Anyone Else Here Losing Interest?

[solidstate]

Gadget lust is a very fickle thing.
One day you can't wait to get hold of an object then a few months later its collecting dust in a cupboard. I feel like the Pandora has already gone though this process in my head without ever actually having it in my hand.

When I first ordered the Pandora I was giddy with excitement about my new purchase. I imagined myself going around the office showing everyone my cool new toy. Playing videos and demonstrating some retro games.

Back then I used to carry around a PSP and a DS in my bag. Since that date I got my iPhone3G, the App store launched and the iPhone slowly took over all my portable entertainment duties (video, games, web, calendar etc). When my Pandora finally arrives I don't think anyone will be interested in seeing it. Everyone who likes gadgets in the office now has either an iPhone or iPod Touch.

I feel that the only reason I have kept my order open is because I'm determined to stick this out to the end - but I'm not really sure why.

So is it just me, am I just a miserable old bore or has anyone else's excitement slowly ebbed away over time too?

 

[Bosbeetle]

I think the fire will start again once you have it in your hands

 

[monkeyo2]

I think the fire will start again once you have it in your hands

I didn't think they were using Sony batteries?

 

[lulzfish]

I'm still excited about it because it's sort of like an open-source iPod Touch that actually does exactly what I want without requiring any extraneous software.

And it has an actual keyboard, and a clamshell. It's like if you took the iPod Touch, gave it to somebody else, and then built exactly what I actually wanted in a portable device.

 

[Bosbeetle]

I think the fire will start again once you have it in your hands


I didn't think they were using Sony batteries?

LOL

but seriously, I am also losing a bit of the real anxiety but I think it will come back when the console is there and the apps are starting to roll in.

 

[WizardStan]

I know exactly what you mean: back in August, when it was "almost ready" I was eager to get one and show it off. I had a geek meet coming up in September and it seemed the perfect opportunity to flex my geeky muscle. But that passed too quickly.
Then the pre-orders came in, and it was really really "almost ready" and I was once again eager: I had another geek meet in January, I could show it off then!
Boo banks!
The next meet I might be going to isn't until July; that's 4 months away. Given that a great deal of my excitement was in showing off my toy, it's hard to keep interest going.
I was going somewhere with this, but I've forgotten.

 

[torpor]

I fluctuate weekly between 'meh I just dont care' and "holy shit when this thing is in my hands I won't have any time left' ..

On the one hand, I have: Android Dev Phone 1, iPhone3G, 3xGP2X, Beagleboard+DLP Pico Projector, Arduino kits, Freescale imx.31 + 56k DSP Eval boards to play with. I wrote an iPhone app, last week did my first Android project, and have tons of other things to do.

On the other hand: I want to focus on the Pandora this year, as its open hardware, open software, and very, very sexy form-factor.

So, its a tough one. I hope I see it soon. I hope by the time it arrives I can say I've 'safely' gotten enough done on the other platforms - Android and iPhone and Beagle - to be able to leave me enough time to play with Pandora. I think I'll probably be doing nothing but Pandora development for the rest of the year, if I get it soon.

If not, I'll stay focused on Android and iPhone and just use Pandora as a toy to play MAME in between compiles ..

 

[EdCa22]

I'm still excited about it because it's sort of like an open-source iPod Touch that actually does exactly what I want without requiring any extraneous software.

And it has an actual keyboard, and a clamshell. It's like if you took the iPod Touch, gave it to somebody else, and then built exactly what I actually wanted in a portable device.

+1

I too have an iphone, but I find the lack of a keyboard and impossibility of doing real work on the device frustrating, quite apart from my own additional requirement of being able to easily develop my own software. For me the iphone really has reaffirmed my belief to me that handheld computers require a keyboard and that it is extremely difficult to join a phone and a handheld.

But I do think the app store is very powerful, and I think that we should make something similar available to pandora users - it is just so easy to add extra software that way, when you're bored or are looking for a particular utility or app. However, despite the ease of use of the most of the iphone software I find that often the apps are very basic and wish for more features, starting with copy and paste!

I also do not believe devices like the iphone will ever have the calibre of games that will be available (and free) on the pandora. I solidly believe that simply by porting existing high quality open source games and getting a few indy software houses involved we will have gaming quality to compete with psp and ds. And they will be higher quality graphically. And that is not including the emulators! Plus, if the device gets really popular, we may even attract more commercial developers.

I do admit that my enthusiasm is waning, I am checking the forums less frequently and even beginning to have haunted thoughts that the device will never arrive, that not enough people will re-order to meet manufacturing costs etc etc. But I trust these guys, and this is the closest anything has come to the device I have been looking for for the last 10 years, so I will wait! And honestly, threads like this are not helping, they just spread doubt and fear. Lets be positive. The pandora will be worth the wait!

 

[Miner49er]

Well, I'm certainly still excited! But then, I took advantage of the losers who decided to not re-pre-order after the CC problems...

No, I think it will be just like loading up a new Speccy game back in the day. I will get really excited whilst unpacking, desperatly needing to go for a wee, then marvel at the loading screen, heart beating faster and faster until it finishes loading. After all that, if like my speccy daze, I will feel a massive comedown as what I had built up in my mind was way way better than the actual thing.

Only joking - If it runs linux, plays SNES games, shows avi files and plays music - I will love it!

