flavor of Linux that it makes, Apple uses OSX on the iphone, my Samsung phone runs it's own OS, the NDS runs it's own OS, PSP runs it's own OS, the PS3 runs it's own OS, the Wii runs it's own OS, the list goes on.

To me it seems that this company is just riding off the current popularity of Android, but I don't think they really think it will be very successful in terms of games or usefulness. Sure, they'll sell a lot of them, but anyone making games for Android will want to make those games for a phone not Odroid.

I don't think you can depend on the open source community either as the Android platform is frowned upon there.

 

[omega5]

There is the latest news from Linuevices.com
Linuevices ODROID

I clearly understood what Odroid is aiming..


Android market was already boosted and we can get more than 12,000 applications now.
8,000 apps of 12,000 are game.. So, we can enjoy enough Android native games as well as Emu-games.
Recently we can find more nice games such Speed Forge 3D... with OpenGL ES based one.


BTW, SNES emulation seems to be good enough to play. Even with HDMI output~~~




I've also visited Korean Odroid developer community.
They already ported other linux distributions.
This is an example of GNOME desktop.

I think there is not too many reasons why we hate this ugly guy.

 

[Exophase]

I don't know omega5.. the controls certainly don't look very comfortable in that video. Now I'm not a shooter expert by any means (can manage my way around a few) but his movements looked highly jerky, not fluid at all. That doesn't seem like an effective way to play any but the easiest of shmups.

 

[second exodous]

It's just not Android but the device itself. It's awkwardly shaped and the controls are awkward. It just looks like it was slapped together without any thought, OS and hardware.

I won't be surprised if the non-dev unit is a lot different, I just don't see this going to market as is.

In fact this would be a good way to get software made for your device before it's released: release a awkward dev unit that has the same controls and when the real device comes out release a sleek looking well made device. This would keep copy cats at bay because they would look at the device and just go 'what the heck?'

I just don't see this being sold to the general public. . .

EDIT: They should have gotten someone better at playing that 3D racing game, I couldn't tell if the controls sucked or if it was just him, it looked like it might have been his slow reflexes though.

 

[OrR]

Also when did the Wonderswan become so hated?

I love the Wonderswan, it's brilliant hardware design. For simple 2D games. This device would without doubt be great for a Wonderswan emulator. However, it lacks analog sticks for 3D gaming.
When I see it, I wonder, what's the point? There is a lot of stuff that could have rather easily been done better and the price isn't exactly cheap, either. If it was an Android gaming phone at 500$, it would have made sense to me. But a dedicated Android gaming device that lacks perfect gaming controls? I just don't see the point, especially not for more than 200$.

 

[craigix]

Hmm I've just noticed the SD card is in the battery compartment, ngage style.

Weird design decision.

 

[Javacat]

When I first saw this I was a bit WTF, but after seeing the recent vids I do quite like the look of it all. It's just a shame the controls appear to be so funky as they could have been onto a winner.

It does kind of make me think of what the Pandora was originally going to be, before TI came onto the scene.

 

[adolobe]

Just saw this on Engadget

http://www.engadget.com/2009/12/11/odroid-the-android-gaming-handheld-now-shipping-to-android-gam/

Did anyone here order one of these alogn with there pandora. It would be interesting to see if any of the developers ordered this

 

[mali]

It's your choice:
http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?/topic/50805-android-based-handheld-game/
or
http://www.gp32x.de/board/index.php?/topic/49425-android-gaming-handheld-odroid/

 

[second exodous]

It does kind of make me think of what the Pandora was originally going to be, before TI came onto the scene.

So Ti 'coming to the scene' was a good or bad thing in your opinion?

 

[second exodous]

double post, my bad, please ignore.

Edit: Wait, it wasn't my bad, someone combined threads and two of my posts when back to back. What the Heck?

Wait, I think, maybe it was my bad, I had two tabs open. I don't know anymore.

EDIT: Yes, not my bad, the threads were combined and jumbled up I think. WHY NOT JUST CLOSE THE ONE YOU HAD TO MOVE AND THEN MOVE IT!!!!!

 

[Poem58]

I see they preordered in Septemer and are shipping before Christmas. Pandora preordered in September and isn't shipping 2 Christmas's later.
it's just because I wanted Pandora. Nothing I am involved in ever works out.

 

[Javacat]

It does kind of make me think of what the Pandora was originally going to be, before TI came onto the scene.

So Ti 'coming to the scene' was a good or bad thing in your opinion?

I thought it was good at the time, but I'm not really bothered either way now. I lost interest in the Pandora a couple of years ago. If they hadn't appeared though, we'd have probably had the Pandora a long time ago

 

[second exodous]

It does kind of make me think of what the Pandora was originally going to be, before TI came onto the scene.

So Ti 'coming to the scene' was a good or bad thing in your opinion?

I thought it was good at the time, but I'm not really bothered either way now. I lost interest in the Pandora a couple of years ago. If they hadn't appeared though, we'd have probably had the Pandora a long time ago

Oh, ok. I like the fact the Pandora has the Ti chip in it, it is a lot better documented and with the Beagle Board runs a lot more code.

 

[Exophase]

It does kind of make me think of what the Pandora was originally going to be, before TI came onto the scene.

How so? The physical design of the Pandora is mostly what was always intended, well before they decided to use the OMAP3530. They just hadn't made the design public.

 

[Javacat]

I dunno.. I know the design for the Pandora never really changed. After just a quick glance of the wiki page, it seems a lot more open, similar to how the Pandora was originally being sold to the community.