 

[mindlord]

I still annoy all my friends and family with pointless details about the production process. I am as excited today as I ever was. So excited in fact that I have to forcably distract myself with "Dungeon Runners" to prevent F5 fatigue. The latest production notes have me F5ing between boss runs.

 

[PokeParadox]

Well I'm still excited, but it's kind of a dull excitement. By that, I mean I know I can't actually do anything until the devices are shipping. Probably when that news hits I'll be in full mode excitement again.

 

[EdCa22]

No, I think it will be just like loading up a new Speccy game back in the day. I will get really excited whilst unpacking, desperatly needing to go for a wee, then marvel at the loading screen, heart beating faster and faster until it finishes loading.

Your heart must beat very fast to keep getting faster and faster while waiting for a speccy game to load! I generally used to keep myself calm while I waited by going and making a cup of tea, drinking it, coming back to find it still hasn't finished, then swearing at my tape deck and resorting to waiting with a nice long game of chess. Or sometimes risk.

 

[clippa]

CODE
http://www.edspresso.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/lucy-psychiatrist.gif


It sounds like the reason you're buying these gadgets is so that you can take them to work and show them off.
Now you're not so sure that you want it because you think that nobody will be interested. Don't take any gadgets to work, you're not a boring person.
Next time you buy something, you should ask yourself why you're buying it, and if you really want it. If you're just buying it to impress people, put the money back in your pocket and slap yourself in the face. If you keep doing this, maybe in a few years time, you will run past electrical shops and cower in the corner whenever anybody mentions "apple".

 

[vputz]

Since there's not anything else remotely like it coming out in the near future... um, no, I'm not any less excited. I'm a little fatigued, but I'm still excited. If anything, I'm in a sense more excited about the Pandora because of the other OMAP-based things coming out showing what the hardware is capable of, and me thinking "wow, and I get that in a package I can fit in my pocket; how cool is that?" and "hm, more people using the OMAP and Angstrom inevitable means more software for the Pan."

Still fatigued, though, and I'd like to see the wait over.

 

[Balzac2m]

i can't relate to lousy apple products, so i'm still interested

 

[Eight Bit]

Gawd... So the Pandora is a penis extension?

I didn't realize....

Gimme 2!

 

[fade]

I think your Interest will definitely peak again when the reality sets in that it'll soon, really be in your hands!

I've been trying my best to avoid visiting the forums as much as I have been so that I can come back after, say a week, and theres a build up of news for me to read to tide me over until its release. But in the course of doing other work at my desk I still find myself checking in at least once a day. I'm not really losing interest tho, im still very eager to see it finished and get stuck in.


QUOTE

I had a geek meet coming up in September and it seemed the perfect opportunity to flex my geeky muscle.


I'm intrigued by this, how do you go about organising these kinda things, sounds like fun!


QUOTE

I think it will be just like loading up a new Speccy game back in the day.


I can relate to this.
I loved going to a local computer shop to browse the speccy tapes, and buy a few from the £1.99, or if you were were flush, maybe even the £2.99 range. What used to annoy me about speccy games, (and Amstrad an MSX) was that they used to show arcade screenshots on the back of the tape. I never saw the point of that, it was obviously not going to be the game you were going to get. Wasn't till a while later that we started getting *Actual Spectrum Screenshots!*

 

[cobaltage]

I was initially very into the iPhone 3G (that is, for the first 6 months), but I see the Pandora as being a good antidote to my frustrations with the iPhone. Maybe you are having a similar experience.

The iPhone has a great mobile browsing experience (with 3G or wifi) and the apps you can get can be entertaining, fun, or useful. Podcast content is now available over 3G. Music streaming and to a lesser extent video streaming are particularly great, in light of the fact that you are paying for "unlimited" data access anyway. (The requirement of an unlimited data plan is a big part of the iPhone experience IMO. This is the first time I have been interested in accessing the cellular data network as much as possible.) I no longer feel the need to carry a notebook or sub-notebook when I travel to check email or RSS feeds. And, I use it as media player. All of that is a big benefit from one device.

But after 6 months I started getting frustrated with a few aspects of the iPhone:
- lack of hardware controls or indicator lights
- lack of multi-tasking -- but even if jailbroken, it has an...
- underpowered CPU
- limited browsing compatibility (compared to a desktop browser)
- closed, unilaterally controlled platform
- AT&T
- iTunes
- limited Bluetooth stack
- all-touchscreen keyboard always results in more errors
- games clearly limited by the lack of hardware controls
- lack of user accessible file system
- importing and exporting data is a pain
- you can email photos one at a time but absolutely nothing else
- it still lacks a reasonable text editor ... you will be able to edit Google docs online before you will be able to write and edit text files and share them locally
- the best IM app costs $18 because it semi-successfully addresses the lack of multi-tasking

I view the Pandora as a good device to have in addition to a smart phone or iPhone. It deals with all of those points against the iPhone. It also fits between a smart phone and a notebook PC, both in size and in function.

If AT&T ever offers iPhone tethering for $10 per month, I would want to get it more to tether the Pandora than a notebook PC.

 

[hells_dark]

The time is very long.

But before i was excited and impatient.

Now, i know it needs a lot of time and i'm camly watching at the project.
It's not bad too :]
And i haven't found any device fitting my needs in the meantime (linux, openness, fun).

I'm cool n_n

 

[MDave]

"I find your lack of faith disturbing."